McIntyre Repeats as Pole Vault Champion, WKU Earns Five All-Conference Honors

Sunday, February 18

Birmingham, Ala.

Western Kentucky University

C-USA Indoor Championships

Morgan McIntyre 2018 C-USA Championships

McIntyre Repeats as Pole Vault Champion, WKU Earns Five All-Conference Honors

2/18/2018 7:00:00 PM | Track & Field

Final Results (PDF)

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Morgan McIntyre highlighted day two from the 2018 Conference USA Men's and Women's Indoor Track & Field Championships for WKU as the senior repeated as the women's pole vault champion on Sunday while Julius Morris collected a pair of his own All-Conference honors. In total, the Hilltoppers turned in five All-Conference USA performances from the Birmingham CrossPlex.

"Morgan McIntyre did a great job of defending her conference title today," head coach Erik Jenkins opened. "I was really happy with how she performed at the Championships."

McIntyre helped the Lady Toppers to an 11^th place team finish from the indoor championships as the squad tallied 19.5 points. The Ashland, Ky., native cleared her second-best height of 2018 with a reading of 3.90 meters (12'9.5") – eight inches better than Rice's Ayane Rosano in second place. Fellow pole vaulter Getter Lemberg racked up points for the Red and White as well, notching her first All-Conference honors after tying for third with a clear of 3.70 meters (12'1.5"). Freshman Nicole Ogorek finished tied for ninth with a clear of 3.60 meters (11'9.75") in her first Championships appearance.

Brianna Eskridge picked up a couple points for the Lady Toppers in Sunday's triple jump with a personal-best bound of 12.09 meters (39'8"). The sophomore also posted a personal-best high jump clear of 1.68 meters (5'6") to finish ninth. Juannae Lewis rounded out the scoring for WKU on the women's side with a seventh place finish in the 200-meter dash, running a time of 24.96.

On the men's side, WKU scored 40 points on Sunday to bring its point total to 44 at the Championships for an eight place team finish. Jonathan Hayden got the scoring started with a personal best in the 60-meter hurdles, clocking a 7.94 for second place and the third-fastest mark in Hilltopper program history. Hayden's All-Conference USA honor in the event is the third of his career in the discipline.

Morris (6.72) and Eli Minor (6.75) finished third and fourth in Sunday's 60-meter finals to add to the Hilltopper team point total. Morris' All-Conference USA honors in the event are the third of his career. Later in the day, Morris collected his second top-three finish of the Championships with a personal-best 20.92 in the 200-meter dash taking second. The senior is a four-time All-Conference performer in the event. Minor also picked up points for the Red and White in the 200-meter dash, finishing sixth (21.60).

"Julius Morris and Eli Minor competed at a very high level in two events to secure crucial points for us this weekend," Jenkins continued. "Julius ran two personal bests in the 200-meter at the Championships while Eli ran a lifetime best in the 60-meter prelims."

WKU Track & Field has claimed nine of the 12 possible Indoor All-Conference spots in the men's 200-meter dash since joining Conference USA prior to the 2014-15 season.

The Hilltoppers' 4x400-meter relay unit comprised of Austin Hayes, Oliver Alexandre, David Saruni and Kymari Gates finished fifth with a time of 3:15.72 to grab a few more points. WKU collected its remaining points in the 400-meter where three Hilltoppers scored including Alexandre (48.82), Charles Shimukowa (49.25) and Gates (50.07) in spots six through eight.

ALL-CONFERENCE PERFORMANCES
Morgan McIntyre – women's pole vault – 1^st
Getter Lemberg – women's pole vault – T-3^rd
Jonathan Hayden – men's 60-meter hurdles – 2^nd
Julius Morris – men's 60m – 3^rd
Julius Morris – men's 200m – 2^nd

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