The Southwest track teams kicked off the outdoor season in spectacular fashion Saturday at the USM Invitational in Hattiesburg with four first place finishes, eight seconds, three thirds and six national qualifiers.
On the women’s side, Kacey Elphage took first place in the 100 meter hurdles with a time of 14.02 seconds, while teammate Dinesha Bean was second with a time of 14.31. Kanishia Carey took second place in the 400 meter dash with a time of 57.29 and the 4x100 relay team of Kori Taylor, Rebecca Alexander, Kerrie Huff and Bean finished second with a time of 47.32.
On the men’s side, Woodrow Randall ran a 10.60 for first place in the 100 meter dash with teammate Paris Robertson coming in second with a time of 10.85. Spenser Williams took first place in the 200 with a time of 21.74.
Pierre Darisme’s 14.75 was good for first place in the 110 meter hurdles with teammate Harrison Hollier coming in third at 15.15. Xavier McGhee finished second place in the 400 with a time of 48.69. In the men’s 400 meter hurdles, Darisme had a second-place time of 58.50
The 4x100 relay team of Kevin Jones, Robertson, LeVance Williams and McGhee was second with a 41.22 mark.
In the long jump, current Southwest team member Bradley Hines’ jump of 6.73 meters gave him third place behind former Southwest standout Ramon Crockett’s 7.09. Hines was third in the triple jump with a mark of 14.35 meters.
Qualifying for the NJCAA Outdoor Championships were (women) Elphage, Bean and the 4x100 relay team and (men) Randall, Darisme (110 hurdles) and the 4x100 relay team. The Championships will be held May 20-22 in Hutchinson, Kansas.
The next meet for Southwest will be March 26 at the LSU Relays in Baton Rouge.
