Trojans Rewrite Record Books as Indoor Season Opens in Jonesboro

JONESBORO, Ark. – Jonathan Jones set a new school record in the high jump and Alison Stephens registered the second-best weight throw mark in school history as Little Rock opened the indoor track and field season at the A-State Kickoff Classic in Jonesboro Sunday.
 
Jones cleared a height of 6-11.5 (2.12m) to win the high jump and set a new school record, besting the previous mark set by Christian Matamoros, a second team All-Sun Belt honoree last year. Matamoros finished second in the event, clearing a height of 6-8 (2.03m).
 
Stephens posted a weight throw mark of 51-7 (15.73m) to finish third in the event but registering a career-best mark and the second-best throw in school history.
 
Little Rock's women claimed first in a pair of running events with Teresa Thomas leading a pack that finished 1-2-3 in the 400m. Thomas ran 58.34 to win while Helensia Green finished second with a time of 58.75 with Keshailyn Cowles running 1:00.04 to finish third. Meanwhile Ariana Garcia ran 2:23.97 to win the 800m.
 
While the women registered some top finishes, the men came close in several events. Phillip Anderson was the runner-up in the 400m with a time of 49.27 while Ricardo Banks ran 1:55.89 in the 800m to finish as the runner-up in that race. Hunter Tucker also was a runner-up with a mile time of 4:23.70.
 
Runner-up finishes extended to the field events as Matamoros finished second in the high jump while Jared Schneider posted a mark of 23-3.75 (7.09m) in the long jump to register the sixth-best jump in school history and place as the runner-up in that event.
 
John Ferguson led a 4-5-6 finish in the shot put that saw three marks go into Little Rock's record book. Ferguson's fourth-place finish came with a throw of 46-11.75 (14.32m) to register the fourth-best throw in school history. Meanwhile Isaiah Parker finished fifth with a throw of 44-1.5 (13.45m) with the fifth-best throw in school history. Max Holzmueller rounded out the trio with a throw of 42-9 (13.03m), registering as the seventh-best throw in school history.
 
Parker also had a mark of 44-10 (13.68m) in the weight throw to finish fifth, a mark that rates as sixth-best in school history.
 
On the women's side in field events, Rondaisha McNeal's long jump mark of 17-8.75 (5.40m) ranks as the fifth-best jump in school history as she finished fifth while Bria Allen finished sixth, jumping 17-6 (5.33m) with the ninth-best jump in school history.
 
Little Rock will now break for the holiday season and will return to action in January 2021.
 
For the latest information on Little Rock Track & Field, make sure to check out LRTrojans.com. You can also find the team on social media at @LittleRockTFXC on Facebook and Twitter.
 
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