ULM Warhawks

MONROE, La. – After a two-week break since its last competition, the ULM track and field team returns to action this weekend when it heads to San Marcos, Texas, to take part in the 2018 Sun Belt Outdoor Championships May 11-13 on the campus of Texas State University.
 
The event caps off the regular season for a Warhawks squad that has witnessed success from a number of individuals, including Levaughn Battick, Colm Bourke, Brice Chaney, Alton Clay, Micaiah Dendy, Micah Dye, Eric Hawkins, Cole McKnight, Jemal Parharm, Kourtni Russell and Kyle Weiss. Those 11 members of the team are responsible for 28 top three finishes in the eight events that have taken place during ULM's 2018 outdoor season.
 
"We are going into the conference meet with high expectations, but make no mistake, it will be tough for us," ULM head coach J.D. Malone said. "The Sun Belt is an extremely competitive conference and every point will be hard fought. Our kids have worked very hard, and we have had a solid spring so far. We look forward to going to San Marcos and representing ULM."
 
Clay is responsible for the most top-three finishes of any Warhawk during the outdoor slate (13), earning four first-place performances along the way. Three of his four first-place finishes came in the hammer throw, which came at the Bobby Lane Invitational (207-6 / 63.26 meters), Southern Miss Open (214-5 / 65.37m) and the ULM Warhawk Classic (207-7 / 63.29m). He also brought home top honors in the discus event at the Southern Miss Open after a heave of 168-5 (51.34m).
 
Parharm, an All-American who has earned indoor and outdoor titles in his ULM career, has three top-three finishes to his credit in the outdoor season. Parharm brought home the individual crown in the long jump at both the ULM Warhawk Classic (24-7 / 7.49m) and the Southern Miss Open (24-10 / 7.57m). He was second in the long jump at the Louisiana Classics with a mark of 24-4 1/4 (7.42m).
 
While Weiss has not had a first-place finish for the Warhawks this season, he has a second (Southern Miss Open) and three third-place finishes to his credit. His best heave in the shot put (54-6 3/4 / 16.63m) took place in the Southern Miss Open, where he finished second. Weiss also competed in the discus with his best finish (fourth) coming at the ULM Warhawk Classic while his best heave took place at the Southern Miss Open (158-5 / 48.29m).
 
Dendy has the most top three finishes of any woman on the ULM squad (three), two of which came in the triple jump when she finished first in the Southern Miss Open (40-8 1/4 / 12.40m) and third at the LSU Alumni Gold (40-7 / 12.37m) meet. Her lone second place of the season was in the long jump (18-6 1/2 / 5.64m), which also came at the Southern Miss Open.
 
McKnight has brought home a trio of top-three finishes this season. McKnight's best toss in the javelin (220-5 / 67.20m) resulted in a second place at the LSU Alumni Gold meet, while he brought home top honors at the Southern Miss Open (199-4 / 60.77m) and ULM Warhawk Classic (195-11 / 59.73m).
 
Battick has bolted his way to three top-five performances, winning the 110-meter hurdle at the LSU Alumni Gold (14.40) and the ULM Warhawk Classic (14.45) along the way. His fifth-place finish came at the Southern Miss Open where he closed out the 110m hurdles in 14.76.
 
Bourke has laid claim to three Top-10 finishes this season, including a season-best fifth in the long jump at the Southern Miss Open, where he leapt 22-9 3/4 (6.95m). He grabbed sixth in the long jump at the ULM Invitational (22-2 1/2 / 6.77m) and was ninth in the LSU Alumni Gold meet after stretching out for 22-8 (6.91m).
 
Chaney, who has taken part in three events over the course of the outdoor season for the Warhawks, has three Top-10 finishes to his credit, including a third-place performance in the pole vault event of the ULM Warhawk Classic where he finished with a heave of 14-1 1/4. He also earned fifth in the javelin event at the Southern Miss Open following a toss of 128-5 (39.15m).
 
Dye's best finish in the four events in which he has participated is second, which came in the discus at the Southern Miss Open (personal-record 163-10 / 49.95m). He also took part in the shot put, earning a pair of fourth-place finishes at the ULM Warhawk Classic and the Carl Kight Invitational with heaves of 54-0 (16.46m) and 49-7 (15.11m), respectively. Dye took part in the hammer throw event at the ULM Warhawk Classic with a heave of 169-4 (51.63m).
 
Hawkins also is responsible for a top three finish for ULM, bringing home first in the men's 400 meters at the ULM Warhawk Classic in a time of 49.41. He snagged second in the 800m run at the Carl Kight Invitational, closing in a time of 1:52.47.
 
Russell has streaked down the track of the women's 100m hurdles to earn four Top-10 finishes. She crossed the line first in the Southern Miss Open in a time of 14.30 and added a second-place finish to her credit at the ULM Warhawk Classic after posting a time of 14.54. She also competed in the women's 100 meters, finishing 24th at the ULM Warhawk Classic.