SIUE’s La’Derrick Ward was selected as the Ohio Valley Conference Male Field Athlete of the Year as voted by the league’s track and field coaches.
Ward, who has been ranked No. 1 nationally after posting a long jump mark of 26 feet, 3 inches (8.00m) at the Gateway Invitational, has been setting the pace for the Cougars all year. He won the OVC outdoor long jump title at 25 feet, 4-1/2 inches last weekend.
SIUE hosted the OVC Outdoor Championships May 2-3 for the first time in school history and made a strong showing at Korte Stadium. The Cougar men placed third of seven teams with 116 points, while the SIUE women finished sixth of 11 teams with 74 points.
Other Cougar winners included:
- Julian Harvey captured the high jump title at 6 feet, 9-3/4 inches
- Elizabeth Hampl’s win in the hammer throw was an OVC-record 200 feet as well as a new record for the Cougars
- Braxton Klavins was a double winner in the 200 and 400 meters
- Jatavia Wright won the triple jump for the second straight season with a school record leap of 41 feet, 10.75 inches
- The men’s 4×400 relay team (Derek Drew, Ahmad Evans, Davinn Smith and Klavins) also ran for gold