Bulldogs 4th, Lady Bulldogs 12th In One Of Oklahoma’s Toughest Meets
The Sulphur Bulldogs turned in a well-rounded performance Saturday, finishing fourth out of 21 teams at the Brandon Jacks Memorial Invitational in Madill, with multiple athletes earning medals and several others posting key personal bests.
Sulphur’s depth was evident across both running and field events, highlighted by a thirdplace finish in the 3200-meter relay. The quartet of Morgan Brown, Calvin Downey, Jaxon Freehill and Andrew Hail combined for a strong showing against a competitive field.
“All four legs of our 3200-meter relay were outstanding today,” said head coach Emile Heitland. “Morgan Brown, Calvin Downey, Jaxon Freehill and Andrew Hail each did their job and competed with a lot of confidence.”
The Bulldogs also picked up points in the 1600-meter relay, where the team of Freehill, Eathen Sales, Rush Pittman and Mavric Lowrance placed fifth.
Individually, Grady Hardoin made an immediate impact, earning a silver medal in the 110-meter hurdles and a bronze in the 300-meter hurdles. Pittman added a sixth-place finish in the 300 hurdles, contributing valuable team points.
“Grady got a later start than most because of powerlifting, but you wouldn’t have known it from the way he competed today,” Heitland said. “For his first meet, to come out and place second in the 110 hurdles and third in the 300 hurdles in a really strong field was impressive. He’s still getting back into track shape, which makes his performance very exciting.”
In the distance events, Brown continued his strong season with a third-place, medal-winning run in the 1600 meters, while Downey added a fifth-place finish in the same race.
Field events also proved productive for the Bulldogs. Thomas Jackson turned in one of the top performances of the day, placing fourth in the shot put while recording a personal record.
“Thomas Jackson had a really big day for us,” Heitland said. “He’s been putting in the work, and it showed. To come out and PR by six feet in the shot put is huge at this point in the season.”
Sulphur also got strong efforts in the vertical events, as Triston Barnes earned a runner-up finish and a medal in the pole vault, with Landy DeArman placing fourth. Dax Lowrance added a fourthplace finish in the high jump.
Overall, Heitland said the team’s steady improvement continues to be a key takeaway as the season progresses.
“What’s really encouraging is how much these guys continue to improve week by week,” he said. “Their work ethic is showing up on the track.”
With momentum building and performances trending upward, the Bulldogs appear to be positioning themselves well as the heart of the track and field season approaches.
Girls Win Several Place Medals At Durant Sulphur’s Lady Bulldogs picked up several place medals in last Saturday’s Brandon Jacks Memorial Invitation.
Among them were a third place finish by the 4x400 relay team of Jayden Lee, Zoli May, Kate Woods, andAmaurie Peters.
A couple of other good efforts were turned in by Kenleigh Johnson in the shot and Aniya Maul in the high jump.
Johnson won fourth in the shot with a throw of 32-04.75, and Maul was fifth in high jump with a 4-06 leap.
The girl’s team is led by Coach David Gilliam.
