OXFORD, Miss. - Senior Lions' thrower Teremine White surpassed the regional mark in the men's discus en route to a second place finish and senior Lady Lion thrower Collenna Collins hit a regional mark in the women's hammer throw while finishing second to provide some of the more notable highlights for the Southeastern Louisiana University track and field program at the Mississippi Open hosted by Ole Miss.
White threw 182 ft. 9 in. (55.70 m), finishing 14.5 feet ahead of third place after clearing 180 ft. for the third consecutive meet.
Collins, meanwhile threw 180 ft. 8 in. (55.08 m) in the hammer throw, surpassing the NCAA Regional Qulaifying mark of 54.15 m by nearly a full meter.
Among the other leading finishers for the Lions, senior jumper/hurdler Avery Sorapuru surpassed an NCAA Regional Qualifying mark in the long jump, the event that made him an All-American in 2006. Sorapuru's jump of 24 ft. 6.5 in. (7.48 m) was good enough to claim third, just 5.5 inches out of first place.
Sophomore distance runner Kalphys Kemboi turned heads in the 3000 m steeplechase, winning the event with a time of 9:05.65, 1.35 seconds under the NCAA Regional Qulaifying time.
Meanwhile, Leonie Ezegbunum helped the Lady Lion cause in the triple jump, winning her flight and finishing eighth with a leap of 39 ft. 0.5 in. (11.90 m).
The Lions and Lady Lions will return to action next week at the 2008 Southland Conference Championships in Houston, Texas. The last time Southeastern track visited Houston, the Lions earned their highest finish since joining the SLC, with a fourth-place finish at the indoor conference meet. Meanwhile, the Lady Lions will look to build on the momentum of an eighth place finish at the indoor meet, the best finish by a Louisiana SLC school.