HOUSTON – The McNeese Cowgirls battled to the very last event at the 2024 Southland Conference Outdoor Track and Field Championships, but it was Northwestern State who was able to pull out the team title after beating the Cowgirls in the 4x400-meter relay and outgaining the Cowgirls 182.5-181.
 
The 1 ½-point margin of victory matches a conference record from 2017 when Stephen F. Austin edged out Sam Houston 166-164.5. The 181 points by the Cowgirls is the most by a second-place team in league championships history and the second-most scored by the Cowgirls in school history (189 in 2022).
 
The Cowgirls have placed in the top two in the last three years and won the title in 2022.
 
On Saturday, McNeese and Northwestern State went back-and-forth in the team standings, the Cowgirls building a nice advantage with the field events while NSU rallied in the sprints.
 
Cowgirl all-around athlete Morgan Talley was named the SLC outdoor season's Most Valuable Performer after she finished the three-day event winning three gold and one bronze medal for a total of 36 points.
 
On Saturday, Talley won a gold medal in the triple jump at 41-5.75 and finished third for a bronze medal in the 100-meter hurdles with a time of 13.84. She previously won gold medals in both the heptathlon and the long jump.
 
The Cowboys, who finished third in the team standings, won five gold medals on the day.
 
Amire Ledet won the triple jump with a mark of 49-7.25 to set a new personal record. He became the first Cowboy to win gold since John Lemke in 2018 and just the fifth all-time.
 
Jalon White won a gold in the men's 400-meter dash with a time of 46.56. It's his second straight SLC title in the event, following a gold medal performance in the indoor championships.
 
Hunter Longino defended his title in the javelin event and won gold for the second straight year after throwing 213-9. He's the sixth McNeese champion in the last 13 conference meets.
 
Alex Martin won gold in the 800-meter run with a time of 1:51.76 and beating out HCU's Krzysztof Kurski by .21 seconds. He's only the third Cowboy to win the event and the first since Joshua Sawe in 2011.
 
Jaden Powell became the first-ever McNeese Cowboy to win the 400-meter hurdles after he clocked a 51.32.
 
Women's Final Team Scoring: 1, Northwestern State 182.5; 2, McNeese 181; 3, Lamar 118.5; 4, UIW 89.5; 5, New Orleans 87; 6, HCU 54; 7, TAMU-Commerce 35.5; 8, Texas A&M-CC 32; 8, Southeastern 28; 10, Nicholls 11.
 
Men's Final Team Scoring: 1, UIW 167; 2, Northwestern State 161; 3, McNeese 116; 4, TAMU-Commerce 95; 5, Lamar 71; 6, Southeastern 70; 7, HCU 53; 8, New Orleans 42; 9, Texas A&M-CC 33; 10, Nicholls 8.
 
Day 3 Notes:
• Omer El-Fadl won a silver medal in the men's 1500m with a time of 3:50.14, just .07 second off first place.
• Marcus Francis won a bronze medal in the men's discus event after he set a new McNeese school record with a mark of 178-4, breaking the old record of 174-5 set by Kristian Rahnu in 2002.
• Tyler Challis finished 7^th in the men's javelin with a throw of 170-1 and Trey Marsh placed 8^th at 168-10. With Longino's first place mark, the Cowboys accumulated 13 points in the event.
• Sakari Famous won a silver medal in the women's high jump at 5-11.75. Zur'Najah Poullard finished fifth at 5-8 while Baylie Benton placed 6^th at 5-7 as the Cowgirls recorded 15 points in the event.
• Kayla Warner captured a bronze medal for the Cowgirls in the 800m run with a time of 2:09.98. Also in that event, Ciara Gilroy finish fifth for four points (2:13.97) and Irene Barreiro-Lopez collected two points with a seventh-place finish (2:15.44).
• Kayla Harrison finished 6^th for three points in the women's 200m dash (24.19).
• Jeny Barcenas and Grace Sullivan each scored in the women's 5000m – Barcenas placing 5^th for four points with a time of 18:03.06 while Sullivan finished 7^th for two points at 18:16.06.
• Gilbert Kimutai recorded a point in the men's 5000m after an 8^th place finish with a time of 14:51.31.
• Warner teamed with Harrison, Jordan Carter and Jashyra Thomas to win silver in the 4x400m relay with a time of 3:40.42.
• Madison Freeman placed 8^th in the women's discus at 135-11