Feb. 12, 2008

LUBBOCK, Texas - In their final tune up before the Southland Conference Indoor Championships the Lamar University men's and women's track teams had a strong performance at the Red Raider Invitational in Lubbock, Texas.

The best performance of the day was turned in by the women's 4x400 meter relay team of Ashley Smith, Toni Sylvester, Jessika Johnson and Brittainy Pollard that set a new school record with a 3:48.97 performance. After conversions the Lady Cardinals time clocked in at 3:50.17, which is .37 seconds faster than the previous record set in 2005.

Since the Texas Tech indoor track is 252 yards per lap, marks made there first have the difference between the standards added to the time of the event. However, because Lubbock is also considered an altitude site, there are more conversions made, using the tables on the NCAA website.

The men's 4x400 relay team also turned in a season-best performance, running to a 3:18.96 finish.

Michael Gauthier had a solid day in the sprints for the Lamar men, placing eighth in the 55 meter dash with a 6.56 performance after running a 6.50 in the prelims. He also ran the fastest 200 meter dash of the season for Lamar, clocking a 22.58 second performance.

Jessika Johnson, Megan Bibbs, Adrianne Johnson and Kim Ballenger all advanced to the finals in the women's 55 meter hurdles after running strong in the prelims. Jessika Johnson finished in eighth place with an 8.33 performance which ranks fourth on the schools all time list.

In the women's 400 meter dash Lamar had several season-best performances, as Pollard turned in a 56.92 for eighth place and Sylvester placed 11th in a time of 57.35. Smith also finished under a minute, running a 58.63.

In the men's 400 meter dash Jerel Massenburge cracked the 50 second barrier for the first time in his collegiate career, clocking a 49.27 finish while Julius Kasule crossed the finish line on 50.10 seconds. Greg Williams also ran a season-best in the 400, finishing in 51.05 seconds.

Ewan Simpson had a strong showing in the men's 800 meter run, finishing in 1:54.06. After the conversions his time rounded to 1:54. 35, which is the third fastest 800 ran in the Southland Conference this season.

Francis Kasagule continued to torch the Lamar University and Southland Conference record book in the mile run as he turned in a 4:03.75, which is 1.07 seconds faster than the previous SLC record of 4:04.82 run by Sammy Unberhagen of Texas State in 1996.

Samuel Kosgei and Frank Bwambale also had solid performances for the Cardinals in the mile run, placing fifth and seventh respectively. Kosgei ran a 4:19.83 and Bwambale crossed the finish line in a time of 4:22.39.

In the women's mile run Renee Graham notched a third place finish with a 5:07.54 performance, while Karesse Lethermon placed sixth in a time of 5:19.17.

The Cardinals will be back on the track on February 22nd and 23rd when they run in the Southland Conference championships at the Yeoman Field House at the University of Houston.