Polini, Cronin Score for Little Rock on First Day of Sun Belt Outdoor Track and Field Championships

LAFAYETTE, La. – Things heated up quickly Thursday in Lafayette as Little Rock stole four points on the women's side thanks to big performances by Ludovica Polini and Bailey Cronin on the first day of the Sun Belt Outdoor Track and Field Championships.
 
As temperatures in Lafayette soared into the 90s and temperatures on the track well above that, the Trojans embraced the heat and rose to the occasion just as the mercury rose in the thermometer.
 
Polini, entering the week ranked ninth in the Sun Belt in the pole vault, cleared 11-8.5 (3.57m) to finish seventh and score two points for Little Rock.
 
Cronin followed Polini's lead as she raced in the 10,000m run, clocking 41:53.18 to post a seventh-place finish and also score two points for the Trojans.
 
Cameron Jackson led Little Rock's men in setting the stage for points to be scored on Saturday. Jackson clocked a prelims-best 21.06 to post the fastest 200m time of the day. The sophomore entered the week leading the league in the event and seemingly cruised halfway around the track to post the top time.
 
"That is the competition we've been training for all year so when the gun went off, it was a matter of who wants it the most. I think I did pretty well – just enough to alert them of my presence but not enough to tire myself out before finals."
 
Jackson would do well to conserve his energy. He is slated to run the 100m prelims Friday evening which could set himself up for a pair of finals races on Saturday that are scheduled within 45 minutes of each other.
 
Andrew Payton also advanced to Saturday's finals as his 1,500m prelims time of 3:55.07 was a personal best mark by over a second and was the second-fastest time during Thursday's preliminary round.
 
Also in the 200m, Taveion Neal ran 21.43 to place 14^th while Cogan DeRousselle clocked 21.72 to finish 21^st. DeRousselle, running in front of a large family crowd including his cousin who is a Ragin' Cajun track legend, was challenged in both the mental and physical aspect of the competition.
 
"It was so great to have my family there, especially Charles," DeRousselle said of the large family contingent on hand Thursday. "I fought a noticeable wind, I've been fighting a tight hamstring and it was weird having so many familiar faces at the meet. But I know I can do better and today will just give me more fuel to go harder for the (4x100m) relay Saturday."
 
Little Rock also positioned itself to score points in the multis. Ethan Sorrells ended the first day of competition in the decathlon in sixth place after scoring 3,469 points and is less than 250 points behind a top-three place. Sorrels placing was thanks in large part to him clearing a personal-best 6-6.25 (1.99m) in the high jump, a mark that ranks fifth in school history. Matthew Fox follows in 10^th place with 3,276 points as his shot put throw of 41-4.25 (12.60m) ranks seventh in school history.
 
In the heptathlon, Gabby Ayiteyfio scored 2,749 points in the first half of that competition to finish the day in seventh place, highlighted by her personal-best time of 25.29 in the 200m dash. Jayden Gilbert is in 10^th with 2,629 points. Her top finish of the day came in the high jump portion where she cleared 5-2.25 (1.58m), ranking fourth in that portion of all the heptathletes.
 
Action at the Sun Belt Championships continues Friday with multis gearing up for their final half of competition starting at 9 a.m. Field events get underway at 12:30 p.m. with the ESPN+ broadcast and track events starting at 5 p.m.
 
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, Instagram and Twitter.
 
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