June 1, 2008

LINCOLN, Neb. - The 2008 outdoor season came to close for the Lamar University track team with four runners participating in the Midwest Regional Championship hosted by the University of Nebraska at the Ed Weir Track on Friday and Saturday.

In Friday's action three Lamar runners took the track as Jessika Johnson and Toni Sylvester ran for the LU women and Francis Kasagule represented the Lamar men.

Johnson was the first Lamar runner to compete, stepping into the blocks for the 100 meter hurdles. She posted a time of 14.03 seconds for a 17th place finish in the meet, matching her ranking of 17th that she entered the regional meet with.

Sylvester took the track in the women's 40 meter dash and posted a time of 54.89 seconds which put her in 13th place in the meet. Sylvester's 13th place finish was seven places better than her regional ranking of 20th prior to the meet.

The last athlete to compete for LU on Friday was Kasagule who ran the men's 5,000 meter run. He crossed the line in 14:08.02 for ninth place, bettering his regional mark of 13th from prior to the meet.

The only athlete to compete on Saturday was Clerc Koenck who ran in the 1,500 meter run. She posted a time of 4:30.29 for an 11th place finish in the race.

The regional meet wrapped up the stellar collegiate careers of Johnson, Koenck, and Sylvester, while Kasagule still has one more season of outdoor track remaining.