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Championship Central



BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The South Alabama men and Texas State women lead the Sun Belt Conference Indoor Track & Field Championships, contested at the Birmingham CrossPlex, following the opening day of the event. 

The South Alabama men have totaled 37 points through five events. Texas State is in second place with 35.5 points, while Southern Miss is in third with 28. The Texas State women have charted 36 points through five events. Louisiana is in second with 33 points, while Marshall is in third with 27. 

The final day of the Sun Belt Indoor Track & Field Championships begins at 10 a.m. CT Tuesday. Running events and the ESPN+ broadcast commence at 1:30 p.m. CT. 

Texas State’s Elisabet Runarsdottir earned the first gold medal at the championships as the former outdoor national champion captured the women’s weight throw title. The Bobcat junior won the title on her first throw of the event with a mark of 20.62m/67-8. Marshall’s Markayla Moore finished second with a mark of 19.81m/65 as Louisiana’s Lily Murray earned the bronze with a distance of 19.77m/64-10.5. 

Marshall’s Lara Check finished atop the podium in the women’s long jump with a mark of 6.05m/19-10.25 on her fourth attempt. Coastal Carolina’s Emila Thurston earned the silver on her first attempt with a distance of 5.95m/19-6.25. Georgia Southern’s Kennedy Hood earned her spot on the podium on her first attempt with a mark of 5.94m/19-6.  

Arkansas State’s Miranda Burgett used a first place finish in the pentathlon high jump to win the multi event on the women’s side. Burgett totaled 3,937 points as the event did not feature a winner in multiple events. Texas State’s Sophie Daugard won the long jump in the event to finish second with 3,901 points as South Alabama’s Jamie Willis earned the bronze with 3,740 points and a victory in the 60m hurdles. 

South Alabama had a pair of podium finishes in the men’s pole vault as Terek Logan was joined by teammate Will Fredrick. Logan earned the gold as Fredrick took silver as the Jaguar pair both cleared 5.23m/17-1.75. Arkansas State’s Gavin Schaer cleared 5.13m/16-10 to earn the bronze.

Southern Miss picked up a pair of podium finishes in the men’s long jump as DeAundre Ward and teammate Tyler Nichols finished first and third. Ward won gold on his third attempt with a mark of 25-2. Texas State’s Chris Preddie earned the silver on his fifth attempt with a distance of 7.65m/25-1.25. Nichols completed his best jump for bronze on his final attempt with a mark of 7.60m/24-11.25.

Conner Mozee gave the Golden Eagles another finish atop the podium in the men’s weight throw on his third attempt with a mark of 19.59m/64-3.25. ULM’s Benedikt Schweizer earned the silver on his final throw with a mark of 19.12m/62-8.75. South Alabama’s Samuel Mika picked up the final placement on the podium on his second attempt with a mark of 18.99m/52-3.75. 

Valentino Rudolph from Southern Miss provided late night fireworks in the 200m prelims with a meet record time of 20.78 as the majority of running events were seeded for the finals on Tuesday. 

Charleen Elizondo ran a personal-best 16:38.40 in the 5K to capture the gold medal for South Alabama. Louisiana’s Ella Segura (16:43.31) and Isabelle Russell (16:43.64) finished second and third in the event to close out the podium.

Louisiana’s Henry Lyon found another gear down the stretch of the men’s 5K to capture the title in 14:34.11. Marshall’s Justin Lipscomb earned silver in 14:36.61. ULM’s Joshua Gill finished third in 14:37.23. 

In the women’s distance medley relay, Southern Miss entered the final leg in third place as Emme Bates made up for a six second deficit to give the Golden Eagles the gold medal in 11:37.83. Texas State was anchored by Alexia Macias to earn silver in 11:45.54. App State finished on the podium with a bronze medal in a time of 11:50.84. 

South Alabama led the men’s DMR from the start to finish day one atop the podium in 10:03.40. Arkansas State earned the silver medal in 10:04.48 as Louisiana earned the bronze in 10:10.39 to close out the day. 

2026 Sun Belt Indoor Track & Field Championships (February 23, 2026)

Men’s Team Scores (through five events):

1. South Alabama (37)

2. Texas State (35.5)

3. Southern Miss (28)

4. ULM (26)

5. Marshall (24)

6. Arkansas State (23.5)

7. Louisiana (20)

Women’s Team Scores (through five events): 

1. Texas State (36)

2. Louisiana (33)

3. Marshall (27)

4. South Alabama (23)

5. Arkansas State (20)

T6. Coastal Carolina (12)

T6. Southern Miss (12)

T8. App State (7)

T8. James Madison (7)

10. Georgia Southern (6)

T11. Georgia State (5)

T11. Troy (5)

13. ULM (2)

Meet Records Broken

Men’s 200M – Valentino Rudolph, Southern Miss [20.78]