22 SEMO track athletes compete in final home meet

Southeast Missouri State graduating track & field seniors pose for a group photo taken by teammate, sophomore, Jacob Blassingame, during the Joey Haines Invite on Saturday, March 30, in Cape Girardeau.

Tony Capobianco ~ tcapobianco@semoball.com

The Southeast Missouri State track & field team honored 22 seniors and grad students who are on track to graduate at the end of the school year and are competing in their final home meet during day three of the Joey Haines Invite on Saturday, March 30, in Cape Girardeau.

Among the honored are the Redhawks Javelin throwers, Justin Breault (198' 06") and Cape Central alum Jaden Knight (151' 03"), who each took first place. Grad student Serena Williams also claimed first place in the women's triple jump in her final home meet with a mark of 39' 8.75".

Terrico Garrett won both the 1,500-meter (3:55.94) race and was part of a 4x400m relay with Cape Central alum Connor Moore, Markeith Crawford, and Brenden Parham, which placed first with a time of 3:13.81.

Overall, the Redhawks saw 14 first-event winners and 39 top-five finishes. Brianna Dixon won both the high jump (5' 8.75") and 100-hurdle (14.04). Breanna Miles won both the 100m (11.59) and 200m (23.84). Colin Beers won the pole vault (15' 07"), Erika Mellor won the 800m (2:18.94), Laila Hardin finished first in the 400m (1:02.13) and Kayla Vogelsang led the pack at the 5,000m with a time of 18:38.42.

The SEMO women's 4x400 squad of Burdine, Miles, Dwaah, and Hardin finished in first place with a time of 3:50.59, while the women's 4x100 placed second with a time of 46.64.

SEMO sophomore Jacob Blassingame finished second in the 3000m steeplechase (9:59.24), barely clearing 10 minutes for a personal record.

Graduating seniors from the Southeast Missouri State women’s track and field team pose for a group photo during the Joey Haines Invite on Saturday, March 30, in Cape Girardeau.

Tony Capobianco ~ tcapobianco@semoball.com

In the pole vault, SEMO’s Tanner Koontz and Sullivan Gleason both cleared a height of 15' 01" to share third place.

Redhawks jumpers Aarion Jackson (22' 9.75") finished second in the women’s long jump while Molly Grohmann (5' 05") placed third in the women’s high jump.

Jackson alum and SEMO freshman Cade McCadams placed second in the men's 5000m with a time of 15:40.51. In the women’s 5,000m, Brooklyn Bender finished second (19:08.16) and Notre Dame alum Haley Smith (19:16.67) finished in third. Crawford also finished third in the 800-meter (1:56.78).

SEMO senior Makenzie Williams, an East Prairie alum, competed unattached and won the women’s hammer throw (56.11m).

The Ohio Valley Conference championships will take place on Thursday, May 9, through Saturday, May 11, at the campus of Eastern Illinois.