MONROE, La. – The ULM track and field team opens the 2021 indoor slate this weekend when the Warhawks make the trek to Baton Rouge to compete in the LSU Purple Tiger, the first of six indoor events on the slate.
The meet, which begins at 9:30 a.m. with the men's weight throw event, marks the first for the Warhawks since February 25, 2020, when ULM competed in the Sun Belt Conference Indoor Championships.
"First of all, I want to thank LSU for having this meet for the Louisiana universities," said ULM head coach J.D. Malone. "Finding meets has been difficult in our current situation. Our athletes have been working hard for long months and they are primed and ready to compete. It will be an unusual atmosphere to be sure, but our kids will welcome the challenge. The staff and I are looking forward to beginning the competitive season. We have a young team and will go through a growing process with our goal in mind of being ready to compete at a high level on February 22-23 at the Sun Belt Championship Meet."
Among the key returnees for the Warhawk women's unit include Alivia Busch, who has claimed 16 Top-10s since 2019. Busch has competed in three events hosted in Baton Rouge during her ULM career, including the 2020 LSU Purple Tiger, where she finished 11th in the shot put with a heave of 11.36 meters. Her best overall finish at LSU came during the Bayou Bengal, where she was fifth in the shot put with a mark of 42-feet, 9.50-inches (13.04 meters) on February 1, 2019.
Brittney Roberson will also be looked to as a leader for the Warhawk women this season. Roberson has posted six Top-10 finishes in her ULM career, including a career-best third place performance in the 400-meter dash at the Samford Invitational on February 15, 2020. A month earlier, at the 2020 LSU Purple Tiger, Roberson crossed the line fifth to mark the first Top-5 finish in her career in the 400-meter dash, posting a time of 58.92. She also took part in the 60-meter dash that afternoon, finishing 22nd with a time of 8.02.
Fiebe Tengrootenhuysen, who also specializes in the women's 400 meter, will play an integral role for Malone's squad. Since 2010, Tengrootenhuysen has finished among the Top-10 on nine occasions, including a first-place performance at the Samford Invitational (January 11, 2019) and third-place outing at the LSU Purple Tiger a season ago. While a time 56.26 at Samford marked the best of her career, Tengrootenhuysen finished in 58.64 in Baton Rouge last season.
ULM's Jasmine Williams is also among the key returnees for the 2021 campaign. Williams has posted seven Top-10s in her Warhawk career, including a career-best third-place finish at the McNeese Louisiana Challenge on March 9, 2019 following a time of 1:05.85. This weekend will mark her fourth trip to LSU's campus, where she enjoyed her best finish in the 60-meter hurdles (8.89) on February 1, 2019.
Malone is combining the trio of Roberson, Tengrootenhuysen and Williams with newcomer Stella Konstantinidou on the 4x400 meter relay team in an attempt to break the program mark in the event. Konstantinidou and classmate Eliana Battle, who is a distance runner, are among the top freshmen on the Warhawk women's unit.
One of the most accomplished members of the 2020-21 ULM men's team is Eric Hawkins. Hawkins has left his mark on the program in each of his first three seasons, finishing among the Top-10 on 21 occasions, including 12 Top-3 outings. A specialist in the 800-meter run, Hawkins has a pair of second-place finishes in Baton Rogue during his career at the LSU Alumni Gold (1:52.27) and 2020 Purple Tiger (1:57.53). He also came through with a seventh-place finish in the 400-meter dash on February 1, 2019 with a time of 51.05.
Jakob Fudge is also among the top returnees for the ULM men's team this season. Fudge, who competes in weight throw, hammer throw and shot put, is responsible for 20 Top-10 finishes during the course of his collegiate career. While a first-place finish has eluded Fudge to this point in his career, he does have a pair of second-place outings along with five third-place finishes. One of his second-place performances came a season ago at the LSU Purple Tiger, where he came through with a heave of 14.05 meters in the shot put. He also took part in the weight throw in the 2020 event, finishing third with a mark of 17.37 meters.
Grant Girtman is among the top competitors this season for the ULM men's unit, entering the slate with 15 Top-10 outings in his career. A bulk of Girtman's success has come in the pole vault, where he has reached the podium on three occasions. One of those third-place performances came at the 2020 LSU Purple Tiger when he cleared 4.70 meters.
Darshon Turk, who took part in four meets for ULM a season ago, will look to improve on his time in the hurdles. Turk came through with a trio of Top-10 outings, including a career-best fifth-place outing in the Houston Invitational on January 31, 2020 when he crossed the line in 8.35. The combination of Turk and freshman Brandon Lewis will look to provide the Warhawks with a formidable 1-2 punch in the hurdle events in 2021.
A link to live results is available on the track and field schedule page at ULMWarhawks.com.
