HOUSTON – McNeese's Marcus Francis made McNeese Track & Field history on Saturday when he became the first Cowboy thrower to win a gold medal in the discus event at the Southland Conference Championships, and with his win in the shot put a day earlier, became the first McNeese men's athlete to win gold in both the shot put and discus in school history at the league championships.
 
His double gold medal wins nearly earned him the recognition as the meets most valuable player, finishing with 24 points, one behind the winner Ibrahim Fuseini of East Texas A&M. Francis placed fifth in the hammer throw on Thursday.
 
Francis threw 176-02 to win the event by nearly 20 feet. Lamar's Anthony Oliver placed second at 158-10.
 
A Lake Charles native, Francis was one of three Cowboys to stand on the medal podium on the final day of the championships.
 
Tray'Quan Francis won a silver medal in the men's 800-meters in an exciting finish that saw him clock 1:51.05, rounded up from .048 and a .001 second faster than the third-place runner. His time set a new personal record.
 
 Jaden Powell also claimed a silver medal with his second-place finish in the 400-meter hurdles. Powell ran a 50.71 in the race, over a second faster than his prelim time a day before and set a new personal record in the process.
 
Other McNeese Scoring:
• Chris Calloura, 6^th men's high jump, 6-8.25.
• Amire Ledet, 8^th men's triple jump, 48-2.
• Amari Godette, 5^th men's 100m, 10.51.
• Keelei Dorsey, 6^th women's 800m, 2:14.49
• Jasmine Perez, 7^th women's 800m, 2:14.85.
• Kalen Beavers, 5^th men's 200m, 21.13.
• Women's 4x100 relay, 6^th, 47.04.
• Men's 4x100 relay, 6^th, 40.56.
• Women's 4x400 relay, 7^th, 3:51.84.
 
Final Men's Scoring:
1. SFA, 146
2. Lamar, 113
3. UIW, 99
4. East Texas A&M, 86
5. Southeastern, 78
6. Northwestern State, 70
7. McNeese 64
8. UTRGV 56
9. Texas A&M-CC 48
10. HCU 40
11. New Orleans, 19
 
Final Women's Scoring:
1. Northwestern State, 180.5
2. Lamar, 117.5
3. UTRGV, 115
4. Texas A&M-CC, 92
5. SFA, 82.5
6. East Texas A&M, 63
7. UIW, 45
8. Southeastern, 39
9. McNeese, 26
10. HCU, 23.5
11. New Orleans, 23
12. Nicholls, 4