Tech Athletics Communications
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – Bulldog throwers Tripp Marcus and Henry Terral highlighted LA Tech’s final day at the Conference USA Outdoor Championships with a third- and fourth-place finish, respectively, in Sunday afternoon’s javelin throw at Dean A. Hates Track and Soccer Stadium
Marcus took home the bronze with a third-place heave of 70.02 meters (229′-09″). It was the Ruston native’s fourth official mark over 70 meters, helping him record the top-four marks in program history during the 2021 outdoor season. Terral, another Ruston native and Cedar Creek High School graduate, just missed the podium with a fourth-place throw of 66.33 meters (217′-07″).
Also in the field, Lady Techster Rhea Thompson notched a fourth-place mark in the women’s shot put with a heave of 14.31 meters (46′-11.5″). Thompson finished her C-USA Championships’ performance with a fourth-place mark in the shot put and a sixth-place heave in the women’s discus throw on Saturday.
Murphy Bavinga recorded another fourth-place finish with a leap of 15.26 meters (50′-00.75″) in the men’s triple jump. Lady Techster Leah Scott also registered a top-five finish with a leap of 12.65 meters (41′-06″) in the women’s triple jump.
On the track, Ahmad Young rounded out Tech’s top-four performances with a time of 14.13 seconds. Young’s time in the finals of the 110m hurdles marked the second straight week the Baton Rouge native has set a new personal best.
Young along with fellow 4×100-meter relay members Gerard Sapena, Seth Boullion and Mason Melancon, LA Tech finished fifth in Sunday’s race with a time of 40.68 seconds, missing out on a fourth-place time by just nine hundredths of a second. Sapena, a freshman from Valencia, Spain, also sprinted his way to a sixth-place finish in the men’s 100-meter dash with a time of 10.71 seconds.
The men’s 4×400-meter relay team of Seth Boullion, Mason Melancon, Gerard Sapena and Nolan Walker placed sixth with a time of 3:19.05.
Bulldog thrower Johnie Jean-Jacques finished seventh in the men’s discus throw with a heave of 16.01 meters (52′-06.5″).
Women’s high jumper Sydney Anderson recorded an eight-place leap of 1.65 meters (5′-05″) in Sunday’s competition.
Conner Killian set a new personal best and just missed out on the top eight on Sunday, finishing with a ninth-place time of 3:54.12 in the men’s 1,500-meter run.
“Our kids competed hard, and we had several lifetime bests on a very important weekend,” head coach Gary Stanley said. “Tripp Marcus was on the podium as a freshman.
“Rhea scored in two events and the triple jump went really well for us as well. Conner Killian had a huge PR. We have some athletes advancing to the NCAA first round and recruiting is going well. The future is bright.”
The Bulldogs finished ninth, while the Lady Techsters came in 11th place at the Conference USA Championships.
