Four Cajuns Reach Podium On Opening Day of SBC Outdoor

MOBILE, Ala. – The Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns opened competition at the 2026 Sun Belt Conference Outdoor Track and Field Championships on Thursday at the Jaguar Track Complex with a pair of medal performances in the women's 10,000 meters, multiple event finalists advancing on the track and strong showings in the throwing events.

Louisiana closed out the first day of the three-day meet in second place on the women's side with 32 points through four events. The Ragin' Cajuns men's team capped off the first day in sixth place with eight points in three events.

Action continues on Friday beginning at 10:30 a.m., with the final half of the men's decathlon. Fans can follow the action on ESPN+ or live results.

Louisiana earned silver and bronze medals in the women's 10,000-meter run as Isabelle Russell finished second in 36:45.93 and Ella Segura placed third in 36:46.41. Chloé Crowell added a fifth-place finish for the Cajuns in 37:04.24 to give Louisiana three top-five finishers in the event.

In the field events, Emma Bacilla earned a bronze-medal finish in the women's javelin with a personal-best throw of 157-7 (48.04 meters), while Sarah Dupuy added points with an eighth-place mark of 140-5 (42.81 meters). Jasmine Sakaguchi cleared 12-10.75 (3.93 meters) in the women's pole vault, equaling her personal-best and placing fourth overall. Laila Guy earned a seventh-place finish for Louisiana in the hammer throw after posting a mark of 173-8 (52.95 meters) for the sixth-best throw in school history.

On the men's side, Jemar Ferguson recorded a runner-up finish in the javelin after reaching 211-11 (64.61 meters). William Howard finished 10th (176-1/53.68m) and Sam Kinnard placed 12th (174-8/53.24m) for Louisiana.

Louisiana also advanced several athletes into Saturday's finals on the track. In the men's 200 meters, Camren Hardy posted the top qualifying time overall at 20.85 seconds while Mark Daley also advanced after winning his heat in 21.08. On the women's side, Shenell Tucker qualified for the finals in the 400-meter hurdles after clocking 1:00.05 to win her preliminary heat.

Freshman Angelle Dupuis secured a spot in the women's 1,500-meter final after running 4:37.63 in the preliminaries.

In the combined events, Chase Lathrop highlighted the men's decathlon for Louisiana, winning both the 100-meter dash (10.78) and shot put (13.40m) and finishing eighth (3,070 points) after five events. Bethany Casey paced the Cajuns in the women's heptathlon and finished in seventh place (2,666 points) heading into Friday's events.

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Four Cajuns Reach Podium On Opening Day of SBC Outdoor

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Players Mentioned

Emma Bacilla

Bethany Casey

Mark Daley

Angelle Dupuis

Sarah Dupuy

Jemar Ferguson

Laila Guy

Camren Hardy

Sam Kinnard

Chase Lathrop

Isabelle Russell

Jasmine Sakaguchi

Ella Segura

Shenell Tucker