CEDAR CITY, Utah - The Southern Utah University track and field teams will make the trip north to Pocatello, Idaho to compete in the 2022 Big Sky Conference Outdoor Championship this week, hosted by Idaho State. The meet will take place over the next four days, beginning with the Decathlon and Heptathlon tomorrow and Thursday, followed by the remainder of the events on Friday and Saturday.
Last Time Out
The Thunderbirds had an exceptional conclusion to the regular season competing at the Payton Jordan Invitational hosted by Stanford, as well as the Idaho State Bengal Invitational.
Payton Jordan Invitational
SUU sent three athletes to California to compete in the Payton Jordan Invitational on April 29. Jacob Francis highlighted the event by shattering the school record in the men's steeplechase, finishing with a time of 8:49.49 to break the program record set 27 years ago.
Nate Osterstock also had a strong outing, setting a new personal best in the 5k with a blazing time of 13:33.01, propelling him to second all-time in the SUU track and field record books.
ISU Bengal Invitational
Southern Utah had a tremendous outing at the ISU Bengal Invite, as nearly every athlete that competed posted a top-10 finish, and the weekend was full of new personal records.
Jentry Skidmore started things off for SUU by finishing second in the javelin throw, recording a new personal best with a throw of 143-9.5. Skidmore's performance moved her up to fourth all-time in SUU History.
Madisan DeBos and Elizabeth White both continued their phenomenal seasons by taking first place in the women's 1500m and long jump, respectively. DeBos flew to a time of 4:37.4 to win the event, while White leaped to a mark of 6.05 meters to secure the victory.
On the second day of action, Iana-Michovani Graham began the competition by finishing second in the women's 100m final, achieving a blistering time of 11.82. Had there not been wind speeds over the allowed 2.0 m/s while she was running, her time would have ranked second in SUU track and field history.
The men's 4x100m team, composed of Cameron Beans, Ricardo White, Nelson Douglas, and Noah Bringhurst, had its best outing of the season, winning the event by recording the third-fastest time in SUU history (40.79).
The women's 4x100m team also had an impressive showing, as Ronnie Walker, Iana-Michovani Graham, Maya Benjamin, and Jordyn Nielson posted a season-best time of their own (47.23) to take third place in the event.
Athletes and Events to Watch
Elizabeth White: Long Jump
White has dominated in the long jump throughout the season and will look to secure another first-place finish in the Conference Tournament this weekend. She is ranked first in the Big Sky for the event entering the weekend.
Haley Tanne: 3k Steeplechase
Tanne will be competing in both the 3k steeplechase and the women's 5k this weekend. Tanne has broken the school record for the 3k steeplechase two separate times this season, with her best performance occurring at the Mount Sac Relays, where she finished with an incredible time of 10:17.29. She is ranked first in the conference and 57th in the country for the 3k steeplechase heading into the weekend.
Nate Osterstock: 1500m & 5k
Osterstock has had another incredible season for Southern Utah and will look to qualify for the NCAA Regional Round in both the men's 1500m and 5k events this weekend. Osterstock ran the 26th fastest time in the country during his 5k at the Payton Jordan Invitational, clocking in at 13:33.01 for the event.
Jacob Francis: 3k Steeplechase
Fresh off of breaking the program record in the 3k steeplechase that had been set 27 years ago, Francis enters the weekend with lots of momentum to build upon, hoping to secure a top-five finish.
Emma Nwachukwu: Hammer Throw
Nwachukwu has recorded multiple top-three finishes and one first-place finish in the hammer throw at the BYU Invitational this season. She moved up to second all-time in SUU history with a throw of 198' 2 ¾ earlier this year, which was also the second-longest hammer throw of any Big Sky female athlete this spring.
Jentry Skidmore: Heptathlon
Skidmore has continued to improve in the heptathlon throughout the season, posting her best score in the event three weeks ago at the BYU Robison Invitational, totaling 5,000 points to take second in the event. She will look to top that performance and secure a first-place finish in the event this weekend.
Ajia Hughes: High Jump
Hughes hopes to follow up her best performance of the season in the high jump at the ISU Bengal Invitational, where she cleared a height of 5'8" to take second place. She is the fourth-ranked female high jumper in the Big Sky heading into the conference tournament.
Joren McKeever: High Jump
McKeever enters the Big Sky tournament ranked first in the conference in the high jump this season. He managed to clear a height of 7' ¼" earlier this season at the Weber State Spring Classic, taking home first place in the event and moving into third all-time in SUU history. McKeever will seek to top that mark and bring home another first-place finish this weekend.
Noah Bringhurst: 200m
Bringhurst finished off the regular season in a strong way, taking third place in the men's 200m at the ISU Bengal Invitational with a time of 21.26. Bringhurst enters the competition with the third-best time in the 200m out of any Big Sky athletes this season.
Nelson Douglas: 200m
Douglas also had an incredible conclusion to the regular season, taking first place in the 200m at the ISU Bengal Invitational. He will enter the weekend with the second-best time of any Big Sky athlete in the 200m this season (21.16).
Ricardo White: 100m
White ran the fifth-fastest time in the conference for the 100m this season, finishing in 10.61 seconds at the ISU Bengal Invitational. He hopes to improve upon that time this weekend and put together a strong performance.
Meet Information
All four days of the event will be available for streaming on ESPN+ and live stats will be provided. A recap of each day's events will be posted to SUUTBirds.com.
Stream
Live Stats
Meet Schedule
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