LAKE CHARLES – Nicole Casper and
Olandis Johnson were the big winners at Friday afternoon's McNeese Indoor II College Track and Field Meet as the two broke school and facility records in their respective events – Casper in the women's pole vault and Johnson in the men's 800-meter run.
In addition to those two first place performances, McNeese racked up 11 other first place finishes in helping the Cowboys and Cowgirls defeat Southeastern Louisiana in the dual scoring meet -- 84-52 on the men's side and 82-43 in women's scoring.
Casper, who passed on the first five bar heights, cleared the new school record of 13-5.25 on her very first attempt. She then raised it to 13-11.75 which would've put her in the top seven in the nation, but she failed on all three attempts.
She broke her own record of 13-2.5 set at the 2015 SLC Indoor Championships. Her new mark currently ranks her No. 1 in the Southland Conference and tied for 14
th in the NCAA.
Johnson clocked a 1:51.85 to win the 800-meters by six seconds. That mark broke a 32-year old facility record set by Alfredo Lahuerta of Houston Baptist in 1985. It also broke the McNeese record of 1:52.99 set by Andy Blackmore in 1999.
Other standout performances saw freshman Cowgirl thrower
Alanna Arvie win both the shot put and the weight throw event.
Christoper Graf shot to the top of the SLC rankings in the mile run with a first place finish of 4:09.35 while teammate
Oliver James followed in second at 4:14.79, ranking him No. 2 in the league.
Nathan Jones made it a clean sweep in the event with a third place mark of 4:15.37.
Alexander Gabriel cleared nearly 6-10 in the high jump, passing 6-9.75 to win the event and the Cowgirls'
Tijana Antic flew to a mark of 38-11 in the triple jump for her second win of the season.
McNeese has two more indoor meets before the conference championships. The squads will next be in action next Friday at the LSU Bayou Bengal Indoor.
McNeese Men Top 3 Places
Tyler Smith, 1
st 55m, 6.48; 1
st 200m, 22.19
Jalon Charles, 3
rd 200m, 22.68; 1
st 400m, 50.53
Ethan Rapp, 2
nd 400m, 51.01
Jaylen Goodly, 3
rd 400m, 52.38
Savon Price, 2
nd 600m
Olandis Johnson, 1
st 800m, 1:51.85 – school and facility record
Damian O'Boyle, 2
nd 800m, 1:57.51
Finlay Murray, 3
rd 800m, 1:57.61
Christopher Graf, 1
st 1-mile, 4:09.35
Oliver James, 2
nd 1-mile, 4:14.79
Nathan Jones, 3
rd 1-mile, 4:15.37
Eric Greene, 2
nd 3000m, 9:13.73
Gabriel Alexander, 1
st High Jump, 6-9.75
Lentz Similien, 3
rd High Jump, 6-6
JR Johnson, 1
st Pole Vault, 14-11
Michael Hughes, 2
nd Pole Vault, 13-11.25
Zach Dibbern, 3
rd Pole Vault, 13-5.25
Namanja Kovlijac, 1
st Triple Jump, 48-4.75
John Lemke, 2
nd Triple Jump, 46-6.25
Hiram Morales, 1
st Shot Put, 52-9.25; 3
rd Weight Throw, 46-1.75
David Hamm, 3
rd Shot Put, 36-8
McNeese Women Top 3 Places
Diamond Lee, 1
st 200m, 25.75
Ayanna Weeks, 2
nd 200m, 26.08
Nina Radisavljevic, 2
nd 600m, 1:40.94
Kaitlyn Tunks, 3
rd 600m, 1:42.25
Alison Smegal, 1
st 800m, 2:28.27; 2
nd 1-Mile, 5:18.63
Katja Woelfl, 1
st 1-Mile, 5:15.80
Imogen Hull, 3
rd 1-Mile, 5:22.03
Crystal Coulter, 2
nd High Jump, 5-3.75
Nicole Casper, 1
st Pole Vault, 13-5.25 – school and facility record
Katie Thornton, 3
rd Pole Vault, 10-11.75
Ashley Johnson, 2
nd Long Jump, 17-5.25
Grace McKenzie, 3
rd Long Jump, 16-10.75; 3
rd Shot Put, 35-8.25
Tijana Antic, 1
st Triple Jump, 38-11
Heaven Terrell, 2
nd Triple Jump, 36-0.75
Jordyn Barrett, 3
rd Triple Jump, 34-8.25
Alanna Arvie, 1
st Shot Put, 39-9.75; 1
st Weight Throw, 54-10.25
Makayla Hardin, 2
nd Shot Put, 38-3.25
