LAFAYETTE, La. – On Thursday, the Coastal Carolina men's and women's track & field teams began competition at the 2022 Sun Belt Outdoor Track & Field Championships.

On the women's side, Nikki Boon had a fantastic day as she posted five personal bests, beginning with her toss of 41.20 meters in the javelin throw, which gave her a seventh-place finish.  During the heptathlon, Boon tallied four more new personal bests.  In the 100-meter hurdles, she finished eighth in 15.18 seconds, while notching a leap of 1.52 meters in the high jump.  Boon won the shot put portion of the heptathlon with a throw of 12.72 meters while finishing fourth in the 200-meters with a personal-best time of 25.97.  After four of the seven events, she is in fourth place overall.
 
A trio of Chants finished 3-4-5 in the 200-meter qualifier, led by Melissa Jefferson with a time of 23.63.  Jermaisha Arnold came home fourth (24.11), while Mekenze Kelley (24.13) rounded out the top five. All three will compete in the finals on Saturday.
 
Also qualifying on Thursday for the final heat on Saturday was Shani'a Bellamy who advanced to the 400-meter hurdles final with a fifth-place finish and time of 59.82.
 
Molly Jones qualified for the 1500-meter finals with a third-place finish at 4:36.22 in the prelims, while in the 10,000-meters Meagan Moreno tallied a fifth-place finish with her time of 37:50.46.
 
In the field events, Kynnedy Dennis placed fifth in the pole vault finals with a height of 3.72M. 

On the men's side, Michael Martello set a new personal best in the hammer throw at 45.15M to place 15th overall and two Chants in Aaron Pierce and Jake Heydon earned a seventh (60.53M, personal best) and eighth-place finish (60.05M) in the javelin, respectively.
 
DeVonte Harris' time of 21.15 gave him a fourth-place finish and a spot in the 200-meter finals, while teammate Ty Floyd also set a new personal best in the 200-meters with a time of 21.30.  The duos' times in the sprint event on Thursday night rank third and sixth overall in CCU history, respectively.
 
Tyler Graves qualified for the 400-meter hurdles finals with a third-place time of 52.23.
 
Day two of the 2022 Sun Belt Conference Outdoor Track & Field Championships will begin tomorrow at 10:30 a.m. ET. Live scoring can be found on the Track and Field/Cross Country Schedule page at www.GoCCUsports.com.
 
Women's Team Scores
1. Arkansas State - 56 points
2. Louisiana - 26
3. South Alabama - 22
4. UT-Arlington - 15
T-5. Coastal Carolina - 10
T-5. Texas State - 10
T-5. ULM - 10
T-8. Little Rock - 4
T-8. Troy - 4
- App State - 0
- Georgia Southern - 0

Women's Results
Heptathlon 100-Meter Hurdles
8. Nikki Boon – 15.18 (-1.2) (PB)
 
Heptathlon High Jump
10. Nikki Boon – 1.52M (PB)
 
Heptathlon Shot Put

1. Nikki Boon – 12.72M (PB)

 
Heptathlon 200-Meters
4. Nikki Boon – 25.97 (-1.0) (PB)
 
Heptathlon standings (after 4 out of 7 events)
4. Nikki Boon
 
Hammer
14. Lauralyn Clifford – 47.11M
 
Javelin
7. Nikki Boon – 41.20M (PB)
 
Pole Vault
5. Kynnedy Dennis – 3.72M
 
200-Meters (Prelims)
3. Melissa Jefferson – 23.63 (Q)
4. Jermaisha Arnold – 24.11 (Q)
5. Mekenze Kelley – 24.13 (Q)
11. Kayla Sweeney – 24.70
28. Zahria Jones – 25.65
 
1500-Meters (Prelims)
3. Molly Jones – 4:36.22 (Q)
18. Ashley Rulison – 5:07.37
 
400-Meter Hurdles (Prelims)
5. Shani'a Bellamy – 59.82 (Q)
14. Alyssa Smith – 1:03.41 (PB)
16. Lauren Gordon – 1:04.12
 
10,000-Meters
5. Meagan Moreno – 37:50.46
 
Men's Team Scores
1. South Alabama - 49 points
T-2. Arkansas State - 17
T-2. Troy - 17
4. UT-Arlington - 14
5. ULM - 9
6. Louisiana - 4
T-7. App State - 3
T-7. Coastal Carolina - 3
9. Texas State - 1
- Little Rock - 0

Men's Results
Hammer
15. Michael Martello – 45.15M (PB)
 
Javelin
7. Aaron Pierce – 60.53M (PB)
8. Jake Heydon – 60.05M
 
200-Meters (Prelims)
4. DeVonte Harris – 21.15 (1.8) (PB) (Q)
11. Ty Floyd – 21.30 (1.8) (PB)
 
400-Meter Hurdles (Prelims)
3.  Tyler Graves – 52.23 (PB) (Q)
 
For complete coverage of CCU Cross Country and Track & Field, follow the Chanticleers on social media at @CoastalTFXC (Twitter), @GoCCUsports (Instagram), and facebook.com/CCUChanticleers (Facebook), or visit the official home of Coastal Carolina Athletics at www.GoCCUsports.com.