Track Captures Fifth Straight SSAC Championship

The Brenau track and field team used their exceptional depth and talent to amass 233 points to win their fifth consecutive Southern States Athletic Conference Women's Track and Field Championship in Mobile, Alabama this past weekend.

The Golden Tigers outpaced Loyola (La.) University by 56 points and third place William Carey (Miss.) University by 85 points to easily win the championship.

"This was a strong team effort," said head coach Byron Kramer. "We asked a lot out of many of our athletes and they stepped up and delivered."

Four members of the team won individual titles as Ayana Daniels, Sydney Haas, Sydney Romine and Iman Williams each won events for the Golden Tigers.

Daniels captured the pole vault title with a vault of 2.88m to lead a complete sweep of spots 1-4 in the event.

Haas took the individual championship in the hammer throw with a toss of 34.39m to easily outpace Loyola's Taylor Hagins by almost two meters. She earned a second place finish in the shot put with a throw of 11.37 and a seventh place spot in the discus (28.17m).

Sydney Romine also won an individual title in the 100 meter hurdles in 14.81 and earned two other scoring places with a third place finish in the 400 hurdles (1:09.49) and a fifth place finish in the long jump (5.22m).

Iman Williams secured her first individual title and the third individual title for the Golden Tigers by winning the 400 meter run in 58:86. The freshman also placed fifth in the 200 meters in a time of 25.93.

Ismaelle Occeus had an outstanding meet by scoring in five different events for the eventual champions. The senior placed second in the triple jump (11.66m), seventh place in both the 100 meters (12.70) and the 200 meters (26.22), third place in the long jump (5.35m) and fifth place in the 100 meter hurdles (16:00).

Fellow senior Cheyenne Wells also had an excellent meet, notching four top-eight finishes in her final trip to the championships. Wells placed eighth in both the 100 meters (13.30) and the 200 meters (27.06) and second place in both the 100 meter hurdles (14:94) and in the 400 meter run (59.33).

Alisa Sanford also had several standout performances as the Buford, Ga. native earned a second place finish in the high jump (1.49m), third place in the triple jump (10.92m) and another runner up finish in the high jump (1.49m). She topped off her outstanding meet by scoring points with a seventh place in the javelin (28.09m).

Kramer also noted that, "We had more personal records and national qualifiers in this meet than in the rest of the season combined."

Two athletes- Sydney Romine and Ismaelle Occeus- both qualified for the 2017 NAIA Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Gulf Shores, Alabama in May. Romine also qualified earlier this year for the 2017 NAIA Indoor Track and Field Championships.

The Golden Tigers used their superior depth as 15 other individual athletes scored points in the meet. Other scorers include:

Anita Button, second place, pole vault, 2.88m;

Shymane Callahan, third place, javelin, 31.81m;

Aja Clark, sixth place, 400 hurdles, 1:18.63;

Ayana Daniels 2.88m; seventh place, 800 meters, 2:35.40;

Peyton Edmunds, fourth place, hammer throw, 28.38m;

Alexis Garnigan, fourth place, high jump, 1.40m;

Haley Gill, third place, pole vault, 2.73m;

Felicia Gordon, sixth place, 3000m steeplechase, 19:53.87;

Nia Griffin, fourth place, 1500 meters, 5:14.18; first place, 800 meter run, 2:22.34;

Camille Humphrey, fourth place, pole vault, 2.28m;

Kayla Mitchell, fifth place, javelin, 29.34m; eighth place, hammer, 22.43m;

Elizabeth Lowe, sixth place, 800 meters, 2:39.69;

Anazjah Mayes, second place, 400 hurdles, 1:07.00;

Monika Nwajei, sixth place, 400 meter run, 1:02.40; fourth place, 800 meter run, 2:31.35;

Michelle Velazquez, third place, 10000 meters; 48:11.70; sixth place, 5000 meters, 23:25.17;

The 4 x 800 meter team, second place, 10:25.47;

The 4 x 100 team, third place, 48.67;

The 4 x 400 relay team, second place, 3:59.54;

The title is the fifth straight for the Golden Tigers- one for each year of the program's existence- and is the second consecutive title under the guidance of Coach Kramer.

Mobile (Ala.) placed fourth at the championships with 134 points, while Dalton State (Ga.) College (34 points), Brewton Parker College (6) and Bethel (Tenn.) University (5) rounded out the competition.