LAKE CHARLES – McNeese's track and field team opened up the outdoor season with a bang here Saturday after capturing the Bob Hayes Louisiana Challenge Trophy after winning the annual Cowboy Relays.
McNeese won the meet with a combined men's and women's score of 301.83 points. Northwestern State placed second with 206.5 points while Louisiana-Monroe was third with a score of 189.
A total of eight meet records were broken on the day, including three events by McNeese athletes.
In the women's 3,000 meters, Cowgirl runners
Gemma Bridge and
Katja Woelfl each beat the previous record of 10:13.85 set in 2014 as Bridge took first in the race with a time of 10:09.45 with Woelfl following in second with a 10:12.86.
McNeese also set a new meet and school outdoor record in the men's 3,000 meters as
Nathan Jones was the first to cross the finish line with a time of 8:32.06, beating out the meet record of 8:33.47 set last year by Tulane's Moses Aloiloi, and his own school record of 8:34.74 also set at last year's Cowboy Relays.
The distance runners weren't finished as both the Cowboys and Cowgirls dominated the 1,500-meter event as well.
Rhian Dawes took first in with a time of 4:46.05 and was followed by Bridge (4:50.40) and Woelfl (4:55.56) to sweep the first three places.
On the men's side,
Enock Bor finished first with a time of 3:58.92 while
Luke Betts placed second with a 3:59.22.
Current throws coach and former McNeese all-American javelin thrower
Ben Chretien set a new meet record in the event as an unattached athlete with a first place throw of 235-04, bettering the previous record by nearly six feet.
Pole vaulter
Nicole Casper returned to action after missing the indoor season with an injury and finished first with a mark of 12-feet, 9 ½-inches while teammates Hannah Ogea finished second and Katie Thornton fifth with clearing heights of 11-01.75.
Both the Cowboys and Cowgirls 4x800-meter relay teams finished first with the men's team made up of Betts, Bor,
Olandis Johnson and
Finlay Murray posting a time of 7:59.32 to beat out Northwestern State by four seconds. The Cowgirls' team consisted of
Imogen Hull, Dawes,
Alison Smegal and
Leonie Weber finished with a time of 9:46.42 to win by three seconds over Louisiana-Lafayette.
Cowgirl sprinter
Danielle Epps made her return to the team a quality one after she helped pace the 4x100 relay squad to a first place finishing time of 46.37 as she was joined on the squad by Casper,
Simone Johnson and
Maegan Moore. Epps also finished first in the 100 meters with a time of 11.77.
John Lemke had a first place finish in the triple jump with a mark of 50-feet, 7 ¼-inches and was second in the long jump at 23-feet, 4 ½-inches.
