Lion men second, women fifth after finishing their first day of LSC Indoor Track & Field Championships.

LUBBOCK – The Texas A&M University-Commerce, track, and field teams had a fantastic day on the first day of the 2021 Lone Star Conference Indoor Track and Field Championships on Saturday, setting the table for a fabulous Sunday. 

The Lion men are in second place in the team standings, and the Lion women are in fifth place. 

MEN’S

The Lion men scored 55 points to sit in second place after one day of action, only five points behind West Texas A&M. 

The high jump was the night’s highlight for the Lions, when Ushan Perera (Mahabage, Sri Lanka) set a school record and Sri Lankan national record, clearing 2.25m (7-4 ½) on the second attempt. It ties the sixth-highest bar cleared in Division II indoor history. 

Micky Ferdinand (Micoud, St. Lucia) was second place in the high jump at 2.11 meters (6-11), as well as fourth in the pole vault at 4.52 meters (14-10). 

Trayveon Franklin (Montgomery) was the conference silver medalist in the long jump at 6.91 meters (22-8), followed by Hank Lemons (Sanger) at 6.80 meters (22-3 ¾) in third. 

The distance medley relay team of Cooper Miller (Big Spring), Axel Paolucci (Lyon, France), Joshua Schutter (Sachse), and Nicodemus Rotich (Eldoret, Kenya) took third place at 10:34.21. 

Rotich placed fourth in the 5,000 meters at 15:12.57, Monta Davis (Mansfield – Legacy) placed fifth in the high jump at 1.91 meters (6-3 ¼), and Steven Sanchez (New Braunfels) placed sixth in the weight throw at 16.95 meters (55-7 ½). 

A number of Lions advanced to the Sunday finals, including a trio of 60-meter hurdlers in Dorian Andrews (Dallas – Skyline), Cameron Macon (Dallas – Carter), and Blake Grace (Dallas – Skyline). 

Lamarion Arnold (Montgomery, Ala.) qualified in the 60-meter dash and the 200-meter dash. Jordan Hollis (Lancaster) and Ian Colbert (Frisco – Heritage) advanced to the final in the 400-meter dash, and Schutter advanced to the 800-meter final. 

MEN’S STANDINGS

1	West Texas A&M	60
2	A&M-COMMERCE	55
3	Angelo State	46
4	Texas A&M-Kingsville	25.5
5	Oklahoma Christian	19.5
6	Lubbock Christian	13
7	Cameron	8
8	UT Tyler	4
9	DBU	2

WOMEN’S
The Lion women scored 15 points in the first day of action, led by Imani Taylor’s fourth-place finish in the long jump (5.53m, 18-1 ¾), followed by Keeley Norris (Texarkana – Liberty-Eylau) in fifth place (5.53m, 18-1 ¾).

Iniuto Ukpong (Mansfield – Summit) placed fifth in the weight throw at 15.11 meters (49-7). The distance medley relay team of Brianda Rosales-Ramirez (Celina), Dejanee Washington (Houston – Eisenhower), Mallory Morgan (Katy), and Evelyn Brown (Paris) placed seventh at 14:33.15.

Five runners advanced to the finals on Sunday. Minna Svaerd (Karlstad, Sweden) qualified in the 400-meter dash to run for her third straight LSC title in that event. She will run in the final of that event with Danielle Nicholson (McKinney – North) and Atiana Alexander (San Antonio – Taft). Shadaria Hall (Mansfield – Lake Ridge) advanced to the finals in both the 60-meter dash and 200-meter dash. Anne Spearman (Mansfield) advanced to the finals in the 60-meter hurdles.

Field events on Sunday’s schedule include the triple jump, high jump, shot put, and pole vault. Svaerd looks to become the first female student-athlete to claim four straight LSC indoor titles in the same event.

WOMEN’S STANDINGS

1	West Texas A&M	68
2	Angelo State	46
3	DBU	23
4	UT Tyler	19
5	A&M-COMMERCE	15
6	Oklahoma Christian	10
7	Lubbock Christian	6
	Texas A&M-Kingsville	6
9	Cameron	1
	Midwestern State	1

POINT SCORERS
FIRST PLACE
Men’s High Jump – Ushan Perera (2.25m, 7-4 ½)

SECOND PLACE
Men’s High Jump – Micky Ferdinand (2.11m, 6-11)
Men’s Long Jump – Trayveon Franklin (6.91m, 22-8)

THIRD PLACE
Men’s Distance Medley Relay – Cooper Miller, Axel Paolucci, Joshua Schutter, Nocidemus Rotich (10:34.21)
Men’s Long Jump – Hank Lemons (6.80m, 22-3 ¾)

