FLAGSTAFF, Ariz– The Southern Utah University track and field program closed competition at the NAU Lumberjack Team Challenge Friday evening in Flagstaff. The Thunderbirds had several impressive showings, including first-place finishes from Joren McKeever, Nelson Douglas, Astley Davis, and Jentry Skidmore.
Men's Team
2022 Big Sky Indoor long jump champion Joren McKeever continued to show his dominance jumping to 6 10 ¼' to take first place in the high jump.
In his first collegiate meet, freshman Astley Davis posted a jump of 49 5 ½ to take first place in the triple jump, outjumping all of his competition by nearly two feet. Davis followed up that performance in the long jump, placing fifth place with a mark of 22 7 ¾. Christopher Kappen also had a stellar finish in the long jump, taking sixth place with a 22 2 ½.
Coming off a 2022 outdoor season that had three top-three finishes, Junior Nelson Douglas blistered to an impressive time of 21.84 in the 200 meters to win the event. Cameron Beans finished closely behind to take second place in the event with a time of 21.90.
After an impressive finish in the 400 Meter last weekend at the BYU Invitational, Dylan Gibson blazed to a second-place finish with a 48.46. Jaedyn Carpenter came in behind Gibson, running to a time of 48.65 to take third place, while Jace Rodgers earned sixth place with a 49.73.
Southern Utah's distance athletes cleaned out the top 10 in the 3000 Meter. Santiago Gaitan earned SUU's top finish in fifth place with an 8:46.23. Coleman Cragun took sixth place with an 8:46.32, Max Jones finished in seventh place with a time of 8:58.14, Isaiah Labra grabbed eighth place with a 9:00.82, and Hayden Harward took ninth place with a 9:18.52.
Women's Team
Jentry Skidmore led the charge for SUU's female long-jumping athletes that took four of the top five spots. Skidmore earned her second straight first-place finish of 2023 in the long jump with an 18 9 ¾'. Melissa Crane was close behind Skidmore in second place with a 17 9 1/2', while Ronnie Walker took fourth place with a 17 4 ¾, and Seadra Hamilton rounded out the group in fifth place with a 17 ½.
Ajia Hughes had another impressive outing in the high lump bounding to a 5 7 ¼' and fourth place.
Newcomer Kimberly Winward turned on the jets in the 400 meters and finished in fifth place with a time of 1:00.62. Savannah Nielson followed Winward with a time of 8.80 in the 60-meter hurdles.
The Thunderbirds had four athletes finish inside the top 10 in the 3000 meters. Madisan DeBos earned her first top-five finish of the indoor season, taking third place with a 10:22.32. Haley Tanne finished just seconds behind in fourth place with a 10:25.94. Sariah Hernandez secured a time of 10:42.01 to take fifth place and Addison Dalton earned sixth place with a 10:47.94.
Secret Mceuen earned two top 10 outings in the 200 meters and the 60 meters. Mceuen cruised to seventh place in the 60 meters with a 7.81 and ninth place in the 200 meters with a 25.24.
Up Next
Southern Utah will now prepare for the UW Invitational on the campus of Washington University on Friday, Jan 27, and Saturday, Jan 28.
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