MYRTLE BEACH, SC – Senior Rileigh Lacy and sophomore Jazmine McDonald-Craft defended their individual titles in the pole vault and discus, respectively, as Francis Marion University competed at Day 2 of the Conference Carolinas Outdoor Track & Field Championships on Friday (April 24).
In the team standings, FMU women's track & field has already set a new program record for points scored at the league championships with 37.33, which sits third overall. On the men's side, the Patriots will look to score their first points on Saturday during the final day of the conference meet.
Francis Marion returns to the Doug Shaw Memorial Stadium tomorrow, Saturday, April 25, for Day 3 of the Conference Carolinas Championships with action starting at 10:00 a.m.
The highlight for the Patriots came in the women's discus on Friday afternoon, as FMU scored 19 points behind the efforts of three student-athletes. McDonald-Craft rallied from a pair of fouls to deliver a championship-clinching 40.86-meter toss on her final attempt, claiming the gold medal. It marks back-to-back titles in the discus for McDonald-Craft, who also earned first-team all-conference honors.
Junior Catherine Green finished as the runner-up and secured second-team all-conference in the women's discus following a mark of 40.11 meters to earn the silver medal. Freshman Skyy Ruben made her outdoor championships debut and placed eighth overall with a toss of 35.92 meters.
In the women's pole vault, Lacy, a product of Darlington High School, entered as the favorite and delivered a first-place finish after clearing a season-best mark of 3.39 meters. She earns back-to-back outdoor championships in the event and has claimed the last three combined titles (2025-26 outdoor, 2026 indoor). Additionally, Lacy earned first-team all-conference honors.
Sophomore Aukeyonna Sims, a native of Darlington, S.C., scored points for the Patriots in two events. She placed second overall in the women's long jump following an impressive leap of 5.67 meters on her final attempt to claim second-team all-conference status. In the high jump, Sims tied for eighth overall after clearing 1.54 meters.
The sophomore duo of
Alex Lance and
Davin Staley qualified for the finals in the men's 400 meters. Lance set a new FMU record in the event following a blistering personal-best time of 48.34 seconds to place second in the prelims. He claimed the record from his teammate Staley, who previously held the mark with a time of 48.60 seconds. Staley placed fifth in the prelims to clinch his spot in the final after crossing the line in 48.64 seconds.
The men's 400-meter final is scheduled to start at 12:05 p.m. on Saturday, April 25.
| CONFERENCE CAROLINAS CHAMPIONSHIPS (APRIL 23-25) |
| Men's 200m (prelims) |
| 11 |
Ryan Hunter |
21.86 |
| 15 |
Davin Staley |
22.10 |
| 21 |
Jalen Keller |
22.62 |
| Women's 100m Hurdles (prelims) |
| 11 |
Natalie Rose |
16.67 |
| 14 |
Jordyn Perry |
17.76 |
| Men's 100m (prelims) |
| 15 |
Ryan Hunter |
10.76 |
| Women's 100m (prelims) |
| 17 |
Elanna Green |
12.54 |
| Men's 400m (prelims) |
| 2 |
Alex Lance*$ |
48.34Q |
| 5 |
Davin Staley |
48.64q |
| Women's 400m Hurdles (prelims) |
| 11 |
Lyric Boykin |
1:15.50 |
| 13 |
Jordyn Perry |
1:17.78 |
| Women's Pole Vault |
| 1 |
Rileigh Lacy (+10pts) |
3.39m |
| 11 |
Katie Sukut |
2.54m |
| Women's Long Jump |
| 2 |
Aukeyonna Sims (+8pts) |
5.67m |
| 16 |
Meya McKinney |
4.56m |
| Men's Long Jump |
| 15 |
Jaysson Howard |
6.58m |
| Women's Discus |
| 1 |
Jazmine McDonald-Craft (+10pts) |
40.86m |
| 2 |
Catherine Green (+8pts) |
40.11m |
| 8 |
Skyy Ruben (+1pt) |
35.92m |
| Men's Discus |
| 20 |
Jordan Davis |
35.58m |
| Women's High Jump |
| T8 |
Aukeyonna Sims (+0.33pt) |
1.54m |
| Men's High Jump |
| T16 |
Justin Miller |
1.82m |
| Men's 800m (prelims) |
| 24 |
Luis Cedeno |
2:02.72 |
* - Personal Best
$ - FMU School Record
# - NCAA II Provisional Qualifying mark |