FOURTH PLACE
Men’s Pole Vault – Micky Ferdinand (4.52m, 14-10)
Women’s Long Jump – Imani Taylor (5.53m, 18-1 ¾)
Men’s 5,000 Meters – Nicodemus Rotich (15:12.57)

FIFTH PLACE
Women’s Long Jump – Keeley Norris (5.37m, 17-7 ½)
Women’s High Jump – Iniuto Ukpong (15.11m, 49-7)
Men’s High Jump – Monta Davis (1.91m, 6-3 ¼)

SIXTH PLACE
Men’s Weight Throw – Steven Sanchez (16.95m, 55-7 ½)

SEVENTH PLACE
Women’s Distance Medley Relay – Brianda Rosales-Ramirez, Dejanee Washington, Mallory Morgan (14:33.15)

ADVANCING TO SUNDAY’S FINALS
Women’s 60m Hurdles – Anne Spearman
Men’s 60m Hurdles – Dorian Andrews, Cameron Macon, Blake Grace
Women’s 400m – Minna Svaerd, Danielle Nicholson, Atiana Alexander
Men’s 400m – Jordan Hollis, Ian Colbert
Women’s 60m – Shadaria Hall
Men’s 60m – Lamarion Arnold
Men’s 800m – Joshua Schutter
Women’s 200m – Shadaria Hall
Men’s 200m – Lamarion Arnold

Lion women re-enter WGCA Coaches Poll at No. 17

CORAL SPRINGS, Fla. – The Texas A&M University-Commerce women’s golf program returned to the Women’s Golf Coaches Association Division II Coaches’ Poll on Friday, earning the program’s highest national poll ranking at No. 17. 

The Lions won the Jack Brown Memorial hosted by Texas A&M International to start the spring season. This victory propelled the Lions to No. 7 in the Golfstat statistical rankings. 

The WGCA poll ranking today marks the second time the Lions have ever been in the national coaches’ poll, as they were ranked 24th in the country in February of 2020 in the last survey before the onset of the global COVID pandemic. 

The Lions have four more events on the spring schedule before the Lone Star Conference Championships, starting with the St. Mary’s Rattler Invitational on March 1-2. 

DIVISION II WGCA COACHES POLL

Rank-	Name (First)	Points
1	Dallas Baptist (13)	373
2	Indianapolis (2)	361
3	Limestone	315
4	Findlay	296
5	Nova Southeastern	253
6	Lee	251
7	Barry	229
8	Tampa	224
9	Lynn	210
10	Rollins	194
11	Flagler	188
12	Saint Leo	185
13	West Texas A&M	177
14	Florida Southern	169
15	North Georgia	160
16	West Georgia	134
17	A&M-COMMERCE	127
18	Grand Valley State	86
	West Florida	86
20	Anderson	82
21	Wingate	79
22	Arkansas Tech	77
23	Midwestern State	76
24	Tiffin	68
25	Central Oklahoma	67

Others Receiving Votes: Arkansas-Fort Smith (48); Missouri-St. Louis (47); Central Missouri (45); Biola (43); St. Mary’s (42); Cameron (25); Lander (21); Carson-Newman (20); UNC Pembroke (20); Lincoln Memorial (13); Illinois-Springfield (13); Henderson State (12); Lindenwood (12); Academy of Art (11); Embry-Riddle (Fla.) (9); Simon Fraser (8); Augustana (7); Lenoir-Rhyne (6); Colorado Mesa (3); Texas A&M International (3)

Lions return from a long break at Oklahoma Christian Sunday.

COMMERCE – The Texas A&M University-Commerce men’s basketball team returns to action on Sunday afternoon in Oklahoma City after a 15-day winter weather layoff to take on divisional foe Oklahoma Christian. 

WHO: A&M-Commerce at Oklahoma Christian

WHERE: Oklahoma City | Eagles’ Nest on the OC campus

WHEN: 2:00 pm on Sunday, February 21

RECORDS: A&M-Commerce is 5-5 overall and in the Lone Star Conference. OC is 4-10 overall and in the LSC.

RANKINGS: Neither team is ranked.

TELEVISION/LIVE VIDEO: Lone Star Conference Digital Network (Direct Link)

RADIO: Lion Sports Network | KETR-FM 88.9 (Streaming on KETR.org)

LIVE STATS: Click HERE

 LIONS RETURN FROM LONG BREAK AT OC

• The Lions have had 15 days since their last game thanks to winter storms canceling four straight scheduled games.

