Track "Three-Peats" At SSAC Championships

The Brenau track and field team continued their dominance of the Southern States Athletic Conference by capturing their third consecutive championship on Saturday in Gulf Shores, Alabama.

The Golden Tigers scored 363.5 points, winning 15 individual championships and scoring at least one point in every event. William Carey (Miss.) College came in a distant second place with 119.5 points, while Loyola (La.) University finished in third place with 77 points.

Jasmine Ray started the strong final day for Brenau as the junior captured the 3,000 meter steeplechase championship with a time of 12:40.98, while teammate Tyana Luna finished third in 13:09.06.

Ray also won the 800 meter run in 2:23.19, while teammate Monika Nwajei (2:30.76) finished in fifth place.

In the Hammer Throw, Dana Cole wrapped up her second win of the weekend as Brenau swept the top five places in the event. Cole (32.49m), Aubrey Fearnow (31.55m), Devony Hemingway (30.34m), Andrea Holloway (27.78m) and Maggie Newman (23.16m) placed in order for the Golden Tigers.

Cole then won the shot put for her third individual win of the meet as the reigning SSAC Field Athlete of the Year cruised to victory with a throw of 12.06m. Fearnow (11.24m) placed third, while Hemingway (10.42m) placed fourth and Holloway (9.88m) finished sixth.

Brenau continued to flood events with talent as six runners scored in the 100 meter hurdles. DeMichia Higgins placed second (15.21), while Cheyenne Wells, Kaitlyn Gearing, Jasmine Jones, Deishane Honeycutt and Ismaelle Occeus finished third through seventh, respectively.

Jones also brought home a second place finish in the high jump, while Hemingway scored with a fourth place finish.

Elena Oslund added to the outstanding day for the Golden Tigers as the newcomer won her first individual conference title in the 1,500 meter championship in 5:06.19. Luna also scored with a sixth place finish in 5:41.11.

Oslund followed up with another win in the 5,000 meters (19:54.94). Luna added a fourth place finish to score for the Golden Tigers in 22:40.83.

Deishane' Honeycutt, the 2014 SSAC Track Athlete of the Year, defended both the 400 meter run and 400 meter hurdle titles in commanding fashion.

The junior won the 400 hurdles in 1:05.35, while Mayes (1:07.92) placed third, Amber Curney (1:09.71) placed fourth and Ray (1:12.21) finished sixth.

In the 400 meter dash, Honeycutt cruised to victory with a time of 57.34. Brianna Archer (59.48) placed fourth, while Nwajei and Mayes also placed seventh and eighth, respectively.

Freshman Yasmine Reynolds brought home the 200 meter title in 24.74, while Wells (25.30) and Olamide Sokunbi (26.33) finished fifth and seventh, respectively. Reynolds and Wells also placed well with third and fourth place finishes in the 100 meter dash.

Sokunbi added two titles of her own as she repeated as the 100 meter champion (11.74) and the triple jump champion (11.61m). Occeus (11.01m) and Jasmine Steen (10.42) also added top eight finishes for Brenau.

Finally, both the 4x100 and 4x400 meter relay teams captured first place to give the Golden Tigers a clean sweep of the relay events.

The 4x400 team of Archer, Nwajei, Mayes and Honeycutt ran a 3:57.76 en route to another first place finish, while the 4x100 team of Reynolds, Wells, Occeus and Sokunbi slipped by William Carey (Miss.) with a time of 47.25.

The 244 point margin of victory was the largest of the three championships for the Golden Tigers, which won 15 of 21 events and had 38 top-three finishers in the meet.