NACOGDOCHES, Texas– The Thunderbirds track program has wrapped up day one at the WAC Outdoor Championships. The event was delayed this morning by some severe weather. Still, it didn't put a damper on the excitement for these outstanding athletes as many turned in personal bests and challenged some school records.
Before the meet could start, WAC officials had to call an audible and send many of the field athletes to a local high school as the competition area had been flooded by rainwater. The event eventually got underway with the first sections of the Decathlon and Heptathlon.
Southern Utah sophomore pole vaulter Ariana Baker got things going early for the Thunderbirds setting a new personal record of 11'4.6". The mark was good enough for fourth on the all-time record board for Southern Utah.
Junior Trenton Maurer is currently in 10th place in the decathlon. Maurer made a huge jump in the standings with the shot put, throwing it nearly four feet further than the next closest competitor.
Next up was a few of the mid-distance preliminary races. The Thunderbirds qualified three men for Saturday's final of the 1500m. Senior Santiago Gaitan, graduate student Payton Riggs, and freshman Lanse Larsen all placed in the top five of their heat to advance.
On the women's side of the 1500m, four T-Birds ran incredibly well qualifying for the finals on Saturday. Sophomore Jordyn Bartolomucci finished the preliminary with the third place time overall while graduate student Haley Tanne and first-year student Aviry Stratton had the sixth and seventh best times respectively. Freshman Nixie Killpack finished fifth in her heat, advancing her to the finals.
Junior Secret Mceuen turned in an impressive time of 23.96 in the women's 200m. The time would be good enough for a school record were it not for the wind. Mceuen advanced to Saturday's finals with a second-place finish in her heat.
The Javelin was one of many events that were delayed for a long time due to the rain, but Cedar English threw it well when it started. English finished in sixth place with a long throw of 183'.
Wrapping up the day's events was the long-distance 10k race. The Thunderbirds made a splash in the Men's team standings jumping into first place with some impressive finishes in the day's final event. Junior Travis Feeny finished in second place with a time of 31:07.18. Not far behind him was junior Max Jones with a time of 31:25.67 which was good enough for third place. Rounding out the top five was Southern Utah sophomore Coleman Cragun with a time of 32:00.16.
Coach Eric Houle Said
"It was a good opening day for us. Both teams came and competed very strongly. We made finals in many events and are looking for another strong day tomorrow."
Up Next
Southern Utah will continue the WAC Outdoor Championships Friday in Nacogdoches. Tune in to see them compete on ESPN+ at 4:30 p.m. MDT or follow the live results here.
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