MILL SPRINGS, NC – In the final tune-up ahead of the conference indoor championships, the Francis Marion Track & Field program posted nine Conference Carolinas qualifying standards and 14 season-best marks at the Mid-Winter Intercollegiate Invite on Saturday (Feb. 14).
The Patriots will compete next week, Feb. 22-23, at the Conference Carolinas Indoor Championships for the first time in program history. The event is hosted over two days at the JDL Fast Track in Winston-Salem, N.C.
On the men's side, sophomore
Rashawn Byrd posted a seventh-place finish in the triple jump with a distance of 14.08 meters to hit the league qualifying standard. His season-best mark sits third in the Conference Carolinas this season. Sophomore
Cameron Glover also achieved a league mark in the triple jump with a leap of 13.41 meters to place 11th overall.
In the 400 meters, the sophomore duo
Alex Lance and
Davin Staley hit the Conference Carolinas qualifying mark. Lance recorded a blistering pace of 48.97 seconds to place seventh, while Staley crossed the line in 50.32 seconds to finish 14th. Lance's season-best mark ranks 10th in the conference this year.
Freshman
Justin Miller reached the league standard in the high jump and placed 11th overall after clearing 1.85 meters.
On the women's side, sophomore
Aukeyonna Sims achieved a pair of conference marks. She placed third in the high jump on Friday after clearing 1.65 meters and improved her distance in the long jump after finishing sixth with a mark of 5.62 meters. Sims still holds the best mark in the high jump (1.68m) and moved up to fourth in the Conference Carolinas in the long jump rankings.
In the shot put, sophomore
Jazmine McDonald-Craft improved her league standard with a toss of 10.97 meters, which ranks ninth in the conference.
Fellow sophomore
Rileigh Lacy finished seventh in the pole vault after clearing 3.20 meters. She remains atop the Conference Carolinas with the top mark this season (3.40m).