LEBANON, Ill. - The Lincoln men's and women's track and field program swept the team championships Friday at the McKendree Bearcat Classic.
The Lincoln men won six of the 18 events en route to 40 team points, while McKendree was a distant second with 30 points. The women had five event wins and finished with 43 points, well ahead of the 32.5 points posted by runner-up Maryville.
Colby Jennings Jr. was a double-winner in individual events for the Lincoln men. Jennings won the 200-meter dash with a time of 21.65 seconds and added a victory in the 400-meter dash, crossing the finish line in 47.36 seconds.
The Lincoln men claimed three of the top-four finishers in the 200, with Shemar Fletcher finishing second in 22.31 seconds and Reuben Nichols placing fourth in 22.39 seconds. Nichols also took fourth in the 400 with a time of 49.46 seconds.
Kelly-Ann Beckford was a double-winner for the Lincoln women, and in both of those events, the Blue Tigers claimed the top four spots in each race.
Beckford won the 800-meter run with a time of 2:13.52, followed by Chrissani May (2:14.71), Kimone Campbell (2:15.05) and Rebecca Bernadin (2:22.68). Beckford also placed first in the 1,500-meter run with a time of 4:44.84, followed by Campbell (4:49.34), Melissa Tyme (4:55.07) and Bernadin (4:56.10).
The Lincoln women only received eight points in each event - five for first place, three for second place - as teams could only receive points for two finishers in each event.
Lincoln swept titles in the 100-meter dash, the 400-meter hurdles and the 4x100-meter relay.
In the 100, Shemar Fletcher won the men's event with a time of 10.84 seconds, while Stewart Leonardo placed fourth in 11.04 seconds. For the women, Danneika Lyn won with a time of 12.14 seconds after finishing third in the preliminaries.
In the 400 hurdles, the Lincoln men claimed the top three spots, as Jahnaza Francis won in 51.80 seconds, followed by Rashane Bartlett in second (53.68 seconds) and Kewani Campbell in third (53.78 seconds). On the women's side, Maria Diamond won for the Blue Tigers with a time of 1:00.39, while Jameaka Mannings placed second in 1:03.18.
Vivian Akunna, Ray-Donna Lee, Aliyah George and Lyn clocked a winning time of 48.39 seconds in the women's 4x100. For the Lincoln men, Fletcher, Leonardo, Imar Tomlinson and Yardley Pierre-Louis clocked a first-place time of 41.29 seconds.
David Kizan rounded out the Lincoln winners with a first-place finish in the men's long jump, winning by more than a foot with a leap of 24 feet, 4.5 inches.
George added two runner-up finishes for the Lincoln women, placing second in the 200 with a time of 25.48 seconds and in the 400 with a time of 57.96 seconds. Akunna also finished second in the 100-meter hurdles with a time of 14.91 seconds.
For the Lincoln men, Bartlett rounded out the top-four finishers with a third-place time of 15.47 seconds in the 110-meter hurdles.
Fontbonne senior Grieh Murray (Blair Oaks High School) competed in three events for the Griffins. He finished sixth in the men's shot put with a throw of 33-2.5, he placed ninth in the discus with a toss of 105-0.5 and he was 12th in the hammer throw with a distance of 90-2.75.
III
Lincoln also competed Saturday in the Southwest Baptist Invitational at Bolivar, recording two event wins.
Diamond added another first-place finish in the women's 400 hurdles, clocking a winning time of 59.97 seconds. Mannings placed second in 1:02.24 and Tyme was fifth in 1:06.34.
The other win for the Lincoln women came in the 4x400-meter relay. Mannings, May, Diamond and Beckford finished first with a time of 3:48.26, beating Northwest Missouri by four seconds.
Lincoln wrapped up the meet with 17 top-five finishers, including two more runner-up times.
Shanthamoi Brown placed second in the men's 400 hurdles with a time of 53.66 seconds. Kewani Campbell finished third in 53.99 seconds, followed by Bartlett in fourth in 54.14 seconds.
Kimone Campbell was runner-up in the women's 800 with a time of 2:12.70.
Lincoln finished third in both 4x100 relays. Akunna, Rene Medley, Lee and George posted a time of 47.88 seconds for the women, while David, Fletcher, Leonardo and Jennings had a time of 41.31 seconds for the men.
Finishing in fourth place for the Lincoln women were Akunna in the 100 hurdles (14.48 seconds), Tyme in the 3,000-meter steeplechase (11:37.88) and George in the 400 (56.79 seconds). George also placed fifth in the 200 with a time of 24.77 seconds.
For the Lincoln men, Kewani Campbell, Francis, DauJaughn Murray and Jennings finished fourth in the 4x400 with a time of 3:18.74. Murray added a fourth-place finish in the 400 with a time of 49.72 seconds, while Bartlett took fifth in the 110 hurdles with a time of 14.76 seconds.
In the final team standings, the Lincoln women took seventh place out of 18 teams with 65 points, while the Lincoln men were ninth out of 16 teams with 39 points. The Pittsburg State men and Missouri Southern women claimed the team titles.
Central Missouri freshman Adam McCauley (Blair Oaks High School) competed in two events for the Mules. He led off the 4x400-meter relay, which placed third with a time of 3:18.30. McCauley also posted a personal-best time in the 800 in 1:58.33 to finish 18th.
Missouri S&T junior Jessica Rhoads (Jefferson City High School) competed in three events for the Miners. She placed fourth in the women's discus with a throw of 139-11, then added a 12th-place finish in the hammer throw (130-7) and a 16th-place finish in the shot put (34-8.25).
Lindenwood freshman Keely Gustafson (Versailles High School) also competed in three events for the Lions. After placing fifth in the women's 100 prelims, she came in fourth place in the finals with a time of 12.16 seconds. Gustafson also ran on Lindenwood's 4x100 (fourth, 48.77 seconds) and 4x400 (4:01.64) relays.
Missouri S&T junior Luke Allen (Calvary Lutheran High School) placed sixth in the men's long jump (23-5.25) and was ninth in the triple jump (45-7.75). He also ran on the Miners' 4x100, which finished sixth in a time of 43.20 seconds.
Missouri Southern freshman Brendan Rozier (Jefferson City High School) placed sixth in the men's javelin with a throw of 203-11.
Missouri Southern freshman Mason York (Jefferson City High School) finished ninth in the men's pole vault, clearing a height of 15-3.
Missouri Southern freshman Haley Clifton (Eldon High School) took ninth place in the women's shot put with a throw 38-0.75 and was 18th in the discus with a toss of 113-5.
Drury junior Brendan Bena (Jefferson City High School) helped the Panthers to a ninth-place finish in the men's 4x400 with a time of 3:31.02. He also competed in the 1,500 (22nd, 4:06.51) and the 800 (32nd, 2:05.28).