CEDAR CITY, Utah– Coming off a stellar outing at the BYU Robison Invitational the Thunderbirds will look to make history at the team's first WAC outdoor Championships. The Thunderbirds have continuously broken school records this season and will look to continue that trend this weekend in Texas.
Meet Information
Western Athletic Conference Outdoor Championships
Date: May 11-13
Venue: Homer Bryce Stadium
Location: Nacogdoches, Texas
Live Stats | Meet Schedule
Thunderbirds in the National Rankings
- Men's Long Jumpers: Southern Utah's men-long jumping team, consisting of Astley Davis (24'1"), Cedar English(24'1"), Joren McKeever(23'1 ¾"), and Christopher Kappen (23'8") have most recently been ranked seventh in the entire country with a season total of 96' 2 ¾".
- Astley Davis: Following a record-breaking weekend that marks his third time breaking a school record, Davis is now ranked 27th in the national triple jump standings with an enormous mark of 51'11".
- Jentry Skidmore: Skidmore is 33rd in the country in the heptathlon with a total score of 5373, sitting just shy of the outdoor school record.
- Cedar English: English is tied for 36th in the nation in the long jump with a mammoth jump of 25' 4 ½".
- Women's 4x100 Meter Relay Team: The 4x100 meter relay team of Secret Mceuen, Iana-Michovani Graham, Maya Benjamin, and Ronnie Walker have been ranked as high as 33rd in the nation with a school record-breaking time of 44.50.
- Haley Tanne: Tanne holds the 43rd-best time in the nation for the women's 3,000-meter Steeplechase with a school record time of 10:10.69.
Coach Eric Houle Said
"It's been a long season. But both the men's and women's teams are eager to compete at the outdoor championships. We have a number of athletes ranked among the best in the country so it will be intense in those events."
Pre-Championship Coaches Poll
The 2023 WAC Pre-Championship coaches polls are out and have the Southern Utah men's team picked to finish 6th in the meet. According to the poll, the Thunderbirds are picked to finish 9th on the women's side. See the full results of the poll below.
2023 WAC Women's Outdoor Track & Field Pre-Championship Coaches Poll
-
New Mexico State (9) 136
-
Stephen F. Austin (2) 127
-
Grand Canyon (2) 121
-
Utah Valley 114
-
UT Arlington 101
-
Abilene Christian 88
-
California Baptist 73
-
Sam Houston 66
-
Southern Utah 62
-
UTRGV 43
-
Tarleton 41
-
Seattle U 19
Utah Tech 19
2023 WAC Men's Outdoor Track & Field Pre-Championship Coaches Poll
-
Grand Canyon (10) 100
-
Utah Valley (1) 87
-
Abilene Christian 74
-
Tarleton 66
-
Stephen F. Austin 63
-
Southern Utah 55
-
California Baptist 47
-
UT Arlington 46
-
Sam Houston 35
-
UTRGV 20
-
Seattle U 13
Last Time Out
BYU Robison Invitational
In the final weekend of regular season competition, the Southern Utah University Track and Field team recorded a stellar outing at the BYU Robison Invitational as the Men's 4x100 Meter Relay team broke the school record for the second weekend in a row and multiple other Thunderbirds secured top-five finishes.
After breaking the school record last weekend at the Bryan Clay Invitational, the men's 4x100 meter relay team, consisting of Cameron Beans, Dylan Gibson, Nelson Douglas, and Ricardo White destroyed the record once again with a blistering time of 40.11.
Southern Utah's women's 4x100 meter relay team consisting of Secret Mceuen, Iana- Michovani Graham, Ronnie Walker, and Shante Myriealso collected an impressive finish, missing out on first by fractions of a second to take second place with an elevation-assisted time of 45.76.
Jentry Skidmore dominated in the women's long jump. Skidmore jumped to a monstrous mark of 19'9 ¾" to claim the event win and bolster her hold on second place all-time in the event for SUU.
Madisan DeBos and Haley Tanne led the charge for the Thunderbirds in the women's 5000-meter finals. DeBos ran a blazing time of 16:55.84 to secure first place in the event, and Tanne clinched fifth place with a time of 17:42.34.
In the men's 5,000-meter, Bowen Martin collected an enormous personal best and his first top-five finish running to a time of 15:12.13 to secure second place in the event.
The Thunderbirds had two finishes inside the top five in the men's and women's high jump. Joren McKeever recorded a stellar mark of 6'9" to finish tied for fourth place for the Thunderbird men. Ajia Hughes also earned fourth place for the SUU women, clearing a height of 5'5".
In the women's 100 meters, Secret Mceuen and Iana-Michovani Graham both seized spots on the podium. Mceuen bolted to a time of 11.72 to secure second place in the event, just missing out on the SUU school record (11.63) by less than a second. Michovani Graham finished right behind Mceuen in third place with a time of 11.75 to put her third all-time for SUU.
Michovani Graham also secured an impressive finish in the women's 200-meter, placing fourth with a time of 24.50, pushing her into ninth place all-time for the Thunderbirds.
Southern Utah had three finishes inside the top ten in the men's 200-meter finals. Cameron Beans just barely missed the event win, finishing in second place with a personal best time of 21.14. Ricardo White finished close behind in fourth place with a time of 21.37, and Noah Bringhurst grabbed seventh place with a 21.70.
White and Beans added to that performance with two blazing times in the 100 meters. White ran a time of 10.47 to claim third place in the event. Beans finished right behind in fourth place with a time of 10.50, tying him for tenth in the SUU record books.
The Thunderbirds sprinters earned two more top-five finishes in the men's 400 meters. Jaedyn Carpenter cruised to a fourth-place finish with a time of 46.68, making him third all-time for SUU in the event. Dylan Gibson followed close behind, taking fifth place with a time of 46.99, clinching fourth in the SUU history books.
In the men's mile, SUU claimed three more top-ten finishes. Santiago Gaitan led the way taking third place, clocking a time of 4:06.78. Payton Riggs finished ran a time of 4:09.07 to grab sixth place, and Hayden Harward secured 10th place with 4:12.74.
Dominick Vasquez and Dylan Petillo earned new personal records in the men's hammer throw. Vasquez launched a throw of 171'11", battling into fifth place in the event and ninth in the SUU history books. Petillo finished in ninth place with a 161'3 ½", securing a 13-foot personal record.
On the women's side, Rebecca Hazelet to turned a solid outing in the hammer. Hazelet hurled a throw of 170'2 ½" to finish in sixth place.
Savannah Nielson claimed another top-five finish in the 100-meter hurdles. Nielsen took fourth place with a 13.94.
WAC Outdoor Championships Start Times
-
Thursday events begin at 8:30 a.m. MDT
-
Friday events begin at 8:30 a.m. MDT
-
Saturday events begin at 9:00 a.m. MDT
Follow Us
Stay current on the Thunderbird track and field programs by following @SUUTFXC on Twitter and Instagram and like the Southern Utah Track and XC page on Facebook.
