BIRMINGHAM – After an exciting two days of track and field action at the 2023 Conference USA Indoor Track & Field Championships at the Birmingham CrossPlex, Charlotte won both men’s and women’s team titles.

The Charlotte men won the team championship with a 159-point total, ahead of runner-up UTSA (136 points) and third-place Rice (95.5 points). Charlotte has now won the Conference USA men’s title six times and each of the past four seasons (2001, 2008, 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023).

On the women’s side, the 49ers posted a total of 129.5 points, while Rice was runner-up with 94.5 points and Middle Tennessee finished third (82 points).

Final Results: Men | Women
 
Men’s Final Awards
Team Champion: Charlotte
Team Runner-Up: UTSA
Coach of the Year: Bob Olesen, Charlotte
Freshman of the Meet: Gus Gannon, Rice
High Point Scorer of the Meet: Michael Roth, UTSA
 
Women’s Final Awards
Team Champion: Charlotte
Team Runner-Up: Rice
Coach of the Year: Bob Olesen, Charlotte
Freshman of the Meet: Marta Sivina, North Texas
High Point Scorer of the Meet: Esther Isa, Middle Tennessee
 
Field events began the final day of competition. UTSA senior Jack Turner won the heptathlon, while breaking the C-USA meet record that has stood since 2015 with 5,794 points. UTSA’s Jemuel Miller was named the men’s triple jump champion for the fourth-straight year, recording a leap of 15.63 meters. In the men’s shot put, Rice’s Elian Ahamr won the C-USA title after coming in third place in 2022 with a 17.61m effort.

In the women’s field events, WKU’s Katie Isenbarger captured the women’s high jump title, after placing third in 2022, with a jump of 1.80m. Rice’s Erna Gunnarsdottir won in shot put for the third-straight year as she hit a mark of 17.92m. She has now finished either first or second at the meet for five-straight years. Esther Isa from Middle Tennessee, won her third-straight triple jump title, jumping 13.08m on her second leap after finishing second in the high jump and long jump. She also was named the women’s High Point scorer of the Meet.

The running events saw stellar and entertaining performances, with multiple C-USA meet records broken. Middle Tennessee senior Alaba Akintola took home gold in the 60m (6.63) and 200m, while breaking the C-USA meet record in the 200m running a time of 20.59, putting him in the top 10 nationally.

UTSA’s Michael Roth was awarded the Men’s High Point Scorer of the Meet after earning first place in the men’s 400m (46.42), second place in the 200m (21.09), and was the fourth leg in the first place 4x400 men’s relay race.

North Texas’ Marta Sivina earned the women’s Freshman of the Meet for her score in the indoor pentathlon, while Gus Gannon was awarded the men’s Freshman of the Meet with his first-place finish as the fourth leg in the distance medley relay and third-place finish in the 3,000m.

In the men’s mile, UTEP junior Kenneth Talavera won the event for the second-straight year, with a time of 4:07.80. The women’s mile went to Charlotte sophomore, Lauren Johnston, who claimed her first C-USA title with a time of 4:49.41.

After coming in third in 2022 in the men’s 60m hurdles, Charlotte’s Justin Leaston ran a time of 7.82 to claim the C-USA title. On the women’s side, UTEP sophomore Marissa Simpson won her first C-USA title with a time of 8.29.

In the women’s 400 meters, Charlotte senior Maya Singletary earned first-place with her time of 53.33. In the 200 meters, UTEP’s Niesha Burgher earned her first C-USA title, running a time of 23.29. Louisiana Tech Freshman Ulanda Lewis also won her first C-USA title in the 60 meter dash, with a time of 7.36.

In the men’s 3,000 meters, UTEP senior Daniel Bernal won the event speeding to a C-USA meeting record time of 8:00.14. On the women’s side, Charlotte sophomore Louise Lounes (9:27.87) took home the title after placing second last year.

In the final event of the championship, UTSA’s men’s team of Noah Rhodes, Logan Masters, Dennis Phillips and Michael Roth, took home the gold medal in the 4x400 relay, as the Roadrunners finished in 3:12.45. Charlotte won the 4x400 women’s title for the fourth-straight year behind the team of Aniya Matthews, Ta-halia Fairman, Joyasia Smith and Maya Singletary in a time of 3:37.42, which broke the C-USA meet record. 

Up next for C-USA indoor track & field athletes is the 2023 NCAA Division I Indoor Track & Field Championships on March 10-11 in Albuquerque, N.M. at the Albuquerque Convention Center for qualifying individual performers.