BATON ROUGE, La. – The ULM track and field team began the 2021 indoor season by claiming 16 Top-5 finishes at the LSU Purple Tiger on Saturday, January 16. The Warhawks had seven individuals reach the podium, including junior
Jakob Fudge, who was the lone ULM competitor with multiple Top-3 finishes.
Fudge claimed third in both the men's shot put and weight throw events with tosses of 14.32 and 17.78 meters, respectively. Teammate
Eric Hawkins joined Fudge among Top-3 performers for ULM, claiming the highest finish (second) by any member of the Warhawks men's unit as he crossed the line of the 600-meter run in 1:20.54. Hawkins was narrowly edged out of first by Southern's Nicholas Scott, who posted a time of 1:20.42.
Reggie Swallowhorn also reached the podium for the ULM men, placing third in the high jump event after clearing 2.00 meters. The third-place finish by Swallowhorn marks the second time he has cleared 2.00 meters, third Top-5 finish and best overall finish of his collegiate career.
ULM's
Nolan Smith, Brandon Lewis, Reid Guirlando and Hawkins competed in the men's 4x400-meter relay event and notched a third-place finish with a time of 3:30.30. The Warhawk unit was preceded by Southern (3:21.36) and UL-Lafayette (3.22.69) in the event.
The remaining Top-5 men's finishers for ULM were
Darshon Turk and
Nolan Smith. Turk had a fourth-place performance on Saturday in the 60-meter hurdles, finishing in 8.29, as he enjoyed his best career finish. Smith, taking part in the 600-meter dash for the first time in his ULM career, wrapped up the event with a fifth-place finish in a time of 1:26.77.
Eight ULM women finished in the Top-5, including
Rebekka Schubert and
Brianna Sam, who finished second in the long jump and weight throw, respectively. Schubert, bested by only Serena Bolden (LSU), who had a leap of 5.71 meters, enjoyed the highest finish in her ULM career on Saturday with a mark of 5.59 meters.
Sam finished among the Top-3 in an event for the 11
th time in her Warhawk career after making a toss of 18.28 meters in the weight throw. Sam's toss puts her in the Top-16 nationally. Top honors in the event belonged to LSU's Monique Hardy, who finished with a mark of 20.54 meters.
Senior
Benadine Chelimo began her season with a third-place outing in the women's one-mile run, posting a time of 5:33.83.
Nasya Ramirez, making her Warhawk debut, cleared 5.51 meters in the women's long jump to place third. Ramirez and Schubert provided ULM with a pair of Top-3 finishes in the event.
The ULM pair of
Fiebe Tengrootenhuysen and
Micaiah Dendy claimed fourth-place finishes in the 600-meter run and triple jump, respectively. Tengrootenhuysen, one of five Warhawks competing in the 600-meter run, posted a time of 1:38.82 as she missed a third-place finish by .15 seconds. Dendy took advantage of a leap of 11.17 meters in the triple jump to earn the 21
st Top-5 finish in her ULM career.
Among the five ULM women competing in the 600-meter run was
Brittney Roberson, who finished fifth with a time of 1:39.41. Senior
Niaya Fant began the season with her highest-ever finish (fifth) as she crossed the line of the 400-meter dash in 1:04.09. Her best previous finish also came at LSU, when she was 17
th in the 400-meter dash at the Bayou Bengal on February 2, 2018.
Like their male counterparts, the ULM women's 4x400-meter relay unit also had a solid performance at the meet. The combination of Tengrootenhuysen, Roberson, Stella Konstantinidou and
Jasmine Williams finished second with a time of 4:00.10, edged out by UL-Lafayette, which posted a time of 3:58.87.
ULM returns to the track on Friday, January 22 when the Warhawks take part in the Samford Multi-Invitational.
LSU Purple Tiger (Day One Results—ULM Only)
