NACOGDOCHES, Texas – Lawson Fritsch nearly made history here Saturday afternoon on the final day of the 2026 Southland Conference Outdoor Championships as the program's first-ever men's pole vaulting champion, but SFA's Brayden Hill cleared the winning height on his final attempt to snatch away the gold from Lawson.
 
Lawson still finished in second place after clearing a personal best height of 16-9.5 which is the fourth-best mark in school history.
 
Amire Ledet added five points to the Cowboys' team total after finishing fourth in the triple jump. Ledet jumped 48-8.75, that coming on his final attempt to move him into fourth place.
 
Gregory Martin finished fourth in the 1500-meters with a time of 3:49.47 to give the Cowboys five points in the event. He missed out on making the podium by just .71 seconds.
 
Ryan McCarthy clocked a PR in the 5,000-meters with a time of 14:35.56 to finish sixth place and pull three points for the Cowboys.
 
For the Cowgirls, Jaslyn Russell started the day with a sixth-place finish in the discus event with a mark of 163-7 and giving her team three points.
 
The 4x400-meter relay team made up of Keelie Dorsey, Janayah Dotson, Jashyra Thomas, and Alexandria Stewart placed fifth with a season-best time of 3:40.64 which is also the second-fastest time in school history.
 
Northwestern State won the women's team title with 147.5 points. The Cowgirls placed eighth with 33 points and was the second-highest finishing team out of league Louisiana teams. SFA won the men's title with 164 points with the Cowboys placing 11^th with 26 points.
 
Women's Team Scoring after Day 2
1, Northwestern State 147.5; 2, UTRGV 126; 3, SFA 122; 4, Lamar 98.5; 5, AMCC 91.5; 6, East Texas A&M 90; 7, UIW 54; 8, McNeese 33; 9, Southeastern 24; 10, HCU 10.5; 11, Nicholls 10; 12, New Orleans 8
 
Men's Team Scoring after Day 2
1, SFA 164; 2, Northwestern State 124; 3, UIW 117; 4, East Texas A&M 97; 5, AMCC 81; 6, Lamar 54; 7, UTRGV 44; 8, HCU 41; 9, New Orleans 33; 10, Southeastern 30; 11, McNeese 26; 12, Nicholls 7
 
Day 3 Cowgirl Results
1500m – 11, Uxue Castro-Martin 4:42.67
5000m – 21, Jeny Barcenas 18:23.32; 33, Edyn Hill 19:07.62; 34, Rylee-Kai Challenor 19:26.34
Discus – 6, Jaslyn Russell 163-7; 13, Isabella Punchard 145-3 PR; 19, Nele Anton 134-4; 20, Leah Guy 133-3 PR; 26, Mya Charles 108-1
4x400 Relay – 5, 3:40.64 SB (Keelei Dorsey, Janayah Dotson, Jashyra Thomas, Alexandria Stewart)
 
Day 3 Cowboy Results
1500m – 4, Gregory Martin 3:49.47; 9, Samuel Serrano Borrego 3:54.89; 10, Omer El-Fadl 3:57.47
5000m – 6, Ryan McCarthy 14:35.56 PR
Pole Vault – 2, Lawson Fritsch 16-9.5 PR; Lucas Owens NH
Triple Jump – 4, Amire Ledet 48-8.75; 9, Javonte Taylor 45-6.75 PR
High Jump – Michael Berry NH; Javonte Taylor NH
Discus – Britt Miller 130-9 PR
4x400 Relay – 11, 3:27.94 (James Boutte, Sullivan Hanna, Colby Trahan, Obied Mohamed)