Coastal Carolina University
Sun Belt Championships
Jefferson and Arnold Win Gold; Chants Post Best Team Finish in SBC History
2/22/2022 7:50:00 PM | Track & Field/Cross Country
Coastal won three events and posted nine top-five finishes for the meet
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Highlighted by a pair of record-setting first-place finishes by junior sprinter Melissa Jefferson and another win in the 400-meters from Jermaisha Arnold, the Coastal Carolina University women's indoor track & field team picked up nine top-five finishes on day two of the 2022 Sun Belt Conference Indoor Track & Field Championships in Birmingham, Ala.
As a team, the Chanticleers recorded their best team finish since joining the Sun Belt in 2016-17, placing fifth overall with a total of 75 points.
Arkansas State won the event with a team-high 127 points. The Red Wolves were followed by Texas State (93), UT Arlington (82), Louisiana (80), and then Coastal.
Jefferson had a record-setting performance on day two of the conference championship meet, as the Georgetown, S.C. native, won the gold medal in the 60-meter dash with a CCU school and Sun Belt Conference record time of 7.22. She crossed the finish line 0.17 of a second faster than the next finisher.
The third-year Chant went on to claim first-place honors in record-setting fashion again, this time in the 200-meters, as Jefferson won the event with a Sun Belt meet record time of 23.39 to become a two-time Sun Belt Indoor Champion in 2022.
CCU went 1-2 in the 400-meters, as Arnold defended her title with a first-place time of 54.22, finishing just in front of fellow Chant Mekenze Kelley and her personal-best mark of 54.66. Kelley's time ranks third all-time in CCU history, while Arnold already holds the school record at 53.76.
Coastal also picked up a runner-up finish in the 4x400-meter relay, as the team of Kelley, Shani'a Bellamy, Nya McGowan, and Arnold recorded a time of 3:43.97 to finish second overall. The time was the third-best on the school's all-time indoor performance list.
In the 60-meter hurdles, Coastal placed third and fourth overall, as sophomores Sydney Clemens (8.41) and Bellamy (8.43) crossed the finish line in third and fourth overall, respectively, with both personal-best times ranking in the top-five on CCU's all-time performance list.
Also picking up a top-five finish was freshman Molly Jones, as she recorded a personal-best time of 4:59.99 to cross the finish line in fifth place overall in the 1-mile run. Her time was the ninth-best time for the mile run on CCU's all-time performance list.
Jones also placed 10th in the 3000-meter run with her time of 10:09.25, while fellow classmate Meagan Moreno finished in 13th with her time of 10:15.35.
Finishing seventh in the 60-meter dash was Kayla Sweeney with her time of 7.539, while Kelley (24.57) and Bellamy (24.58) placed sixth and seventh, respectively, in the 200-meter dash.
Joining freshmen Zayna Fray-Samuel (weight throw – 8th) and Camryn Lorick (high jump – 9th) with top-10 finishes in the field events was redshirt sophomore Kynnedy Dennis who placed fifth overall in the women's pole vault with a personal-best height of 3.76 meters, which was also the third-best mark in CCU indoor history.
CCU also had three student-athletes compete in the women's shot put, as Alexis Estep placed 13th overall with a personal-best throw of 13.19 meters, which also ranks 10th all-time in Coastal's indoor annals, while fellow Chants Nikki Boon (12.45m) and Lauralyn Clifford (12.07m) finished in 23rd and 25th overall, respectively.
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Coastal Finishes on Day Two of the 2021 Sun Belt Conference Indoor Track & Field Championships
Women's 60-meter dash (Finals)
1. Melissa Jefferson – 7.22 (Sun Belt meet record)
7. Kayla Sweeney – 7.55
Women's 60-meter hurdles (Finals)
3. Sydney Clemens – 8.41
4. Shani'a Bellamy – 8.43
Women's 200-meters (Finals)
1. Melissa Jefferson – 23.39 (Sun Belt meet record)
6. Mekenze Kelley – 24.57
7. Shani'a Bellamy – 24.58
Women's 400-meters (Finals)
1. Jermaisha Arnold – 54.22
2. Mekenze Kelley – 54.66
Women's 1-mile run (Finals)
5. Molly Jones – 4:59.99
Women's 3000-meters (Finals)
10. Molly Jones – 10:09.25
13. Meagan Moreno – 10:15.35
Women's Pole Vault (Finals)
5. Kynnedy Dennis – 3.76m
-. Alyssa Gregory - NH
Women's Shot Put (Finals)
13. Alexis Estep – 13.19m
23. Nikki Boon – 12.45m
25. Lauralyn Clifford – 12.07m
Women's 4x400-meter relay (Finals)
2. Coastal Carolina – 3:43.97
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