• A&M-Commerce lost its previous game on February 6 at No. 15 DBU, 80-69.

• Augustine Ene and Alex Peavy tied for the team scoring lead with 14 points apiece. Ene also added six rebounds.

• Dante Adams scored 13 points with eight rebounds.

• Leo Lara added 12 points.

• The Lions shot 45.5 percent (25-of-55) from the field with nine three-pointers.

• A&M-Commerce’s perimeter defense was excellent again, allowing DBU to hit only four-of-17 three-pointers (23.5 percent). Unfortunately for TAMUC, DBU excelled inside for a 57.1 percent overall shooting percentage (32-of-56). 

PERIMETER EXCELLENCE

• The Lions have been fantastic in limiting their opposition from converting on three-point attempts, ranking first in the LSC and fifth nationally with an opponents’ three-point percentage of 27.8. A&M-Commerce has allowed the lowest three-point percentage of any team in the nation that has played double-digit games.

• This has helped the Lions to rank fourth in the league in scoring defense, as TAMUC allows 73.3 points per game. Since the first game of the season, no team has scored more than 80 points on the Lions.

OPPONENT THREE-POINT FG% – DII

Rk	School	Rec	3FGM-A	Pct
1	Dominican (N.Y.)	3-2	21-88	23.9
2	Lincoln (Pa.)	3-0	27-108	25.0
3	American Int’l	0-2	12-44	27.3
4	Nyack	3-3	43-156	27.6
5	A&M-COMMERCE	5-5	55-198	27.8
6	Georgia College	8-2	69-243	28.4
7	Lake Erie	3-10	85-293	29.0
8	Grand Valley St	8-5	102-349	29.2
9	Chadron St.	4-5	48-163	29.4
10	MSU Moorhead	8-2	55-186	29.6
	Southern Wesleyan	4-4	55-186	29.6

CHARITY STRIPE PERFECTION
• The Lions were perfect at the free-throw line in the UT Tyler game on Jan. 23, going 16-of-16 from the charity stripe to establish a school record for made free throws without a miss.
• The previous record of 14-of-14 was set on February 16, 1970, in a 66-64 loss at Sul Ross State.
• This is the third overall perfect free throw night on record, including a 3-for-3 night vs. Angelo State on February 1, 2020.
• This is one of nine games in Division II this season with a perfect conversion rate and 15 or more attempts.

BETHELY DISHES IT OUT
• Senior point guard Devin Bethely leads the LSC in assists and third in assist-to-turnover ratio.

LSC ASSISTS/GAME

Rk	Player	School	Ast	Gm	APG
1	Devin Bethely	TAMUC	53	9	5.9
2	Daniel Venzant	SEU	82	14	5.9
3	Cameron Copley	LCU	80	14	5.7
4	JoJo Murray	WT	51	10	5.1
5	Carson Hughes	DBU	68	15	4.5

LSC ASSIST/TURNOVER

Rk	Player	School	Ast	TO	A/T
1	Carson Hughes	DBU	68	25	2.7
2	Cameron Copley	LCU	80	31	2.6
3	Devin Bethely	TAMUC	53	21	2.5
4	Rowan McKenzie	LCU	42	18	2.3
5	Evan Anderson	UAFS	47	21	2.2

ALL-TIME vs. OKLAHOMA CHRISTIAN
• This is the seventh all-time meeting between these two teams, with A&M-Commerce holding a 6-0 lead in the series.
• The Lions have won the only two games played in the Eagles’ Nest – an 81-66 victory in 2015 and a 69-55 win in 2020.
• A&M-Commerce and OC are playing for the sixth consecutive season after having never played before.
• The Lions have an 11.67 point average margin victory against the Eagles.

LOOKING AT LION HISTORY
• This is the 26th time the Lions have played on February 21. The Lions are 15-10 on this date in history.
• A&M-Commerce is 7-8 on the road on this date.
• This is the seconds time the Lions have played under coach Jaret von Rosenberg on this date, defeating Eastern New Mexico 87-78 at home in 2019.
• The Lions did not play an out-of-state school on this date until 2004, but then five of the last six games have been vs. out-of-state schools, including three straight vs. Oklahoma schools in 2007, 2009, and 2011.
• TAMUC has won five straight on this date and two straight on the road.

CAREER PERCENTAGE LEADERS
• Head coach Jaret von Rosenberg is ranked third in school history in career winning percentage.

