BATON ROUGE, La. -- Despite a 10-month break away from official training and a consistent routine, the Nicholls State University track & field program composed a notable effort in the indoor season opener at the LSU Purple Tiger, securing two new personal records -- Jerrian Brown in both the 400m and 600m -- along with a number of Top 10 finishes Saturday at the Carl Maddox Fieldhouse.

Post-meet, head coach Stefanie Slekis denoted her enthusiasm regarding the team's potential moving forward and believes the Red & Gray have ample opportunity to continue training in preparation for the Southland Conference Championships at the end of February.

"It was great to be back at Carl Maddox Fieldhouse competing after that long break," Slekis said. "Everyone left with a clear understanding of what they need to work on over the next six weeks to be at their best, for our team to be at our best, when it counts at the Southland Conference Championships. Omo Oboh competed well in the 60m Hurdles, running just at her opening mark from last year and then came back and ran aggressively in the 400m. Jerrian Brown had an excellent opener as well, taking 2.5 seconds off his 600m PR and one second off his indoor 400m PR. I'm really excited for what he can do in the 800m when we return to LSU in two weeks."

KEY STORYLINES & FINISHES
-- Brown, who made his collegiate debut almost exactly one year ago (Jan. 10) at this same meet, posted significant improvements to both his 400m and 600m times; in the former, the sophomore shaved off exactly one second as he placed fourth while, in the latter, Brown jumped up more than 2.5 seconds in an eighth-place finish.
-- Junior Omo Oboh captured a few positive placements as she notched third in the 400m Dash and sixth in the 60m Hurdles.
-- Over in the long jump, junior Chelsea Harrington also put in a competitive performance as she grabbed fourth overall behind a 5.38m leap.

UP NEXT
With the season opener wrapped up, the Colonels receive a two-week break before returning to Baton Rouge for the Louisiana Invitational on Friday, Jan. 29.

STAY SOCIAL
For more information on Colonels Track & Field, follow the team on Twitter (@Nicholls_XCTF), Instagram (@nichollstfxc) and like their Facebook page (Nicholls Athletics).