BIRMINGHAM, Alabama - This past fall, Prairie View A&M head coach Chris Clay was within seconds of claiming a SWAC Cross Country Championship but fell short at the end. That was all the motivation he needed as the Panther men's track team rolled to the 2013 SWAC Indoor Track & Field Championship behind a dominating performance at the Birmingham Crossplex.
Sunday's championship marks the fifth indoor title for the Prairie View A&M men's program as Clay, the 2013 Men's Track Coach of the Year, had a hand in all five championships as either a student-athlete, assistant coach or head coach. The Panthers stormed out to a big lead after the first day of events before returning to the track and compiling a final score of 132 total points in Sunday's finale.
Junior Pierre Shepherd got the Panthers off to a solid start as he won the high jump with a mark of 6-7. Teammate Preston Woodard was right there with Shepherd as he placed third after jumping 6-4. In the pole vault, Henry Brown and James Bickham placed second and fourth, respectively as Brown cleared a height of 12-11.5 followed by Bickham's mark of 10-9.
Rashad Wilson finished third in the long jump after recording a length of 23-feet while Woodard blasted the field in the triple jump as he finished six feet ahead of the nearest competitor with a season-best jump of 52-1. Shanton Gore also picked up valuable points in the triple jump as he placed fifth with a jump of 46-2. In the throwing events, Anthony Smith recorded a throw of 47-7 in the shot put to place fifth before turning around to place fourth in the weight throw as he logged a mark of 53-3.75.
On the track, Sorone Batiste picked the perfect time to run a personal-best and a SWAC record time of 1:52.39 in the 800. Teammate Evan James was also in the mix as he placed fourth with a time of 1:54.80. Dinaoli Adam (4:26.04) and Lucio Rosas (4:26.12) finished 3-4 in the mile run before returning to the track and finishing 2-3 in the 3,000-meter run as Adam ran 8:51.13 followed by Rosas' run of 8:51.32. In the 5,000, Rosas placed second after a run of 16:05.6 while Adam was right there on his heels with a third-place run of 16:10.13. Abel Simie also earned valuable points in the 5,000 as he placed fifth overall (16:16.42).
In the relays, the Panthers placed fourth in the mile relay as the tandem of Dewaylon Wilson, Batiste, Vernon Lewis III and James ran a time of 3:15.21. PV's distance medley team of Batiste, James, Wilson and Rosas placed second overall as they clocked 10:31.75.
The Panthers will have plenty of time to regroup and enjoy their championship as their first outdoor meet isn't scheduled until March 14 at the annual TSU Relays in Houston. However, several team members are in the running for a berth to the 2013 NCAA Indoor Championships and will participate in a variety of last chance qualifiers as this year's championship is slated for March 8 in Fayetteville, Arkansas.
COURTESY PRAIRIE VIEW A&M UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION
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