HOUSTON, Texas – WKU Track and Field finished the 2018 Conference USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships with a total of seven event titles, picking up six of them in the final day of competition. The Hilltoppers finished tied with Rice for fourth while the Lady Toppers finished in ninth. On Sunday alone, seven WKU student-athletes cracked the top five program marks in their respective events, including two new school records.
Following Desmond Mobley's long jump win on Saturday, the Hilltoppers picked up right where they left off. Denzel Villaman was the first to earn a title for the men's squad on Sunday, finishing first in the 400-meter hurdles. His time of 51.54 marks a new PR and the fifth best time in school history.
Julius Morris was the next to earn a top spot, running a 20.32 in the 200-meter dash to win back-to-back titles in the event. His mark was a season best for the Hilltoppers and the third best time in program history.
In the final event of the day for Hilltopper Track and Field, the 4x400-meter relay team successfully defended its 2017 title, earning first place once again. Oliver Alexandre, Eli Minor, Villaman and Kymari Gates all contributed to the time of 3:06.15.
Others earning top marks for the men's squad included Jonathan Hayden (14.05) finishing third in the 110-meter hurdles, Gates (46.16) placing second in the 400-meter and Morris (10.35) and Minor (10.37) finishing second and third in the 100-meter dash, respectively. The 4x100-meter relay team of Will Bush, Alexandre, Alec Tanksley and Austin Hayes finished second with a time of 39.33, the fifth fastest mark in school history.
First to score on the board for the Lady Toppers was senior Savannah Ames. Ames clocked a time of 4:29.27 in the 1500-meter run, finishing seventh. Her time was good for the fifth best mark in school history and the best since 2014.
Making Lady Topper Track and Field history on Sunday evening were Juannae Lewis and Ariel Terrell. Lewis placed first in the 400-meter with a new program record time of 53 seconds flat. She bested the previous record by .68 seconds. Lewis is just the fifth Lady Topper in program history to earn the 400-meter outdoor title at any conference championship.
Terrell also notched a new program record on Sunday evening, replacing the previous record established in 1981 by Vata Allen. Terrell clocked a time of 57.67 in the 400-meter hurdles, becoming the third Lady Topper in school history to earn the title and the first to do so in 37 years. Terrell and Villaman are the fifth same-school pair in Conference USA history to earn the men's and women's 400-meter hurdles title in the same year.
Senior Morgan McIntyre defended her 2017 outdoor pole vault title, notching a height of 4.01 meters on Sunday evening. The mark was the fifth best in school history and second best of the 2018 season. McIntyre will go down in Lady Topper Track and Field history as one of the most dominant competitors in her sport, having won four straight pole vault conference titles.
"We had some people compete at an extremely high level over the course of these championships," said head coach Erik Jenkins. "We broke multiple WKU and Conference USA meet records. Our squad competed hard and managed the meet well. I am proud of the quality effort displayed by all."
Charlotte won the men's championship with 149 points and Southern Miss won the women's championship with 131 points.
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