BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The University of the Incarnate Word (UIW) Cardinals have won their second consecutive Southland Men’s Indoor Track and Field Championship. The Cardinals displayed their dominance with a score of 143.5 points, outscoring runners-up Northwestern State by 39.5 points in the 2023 championship held on Monday afternoon.
UIW has made a habit of winning in dominant fashion, as this is the largest margin of victory at the SLC indoor meet since 2012. The team rankings saw UIW take the top spot with 143.5 points, Northwestern State take the second spot with 104 points, followed by Texas A&M University-Commerce with 91 points. Read more: Virginia Tech sweeps ACC Indoor Track and Field Championships
Isaiah Hudgens, a UIW student-athlete, was named the Most Valuable Performer after collecting 26 points for the Cardinals with his outstanding performances in the heptathlon and pole vault. Hudgens also won a bronze medal in the 60-meter hurdles with a time of 8.06 seconds.
In addition to Hudgens’ outstanding performance, there were other individual champions who displayed their dominance in the sport. J.T. Smith of A&M-Commerce won the 60-meter dash with a time of 6.65 seconds.
HCU’s Garrett Gibson won the 60-meter hurdles with a time of 7.97 seconds. Delan Edwin of A&M-Commerce won the 200-meter dash with a time of 21.04 seconds. Southeastern’s Eugene Omalla won the 400-meter dash with a time of 46.79 seconds. Noah Kiprotich of Southeastern won the 800-meter run with a time of 1:53.47. Alex Piqualt of HCU won the 1-mile run with a time of 4:23.47.
Dennis Kipngeno of A&M-Corpus Christi won the 3,000-meter and 5,000-meter runs with times of 8:21.23 and 14:23.40, respectively. This marks the third consecutive season that both distance events were won by the same student-athlete.
Slavko Stevic of Southeastern won the high jump with a height of 2.21 meters, while Kenson Tate of Lamar won the long jump with a distance of 7.53 meters. Andrew Gilbreath of Northwestern State won the triple jump with a distance of 15.26 meters. Djimon Gumbs of Northwestern State won the shot put with a throw of 18.95 meters, and Garrett Stokes of UIW won the weight throw with a throw of 18.62 meters.
Southeastern won the 4×400 meter relay with a time of 3:12.06, while A&M-Corpus Christi won the distance medley relay with a time of 9:54.71.
Click here for full results
TEAM STANDINGS
1 UIW 143.5
2 Northwestern State 104
3 A&M-Commerce 91
4 Southeastern 81
5 A&M-Corpus Christi 65
6 HCU 57.5
7 New Orleans 43
8 Lamar 42
9 McNeese 33
10 Nicholls 1
