BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Senior Isaac Grieder won the heptathlon and was one of three ULM track & field student-athletes to earn a spot on the podium on day two of the Sun Belt Conference Indoor Championships on Tuesday at the Birmingham CrossPlex.
Grieder totaled 5,273 points after seven events to earn the gold medal. The Warhawks also garnered top-three finishes from sophomore Lebrun Nelson in the triple jump and senior Andrew Tate in the 400m. Overall, the ULM men finished in seventh place, while the women ended in 11th.
Grieder entered the day in third-place in the heptathlon after the first four events on Monday. He quickly moved up to second after the 60m hurdles with a personal-record of 8.51. Grieder then moved into first-place after his best event, the pole vault, clearing the bar at a season-best of 4.85m.
The Garland, Texas native began the final event, the 1000m, with a 153-point lead on second-place. He legged out the race in 2:59.50 and claimed the heptathlon title by 21 points over Franz Beyer from UL-Lafayette.
Grieder previously won the heptathlon at the 2014 SBC Indoor Championships with a school-record 5,310 points. He finished in a tie for first-place last season, but was awarded the silver medal after tiebreaks with 5,299 points. He is now a five-time All-Conference student-athlete.
Grieder became the second Warhawk to earn a gold medal over the two-day championship as junior Alton Clay Jr. won the weight throw on Monday with a personal-record toss of 18.70m.
In the men's high jump, Nelson registered a personal-record of 15.40m to earn a silver medal. It topped his previous best of 14.90m set this season at the South Alabama Invitational. Also picking up points for ULM in the event, senior Corey Wesley placed sixth with a mark of 14.89m, a season-best.
Another podium spot was earned in the men's 400m where Tate sprinted for a bronze medal with a time of 47.79. It was a big step up from his 48.49 score in the preliminary round on Monday. Tate is now a four-time All-Conference student-athlete.
In the finals of the 60m hurdles, freshman Levaughn Battick tallied a fifth-place showing, clocking in at 8.17. He finished one spot ahead of where he was projected after posting the sixth-fastest time in Monday's preliminary.
The Warhawks closed it out with a fourth-place finish in the men's 4x400m relay. The team of junior Andre Phillips, freshman Andre Johnson and senior Mark Demus and Andrew Tate recorded a time of 3:17.04. It marked a season-best after topping the score of 3:17.69 set at the Texas A&M Invitational.
For full final results, visit Championship Central.
ULM's All-Conference Selections
Alton Clay Jr., First-Team
Isaac Grieder, First-Team
Lebrun Nelson, Second-Team
Jemal Parharm Jr., Third-Team
Andrew Tate, Third-Team
Men's Team Scores
1. Texas State, 127.5
2. UT Arlington, 113.5
3. Arkansas State, 102.5
4. South Alabama, 94.5
5. Appalachian State, 74.5
6. UL-Lafayette, 73.5
7. ULM, 58
8. Little Rock, 17
Women's Team Scores
1. Appalachian State, 101.5
2. Texas State, 99.5
3. Arkansas State, 96
T4. Georgia State, 82
T4. South Alabama, 82
6. UT Arlington, 65
7. Troy, 42
T8. Little Rock, 32
T8. UL-Lafayette, 32
10. Georgia Southern, 28
11. ULM, 2
