March 23, 2002

WACO, Texas - The Stephen F. Austin men and women's track and field teams continued the 2002 outdoor season Saturday at the Baylor Dr. Pepper Invitational. A couple of freshmen set the tone early for the Ladyjacks in the high jump.

The Ladyjacks were led by freshman Teresa Murray (Amarillo, Texas) who recorded a 5-5.00 mark to finish in a four-way tie for first place in the high jump. Classmate Jocelyn Stevens (Schertz, Texas) also recorded a jump of 5-5.00 to tie Murray for first. Senior Misty Ballard-Swan (Carlsbad, N.M.) continued to have a strong senior season with vault of 12-7.50 in the pole vault. Her mark was good enough for a second-place overall finish. Senior Destine Rawls (Houston, Texas) finished second in the discus (154-2.00) and third in the shot put (48-8.00).

The Lumberjacks had a strong showing from junior Daniel Longoria (Mission, Texas) who finished third in the 200-meter dash with a time of 22.60 seconds. Freshman Andre Ford (DeKalb, Texas) was just 41-hundredths of a second off Longoria's time as he crossed the line fourth. Ford also recorded a third-place finish in the long jump with his mark of 24-00.75.

The SFA track and field teams will return to action Friday at the Rice Invitational, in Houston, Texas. The invitational is a two-day event that will run through Saturday.