Rk	Coach	W	Record
1.	Bob Rogers	.769	113-34
2.	Will Hill Acker	.708	46-19
3.	Jaret von Rosenberg	.663	69-35
4.	Darrell Tully	.621	59-36
5.	Dennis Vinzant	.605	92-60
6.	Sam Walker	.585	285-202
7.	Norman Pilgrim	.547	152-126
8.	Paul Peak	.532	134-118
9.	Jim Gudger	.515	202-190
10.	Jerry Matthews	.440	99-126

Lions head to Lubbock for LSC Indoor Championships.

COMMERCE – The Texas A&M University-Commerce track and field teams will be on the hunt for hardware this weekend, as the Lions take part in the 2021 Lone Star Conference Indoor Track and Field Championships. 

The Championships will be on Saturday and Sunday at Texas Tech’s Sports Performance Center. [CHAMPIONSHIPS CENTRAL] 

MEN’S OUTLOOK

The Lions are ranked second in the Lone Star Conference, fourth in the South Central region, and ninth in the nation in the U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches’ Association (USTFCCCA) rating index entering the meet. The high jump event squad ranks first nationally, while the 200-meter dash event squad ranks second in the nation, and the 60-meter dash event squad is ranked fourth in the nation. 

The Lion men have three marks during the 2021 season, which lead the LSC. Ushan Perera (Mahabage, Sri Lanka) leads the nation and the conference in the high jump at 2.21 meters (7′ 3″), which is 7 centimeters (2 ¾”) higher than anyone else in the nation and 10 centimeters (4″) higher than anyone else in the conference. That mark ranks 30th in the world this season. 

Lamarion Arnold (Montgomery, Ala.) has the quickest 200 meter dash time in the league at 21.24 seconds, fastest by .12 seconds. The 4×400 meter relay’s time of 3:17.97 at last weekend’s Ichabod Invitational set the quickest time in the LSC this year by 1.30 seconds. 

Dorian Andrews (Dallas – Skyline) returns for his fourth LSC indoor meet to defend his title in the 60-meter hurdles, which he won last season at 7.94 seconds. He has one gold medal, and two bronze medals in that event at the LSC meet.

Other standouts this season include Arnold ranking third in the LSC in the 60-meter dash (6.82) and Delan Edwin (St. Lucia) ranking sixth in the league in both the 60-meter dash (6.90) and the 200-meter dash (21.87), 

Three Lions rank in the top six of the league in the 400 meters – Ian Colbert (Frisco – Heritage), Dakari Hill (Orlando, Fla.), and Jordan Hollis (Lancaster). 

Nicodemus Rotich (Eldoret, Kenya) ranks fourth in the conference in the mile run (4:17.38), fourth in the 5,000-meter run (15:13.72), and sixth in the 3,000-meter run (8:38.29). 

Micky Ferdinand (Micoud, St. Lucia) ranks second in the conference in the high jump (2.11m, 6′ 11″) and the pole vault (4.83m, 15′ 10″). Trayveon Franklin (Montgomery) ranks second in the LSC in the triple jump (14.79m, 48′ 6 ¼”) and third in the long jump (7.07m, 23′ 2 ½”). 

The Lions’ eighth LSC indoor meet and A&M-Commerce have won four team championships (2015, 2016, 2017, 2018) and 35 individual gold medals. 

WOMEN’S OUTLOOK

The Lions are ranked third in the Lone Star Conference and 11th in the South Central Region in the USTFCCCA rating index entering the meet. 

Minna Svaerd (Karlstad, Sweden) is the defending champion in the 400-meter dash and pole vault. She won the 400-meter title in 2019 and 2020 and won the pole vault in her last three LSC indoor meets. She was the 2019 LSC indoor female track athlete of the year. This season, she ranks second in the LSC in the pole vault and fourth in the 200-meter dash entering the meet. 

Atiana Alexander (San Antonio – Taft) ranks second in the conference in the 400-meter dash this season at 59.34 seconds, Shadaria Hall (Mansfield – Lake Ridge) ranks third in the LSC in the 60-meter dash at 7.75 seconds, and Danielle Nicholson (McKinney – North) ranks fourth in the conference in the 400-meter dash at 59.69 seconds. Iniuto Ukpong (Mansfield – Summit) ranks second in the league in the shot put at 13.41 meters (44′ 0″) and fifth in the weight throw at 14.89 meters (48′ 10 ¼”). 

The 4×400 meter relay team clocked a time of 3:54.50 at last weekend’s Ichabod Invitational, which is the fastest LSC time this year by a 5.07-second margin. 

The Lions’ eighth LSC indoor meet, and A&M-Commerce has ten individual gold medals, with Svaerd winning six of those.