Three Lions Finish Third on Day Two of LSC Championships
In day two of the Lone Star Conference Championships, the Texas A&M University-Commerce track and field team had three performers finish third in three-different events.
A&M-Commerce senior Dean Laing (pictured by Jeremy Enlow) completed the two-day, 10-event decathlon with a third-place finish and 5,629 points. In his third-place performance, he was victorious in three events including the 1,500-meter run (5:08.76) and discus (148-3) on Friday and in the 100-meter dash (11.29) on Thursday.
It marks the first time in school history that an A&M-Commerce competitor had won an event in the decathlon. The throw in the discus also set a new LSC Championship decathlon record.
When action resumed on Friday, Laing took third in the 110-meter hurdles (16.25) for 705 points and fifth in the javelin (150-2) for 526 points. His quest for the LSC title ended when he failed to clear a height in the pole vault.
Junior La’Shara Jefferson took third-place honors in the shot put with a throw of 40-9 ¾. Teammates Taylor Smith and Megan Davis finished ninth (35-8) and 10th (31-5 ¾), respectively. Smith and Davis also finished 11th (93-2) and 12th (92-3) in the hammer throw. Sophomore Kate Donovan was third in the 3,000-meter steeplechase (13:00.13).
In Friday’s prelims actions, the Lions’ women’s team qualified multiple performers into Saturday’s finals. In the 100-meter dash, the Lions qualified two performers for Saturday’s finals including seniors Alycea Wallace (12.62) and Randahl Hickman (12.69). Sophomore Makesha Brewer posted the fourth-fastest time in the 400-meter dash (1:00.44) to advance.
In the long jump, sophomore Dena Hawkins and freshman Desireé Spencer finished eighth (17-0 ½) and ninth (16-8 ½), respectively.
Like the women, multiple men advanced to compete in Saturday’s finals in the running events. Juniors Cairo Thornton and Brad Dotson move on to Saturday’s finals in the 400-meter dash with the seventh (49.65) and eighth (49.89) best times, respectively.
Sophomore Brandon Womack advanced to the finals in the 800-meter run with the fourth-fastest time, crossing the line in 1:58.41. The time is just 19-hundredths of a second behind the fastest time.
Womack was fourth in the 3,000-meter steeplechase (10:15.73) and senior Leslie White tied for fourth in the high jump with a clearance of 6-4 3/4. Teammates Kyle Weaver and Josh Conder shared seventh place with a clearance of 6-4 ¾ based on the number of attempts.
Teammate Lyndon Wyse was fourth in the long jump (22-3 ½) and senior Jeff Rayome was sixth in the shot put (51-6 ¼) and ninth in the hammer throw with a toss of 111-6. Also, in the long jump, Weaver was eighth (21-0 ¾) and sophomore Marquis Stimpson shared 11th-place honors with a jump of 20-0 ½).
