By Cody Stark
NACOGDOCHES — Blazing is the best way to describe the show Sam Houston State hurdlers Lane Dennis and Tywanisha Spiller put on for the folks sitting in the stands at Homer Bryce Stadium on Saturday evening during the running prelims of the Southland Conference Outdoor Track and Field Championships.
After Spiller blew away the field in the 110-meter hurdles, Dennis kept the crowd buzzing two events later by posting the fastest 400 hurdles time in the conference this season.
“Ty and Lane were unbelievable,” SHSU head coach Curtis Collier said. “Lane was just a few tenths off his best time ever and hopefully he can do that tomorrow and give himself a chance to get back to the national championships.
“Ty kind of came out of nowhere and now she heads into tomorrow with the best time.”
A former state hurdles champion at Huntsville High School, Dennis came into Saturday’s prelims already having the top time in the SLC this spring at 51.54 seconds, just ahead of Adlus Wiltz of Southeastern Louisiana (51.76).
Wiltz easily won the first heat with a 52.33, but that wasn’t even close to Dennis. The defending champion in the event, the Bearkat senior made clearing the hurdles look effortless, blowing away the field in the second heat with a regional-qualifying time of 50.98 to advance to the finals along with teammate Jay Newman (53.35).
“I got out good and used that first half to set it up for the second deuce,” Dennis said of the race’s two parts. “It was my kick. I was kicking on that second half, kept my knees pumping and knew it was going to be a good race. I wanted to make a statement. That kick was unbelievable.”
Spiller was definitely the feel-good story of the day. A walk-on from Houston last year, the sophomore won the third heat of the 100 hurdles with a regional-qualifying mark of 13.83 seconds.
Spiller’s time easily beat her season best (14.16) and was the third best in the conference this season. Tiana Lee (14.23) and Jordan Heggie (14.31) also qualified for the finals.
“I just had a decent start and was motivated by (Lee) because she was running with me,” Spiller said. “I kept pulling and pulling and ran a good race. I was so surprised that I collapsed at the end. I was so happy because I was a walk-on last year and now I’m going to regionals.”
As quickly as the excitement came, it left just as fast.
Earlier in the afternoon, junior Jessica Fisher, who was expected to score big in the 200-meter dash, showed signs that she was back from injury when she posted the second-best qualifying time in the 100 at 11.80 seconds, the fourth-best time in the conference this season.
But then something went wrong. She pulled up while making the turn in the 200 when her hamstring tightened up and might not be able to go in the finals today.
“I’m going to give it some rest, stretch it out and see if I can go tomorrow,” Fisher said. “I’m going to try.”
Fisher’s injury could be a big blow to the women’s chance to move up in the standings because the Bearkats won’t get the points they were counting on in the 200 and will not get anything if she can’t run in the 100. It also hurts the sprint relay.
Sam Houston State is currently in fourth place with 31 points through eight events. Stephen F. Austin is first (87.50), followed by Texas State (54.50) and Texas A&M-Corpus; Christi (43).
“Up until Jessica went down, we had outperformed our performance chart,” Collier said. “That is a huge blow to us. She wasn’t supposed to get points in the 100 then she gets the second top qualifying time. Now she probably isn’t going to run. That will take away our chances to get some points.”
One of the most interesting races in today’s finals is going to be the men’s 400-meter dash. Sam Houston State’s Darryl Hayes (46.39) and Michael Courtney (46.75) have two of the top three qualifying times. Throw in Northwestern State’s Michael Green (46.74) and expect plenty of fireworks.
If the Bearkats can get two top finishes in the 400, it will give the men a chance to move up the standings. Sam Houston State is in third place with 48 points and are behind Southeastern Louisiana (54) and SFA (50). Texas-San Antonio is fourth with 39.50.
“Hayes was super and that was just off our school record in the 400,” Collier added. “Michael Courtney is just a real good runner. I expect the 400 tomorrow will be one of the most competitive races of the day. The guy from Northwestern State is a stud like Darryl and Michael and there is a guy from UTA (Takeshi Fujiwara) who is starting to get back in form and might be in the mix too.”
Other finals qualifiers for the men include Julius Michael (1,500-meter run), John Thomas (110-meter hurdles) and Matt Stephenson (800-meter run).
Monika May and Desiree Taylor also qualified for the finals in the 400-meter dash.
Today’s field events begin at 10:30 a.m. and the running finals are set to go off at 5.
