CEDAR CITY, Utah– Following a stellar conclusion to the indoor season, the Southern Utah University Track and field team will now head down I-15 to open its outdoor season at the Utah Tech Invitational on Friday, March 10, and Saturday, March 11.
Meet Info
Utah Tech Invitational
Date: March 10-11
Location: St. George, Utah
Venue: Greater Zion Stadium
Last Time Out
WAC Indoor Championships
The Thunderbirds last closed their inaugural indoor season in WAC at Indoor Championships in Spokane, Washington, on Feb. 26. SUU collected five individual conference titles, which allowed the men's team to battle their way onto the podium where they finished in third place and the women's team tied for sixth place.
Day One
The Thunderbirds had several stellar performances as Trenton Maurer kicked things off with an 8.07 time in the 60-meter hurdles, pushing him into third place all-time in the event for SUU.
Seadra Hamilton and Jentry Skidmore secured fourth and fifth-place finishes in the Pentathlon. Hamilton improved upon her second SUU all-time mark, scoring 3687 points, while Skidmore jumped into sixth in the SUU record books during the pentathlon high jump after her clearance of 5' 6".
The Thunderbird women stormed through the record books in the women's 60-meter, with Secret Mceuen, Iana Michovani-Graham, and Ronnie Walker securing all-time marks for SUU with a 7.54,7.68, and 7.76, which is good for second, fourth, and eighth, all-time respectively.
Freshman Jaedyn Carpenter ran a blistering lifetime indoor personal best of 47.11 in the men's 400 meters, moving him into third place all-time.
Freshman Nathan Carlin ran a lifetime personal best in the 800 meters with a time of 1:52.09, ranking him seventh all-time for SUU.
Mceuen led the way for the Thunderbirds in the 200 meters, with Mceuen storming around the track to secure a 23.99, becoming the first woman in SUU Track and Field history to ever run under 24 seconds in the 200 meters.
Ariana Baker missed the top eight by a single height in the pole vault but her clearance of 11'5 ¾" is now tied for second all-time for SUU.
In the men's long jump final English and Davis leaped to 24' ¾" and 23' 8¼" for third and fifth place respectively.
Isaiah Labra and Travis Feeny picked up crucial team points in the 5k for the men with second and fourth-place finishes respectively. Labra's time of 14:10.84 is now eighth all-time for the Thunderbirds.
Day Two
Joren McKeever dominated the men's high jump with his second indoor conference title. After claiming the championship in the Big Sky last year, McKeever brought his prowess to the WAC with a sensational 7"1/4'; closing out his undefeated season. Meanwhile Ajia Hughes jumped 5'8 ½" for third place in the women's high jump.
Astley Davis had an outstanding showing in the triple jump, posting a mammoth jump of 50"9 ¼'; to secure the title and improve his hold on the all-time triple jump record for SUU. With his fifth-place finish in the Men's long jump, Davis was recognized as the Outstanding Field Athlete of the meet.
The thunderbirds brought the heat in the men's and women's mile finals securing both mile championship titles. DeBos and Tanne went first and second with times of 4:55.74 and 4:56.42 with their teammate, freshman Nixie Killpack hanging on for an eighth place. Gaitan surged away from the group late in the men's race to break his competition and finish first in a time of 4:05.46. Harward and Riggs finished shortly behind in third and eighth respectively.
Freshman Jaedyn Carpenter continued his stellar weekend with a fifth-place finish and time of 47.54 in the men's 400. Shortly after, Carlin snagged eighth place in the men's 800m final.
The thunderbirds showed excellent team tactics in the men's and women's 3000m to secure vital points in the closing events of these championships. Isaiah Labra earned another heartbreaking second-place finish after being narrowly out leaned at the line finishing in a time of 8:13.03 - Santiago Gaitan was just seconds behind with a time of 8:16.36 in third place, while Travis Feeny rounded things out in a fourth place with a time of 8:17.06. For the women, DeBos and Tanne finished out their busy weekend with fourth and eighth-place finishes respectively.
Secret McEuen, Jentry Skidmore, Seadra Hamilton, and Maya Benjamin dominated their heat in the 4x400 meter relay with a time of 3:45.08 to take first place overall and set a new indoor school record.
Meet Schedule
This is Utah's Tech's first time hosting a track and field meet in program history. The Thunderbirds will take on several familiar foes in addition to the Trailblazers, including UNLV, Utah Valley, and Utah.
The action will begin at 4 p.m. MT on Friday with the discus, shot put, long jump, and high jump. Day one will be capped off under the lights on the track with the 3000-meter steeplechase and the 5000 meters starting at 6 p.m. MT.
Day two starts with the triple jump and the Javelin at 10 a.m. MT and will conclude with the 4x400 meter relay at 1:50 p.m. MT.
The meet is open to spectators, and Thunderbird fans are encouraged to enter and sit on the West side of the stadium.
FULL MEET SCHEDULE
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