LAFAYETTE, La. – Little Rock sophomore
Cameron Jackson entered Saturday's finals with a target on his back. The rest of the Sun Belt failed to hit bulls eye.
RESULTS | PHOTO GALLERY
Jackson spent the final day of competition at the Sun Belt Outdoor Track and Field Championships ensuring repeats wouldn't happen next year in three different events, winning a trio of gold medals as he secured his title as Fastest Man in the Sun Belt while also laying claim to the highest scoring athlete in the Sun Belt.
He claimed honors as the Sun Belt's top meet scorer with 22.5 points to his credit as he began the day anchoring the gold medal-winning 4x100m relay then moving on to win gold in both the 100m and 200m dashes, the latter of which he did by posting a school record time.
"Cameron proved he is on a different level," Little Rock Director of Track and Field/Cross Country
J.P. Behnke said of the meet's top scorer. "We knew he would be good for the 4x100m relay and 100m finals but for him to do three events in one day is uncharted territory. He struggles on the curve in the 200m but found that gear on the straight to pass three guys and take the gold."
A native of Kilgore, Texas, Jackson anchored the 4x100m relay that also consisted of
Cogan DeRousselle,
Taveion Neal and
Troy McKnight. The quartet ran 39.90 to win gold with the fifth-fastest time in school history.
As the day progressed and the gold medals came rolling in, the pressure continued to build. Jackson shrugged that off as he went on to win gold in the 100m after running 10.12 then set a new school record in the 200m just 45 minutes later, running 20.54. That allowed the sophomore to fulfill the pre-meet rankings as he entered the meet leading the conference in both races and then posted the league's best prelims time in both races as well.
"I felt all of the pressure from the previous days plus the weight of the two races I had just completed," Jackson said of his 200m finals race. "I knew want I wanted, and I knew what it would take to get it. So, I put all of my focus on that and worked hard to get it."
For his efforts, he became the third Little Rock athlete to be named the Sun Belt's top meet scorer, following Aaron Batey in 2008 (24 points) and DeVon Bean in 1998 (30.5 points).
"That was a nice little reward for today, but I'm still focused on my overall goal," Jackson said of his superlative award with an eye already looking toward the NCAA West Preliminary Championships later in May.
While Jackson was winning gold medals on the track,
Johnathan Jones fulfilled expectations in the high jump. Jones, a Little Rock native, became the Trojans' first-ever Sun Belt Champion in the high jump as he set a new school record in the high jump. Jones cleared 7-1.5 (2.17m) to claim gold after spending most of the season at or near the top of the Sun Belt's performance list.
"I'm happy to win but I'm even more happy to win it for Coach (Derek) Jacobus," Jones said of his first career conference championship. "He put together a plan and I just trusted him all the way. This win was just for him and for my city."
Those two performances led Little Rock's men to an eighth-place finish marking its best finish since 2017 (8
th) while scoring 52 points, also the most since 2017. The women scored 20 points as they finished 11
th, the most point scored since 2018. The Jackson-Johnson duo will turn their attention to repeats but in a difference conference next year as Little Rock joins the Oio Valley Conference on July 1.
"I'm proud of the resilience this group showed over these three days," said Behnke. "Coming out of a three-hour rain delay on day two, we had four athletes qualify for finals. Our women were down a few girls including our top scorers from the indoor championships, so they had to scratch and claw for every point."
The women found points from
Teresa Thomas as she posted a personal best mark and third-best time in school history in the 400m. Thomas clocked an impressive 54.16 to claim bronze in the 400m before anchoring the 4x400m relay that finished seventh with a time of 3:49.28.
Little Rock's women also found points in the throws.
Alison Stephens posted a season-best discus throw of 152-6 (46.49m) to finish seventh while
Aaliyah Mathis threw 149-5 (45.55m) to place eighth totaling three points from the Trojan throwers.
The Trojan men scored in the field events as well with
Jordan Wallace jumping 49-2.25 (14.99m) in the triple to jump to finish sixth.
Back on the track,
Andrew Payton also finished sixth in the 1,500m with a personal-best time of 3:54.82. In the 5,000m,
Spencer Cardinal ran 15:03.26 to finish seventh.
Troy McKnight also finished seventh in the 100m dash, running 10.68.
Little Rock now turns its attention to the NCAA West Preliminary Championships, set for May 25-28 in Fayetteville, Arkansas for its qualified athletes.
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