Track and Field Conclude Time at SBC Championships with Podium Trips and School Records

Thursday, May 11

Conway, S.C.

Southern Miss

Sun Belt Outdoor Championships

Track and Field Conclude Time at SBC Championships with Podium Trips and School Records

5/13/2023 8:44:00 PM | Track & Field/Cross Country

MYRTLE BEACH-- The Southern Miss track and field team successfully concluded their outdoor season at the Sun Belt Conference Championships in Myrtle Beach May 11-13 at Doug Shaw Memorial Stadium. They achieved podium finishes, new school records, and personal bests.

"The heart of our athletes is incredible! We fought hard all week, so going up five spots from our indoor finish was fantastic. I couldn't be more proud of these students' efforts over the entire outdoor season. Seeing them give it their all—and then some—was all a coach could hope for. Coach Jon Stuart remarked, "We spoke about leaving it all on track, and they did just that.

Arianna White kicked off the podium finishes by securing third place in the javelin event, throwing a personal best of 45.74 meters. Safiya John, a graduate student, competed in the Heptathlon and took second place with 5,432 points, setting a personal best and breaking a school record that had stood since 2006. Several athletes advanced to the finals on Saturday after making it through the preliminary rounds on Thursday and Friday. On Saturday, multiple athletes from the team won gold, bronze, and silver in their respective events. The women's 4x100-meter relay team (Trinity Flagler, Jada McDougle, Trinity Benson, and Savi'a Varnell) secured third place with a time of 44.93 seconds. Benson and Varnell achieved personal best times and finished first and third in the 400-meter run. Omar Austin earned a bronze medal in the men's 400-meter run with a time of 46.20 seconds. Smilla Kolbe showcased her skills and earned silver in the women's 800-meter run with a time of 2:07.83. Javel Fullerton, a newcomer, achieved a personal best time of 51.59 seconds in the 400-meter hurdles during his debut at the SBC Championships.

The women's 4x400-meter relay team (Benson, Destiny Charles, Kolbe, and Varnell) broke the school record by 2.5 seconds, finishing with a time of 3:39.01. The previous record was set in 2019.

The women's team finished the weekend in fourth place, earning 80.5 points, five spots higher than their indoor finish. The men's team finished seventh with 46 points. Qualifiers for the NCAA Division I East Preliminary set in Jacksonville, Fla. will be announced Wednesday.

Compiled meet results can be found here.

To stay updated and learn more about the Southern Miss track and field team, follow @SouthernMisstfxc on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.