Four members of the Southern Miss track and field team traveled to Austin, Texas to compete in the NCAA Outdoor Championships from June 5-8. The team finished with a total of 13 points, earning the Golden Eagles a tie with North Dakota State for 24th place. Along with the highest finish is Southern Miss history, Caleb Parker, Eric Richards, and John Warren were named First-Team All-Americans, while McKinley West was named Second-Team All-American.
“This group of four young men are four of the greatest athletes in Southern Miss history and I’m just so proud of them for putting together a 24th place finish at the national championships,” assistant coach John Ellis said.
In the finals, Parker placed fifth in the 110m hurdles with a time of 13.55 and Richards placed fifth in high jump with a new personal-best height of 7’4.25”. Warren also achieved a new personal best and school record with a 55’00.75” mark in the triple jump, giving him a fourth-place finish. Warren also finished his time as a Golden Eagle as a three-time NCAA All-American, two-time C-USA champion and holds three school records.
“John Warren has been great all season and had a storybook career for us,” head coach Jon Stuart said. “Having his very best jump of the season on his last attempt at the National Championships – it just doesn’t get any better than that. He moved himself from sixth place into fourth and that put us over the top and helped us move into that 24th position overall.”
West placed 13th in the 100m dash preliminary contest with a time of 10.09, which prevented him from advancing to the finals. Despite not qualifying for the final round, West finished his career as a Golden Eagle as a six-time NCAA All-American, an eight-time Conference USA champion and the holder of four school records.
“He [West] was just tremendous, he ran his best time all year,” Stuart said. “Unfortunately, he is just in the premier event in the 100m in the NCAA. They are some of the best runners in the world that he is competing against, and he’s one of them.”
The NCAA Outdoor Championships mark the conclusion of the Golden Eagles’ season. The team will return to action in the spring of 2020.
