Southern University won both the men’s and women’s team titles at the SLU Strawberry Relays, according to an April 18 announcement. The Jaguars finished with 146 points, leading host Southeastern by 17 points. The Lady Jaguars earned a total of 174 points, finishing well ahead of second-place Xavier of Louisiana by more than 78 points.
The event was notable for Southern’s strength in field events. Ariyonna Edmond led a sweep in the women’s hammer throw with a mark of 50.34 meters and also took first place in the shot put. Ayanna Hunt placed second in shot put and third in hammer throw before winning discus, while Kinzli Zenon secured victory in javelin.
In jumps, Peyton Funderburk led a sweep of the top three spots for Southern women in long jump, followed by Azariah Foster and Kendall Cook. Sahnya Lathon won both triple jump and high jump to round out strong performances from Southern athletes.
On the men’s side, Michael Fulton placed third in both hammer throw and shot put, Everett Alberty was third in javelin, while Reginald King captured first place finishes in long jump and triple jump. Roman Smith and Keith Fowler finished first and second respectively in high jump.
Southern’s relay teams also had success on the track. The women’s relay squads won both the 4×100-meter (45.79 seconds) and 4×400-meter (3:48.26) races; the men’s team took gold in the 4×100-meter relay as well (40.93 seconds). Individual highlights included Christon Washington winning the men’s 110-meter hurdles (14.39), Larry Paul III taking first place in the men’s 400-meter hurdles (57.11), Marcus Delcy edging out Keeton Johnson for first place finishers among men’s middle-distance runners, Jayla Franklin winning women’s 200 meters (25.59), plus other top-eight finishes across sprints and distance events.
The meet concluded with Shaquka Tyrell winning the women’s steeplechase event for Southern University.
Looking ahead, Southern will conclude its regular season at LSU Alumni Gold on April 25.
