West Texas A&M’s prolific sprinter Benjamin Azamati set new records in the 60-meter, and 200-meter dash at the Lone Star Conference Indoor Track and Field championships on Saturday in Lubbock. [John Moore/ Press Pass Sports]
The West Texas A&M men and women’s track and field teams made it a clean sweep to claim the Lone Star Conference championships at the LSC Indoor meet in Lubbock on Friday and Saturday.
The No. 5 Buffs won their second consecutive conference title, and the fourth overall.
The No. 4 Lady won their unprecedented ninth consecutive LSC championship with 215.5 points to defeat Angelo State by 100 points.
Records fell on Saturday afternoon as WT elite sprinter Benjamin Azamati continues rewrite the books on a national scale.
Azamati broke the all-time meet record in the 60-meter dash with the second-fastest time in NCAA Division II history, running 6.55 to take the gold. The 2021 Olympian returned to the track to add to his trophy case as the sophomore ran the second-fastest 200-meter time in Division II history in 20.57. Azamati is now the nation’s leader in both events.
Amarillo High graduate Butare Rugenerwa won the 1600-meter run for the second consecutive year clocking a season-best 4:16.93.
Palo Duro graduate Tyrin Lewis set a new meet record Friday in the 60-meter hurdles crossing the finish line in 7.83 to automatically qualify for the finals. Lewis was then crowned the 60-meter hurdle champion Saturday after crossing the line in 7.78, defeating Texas A&M-Kingsville’s Johnathon Harper by .3 seconds.
On the women’s side, Zada Swoopes added to her trophy case with her fourth straight conference title in the shot put with a Top 10 mark of 56-1.25 (17.10m). After fouling on her fourth attempt, Swoopes won the competition to score 10 points for the Lady Buffs while breaking her previous meet record by nearly three feet in the process.
Taylor Nelloms won her second consecutive title in the triple jump with the nation’s best mark of 43-4.0 (13.18m) on her second attempt.
On the track, the WT dominated in the 60-meter dash with three speedsters bringing home medalist honors. Leah Belfield claimed the 60-meter champion for the third consecutive year with a meet record 7.42. Belfield returned to the track to add to another victory for WT as she broke the meet 200-meter record set by Abilene Christian’s Reyare Thomas in 2013. The sophomore ran the nation’s second fastest time at 23.95 which converts to 24.02 with altitude conversion.
For a full recap of the LSC Indoor Track and Field meet please visit, https://gobuffsgo.com/
Lady Buffs basketball claims 18th LSC regular season title
West Texas A&M closed out the regular season at the First United Bank Center in style on Saturday afternoon as they claimed the program’s 18th Lone Star Conference regular season championship with a 79-58 victory over the Texas A&M International.
Madison Kast led the way for the Lady Buffs in her final home game as the senior went 4-of-6 from the floor including 2-of-3 from deep, and a perfect 5-of-5 from the stripe to tie a team-high with 15 points to go along with seven rebounds and a block.
Point guard Zamorye Roberts finished the game going 6-of-16 from the floor for 15 points while dishing out three assists..
The Lady Buffs improve to 20-10 overall and finish league play at 13. WT has claimed an opening round bye, and the top seed in next weekend’s Lone Star Conference Championship at the Comerica Center in Frisco. The Lady Buffs will play Tuesday night’s Texas A&M-International-Texas A&M-Kingsville winner at 6 p.m. Friday in an LSC Tournament quarterfinal.
The WT Buffs also finished the regular season downing A&M-International 93-69. The Buffs (25-6, 11-5) also drew an opening round bye as the No. 2-seed, and will face the UT-Permian Basin-Angelo State winner at 2:30 p.m. Thursday in an LSC Tournament quarterfinal.
For a full look at the LSC Men and Women’s Tournament, please visit https://lonestarconference.org/