Day 1 Results
BIRMINGHAM, Alabama – UIW track and field had the strongest first day of conference championships in the Southland Era, so it was only fitting that the final event of the day – the men's Distance Medley Relay – shattered the school record and earned a silver medal on Wednesday from the Birmingham CrossPlex.
LEADERS
In all, UIW set five school records with an entire day to set more on Thursday.
Rodney Littlejohn and
McKenna Moses got things going in the early going in the men's pentathlon and the women's heptathlon, as Littlejohn set new PRs in all but one of the four events today and Moses set a new PR in all five events, as she also set a new PR with 2775 points, almost 100 points more than her previous high. Littlejohn sits in fourth place with three events to go. He is already on pace to break the school record, as he currently has 2711 points.
Clinton Cole set two school records, in the 60m and 200m. In the 60, Cole finished fifth overall with a time of 6.78, while
Andrew Leuthner ran a strong sprint with a sixth-place finish at 6.83. Both qualified for the finals tomorrow. In the 200,
Uchenna Nnaji actually broke the school record during his heat with a 21.56 clocking, but Cole re-broke it in his heat with a time of 21.50. Both qualified for tomorrow's final.
In the 400,
Jamari Gilbert ran an extremely strong race, finishing fourth overall while winning his heat with a school-record time of 48.58, which qualifies him for tomorrow's final.
Competing in an event she has performed exceptionally well all year, the 60m hurdles,
Jerica Love re-broke her own school record with a qualifying time of 8.59, which was the fifth-fastest time on the day.
The men's DMR ended what was already a fantastic day on the track, as they ran a school-record time of 10:00.17, which was eight seconds faster than the previous record. The quartet –
Jorge Quintero,
Collin Sepulveda,
Cameron White, and
Garett Cortez – earned a silver medal finish with strong individual times. Quinterro ran a 3:03 in the 12000m leg, Sepulveda with a sub-minute (50.40) in the 400m, White with a 1:52.41 in the 800m, and Cortez with a 4:12.50 in the 1600m.
QUOTES
Head Coach Derek Riedel on the men's performance
"This was by far our best Day 1 conference results in our short D1 history. The men came out hungry, focused, and determined to set themselves up for a strong finish tomorrow. We have finalists in the 60, 200, 400, 800, 1600 and strong contenders in the 3000 and a strong 4x4 as well as good point potential in the triple jump. I'm proud of the men's start today. The DMR was such an exciting way to finish the day – Jorge, Collin, Cameron and Garett were composed and it helped them break the school record and finish 2
nd! I believe big things are coming for them tomorrow."
Riedel on the women's performance
"Unfortunately, we missed on a few scoring opportunities that we were pretty confident about coming into the meet. However, we had some very strong performances in the 800 and 1600 and a great finish to the day in the DMR. Jerica's 60m hurdle race was fun to watch. She hadn't raced in three weeks and hadn't even done a hurdle workout until last Friday, so for her to break her school record and comfortably make the finals was a big boost for the women's team."
Deion Hardy on the first day of competition
"I felt we had a really good day. I'm really proud of the team and especially the distance guys. How far we've come since my freshman year. It's fun to see everyone grow."
Clinton Cole on performing at the conference meet
"It's a learning experience; we have to fight every time we go out. We have to continue to work hard."
Keila Rodriguez on her performance
"It's really exciting to make it to the finals in the 800 and the mile. I just need to come out tomorrow strong and mentally prepared and take one race at a time."
Dominique Allen on her day
"I felt good. I feel strong about tomorrow. I'm ready to go out and run a really good 800."
UP NEXT
The final day of the indoor championships begins at 8:30 a.m. on Thursday with the final three pentathlon events.
STAY TUNED
The Cardinals open the outdoor season at the Rice University Shirley Crowe Heptathlon and Decathlon March 14-15.
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