Utah Valley Men, Stephen F. Austin Women With Narrow Leads To Open 2023 WAC Indoor Track & Field Championships
Utah Valley Men, Stephen F. Austin Women With Narrow Leads To Open 2023 WAC Indoor Track & Field Championships
2023 WAC ITF Men's Results - Day 1
2023 WAC ITF Women's Results - Day 1
SPOKANE, Wash. – Utah Valley and Stephen F. Austin each staked claim to the top spots on the leaderboard following the first day of the 2023 WAC Indoor Track & Field Championships on Friday at The Podium.
Utah Valley earned 36 points on the first day of competition to hold the lead over defending champion Grand Canyon (34.5 points) in the men’s standings. Stephen F. Austin (31 points), Abilene Christian (30 points) and Southern Utah (28 points) comprised the remainder of the men’s top five.
The Stephen F. Austin women tallied 45 points to set the pace just ahead of Utah Valley at 42 points. Other top-five teams on the women’s side included Abilene Christian (26 points), UT Arlington (24 points) and Sam Houston (23 points).
UT Arlington’s Jade Bontke captured the women’s pentathlon with a score of 4,135 points, winning the long jump with a mark of 5.88m (19-3.50). Runner-up Angel Richmore from Stephen F. Austin finished with 4,076 points and Ladyjack teammate Mathilde Coquillaud-Salomon with 3,904 points.
Erica Ellis from Stephen F. Austin earned the top spot in the women’s pole vault, clearing 4.10m (13-5.25). Branson Ellis completed the SFA double with a dominant showing in the men’s pole vault, clearing a conference-record height of 5.74m (18-10.0) on his first attempt to win his first career WAC indoor title.
Michelle Ogbemudia continued the Stephen F. Austin momentum with a women’s shot put individual victory, notching a round three throw of 16.03m (52-7.25) to outpoint the field. Grand Canyon’s Jorden Okyere repeated as the indoor men’s shot put champion with an 18.44m (60-6.0) showing on his third attempt.
NM State’s Valissa Brown won a competitive women’s long jump crown after leaping 5.93m (19-5.50) in the sixth and final round to stun runner-up Brooke Weimer from Grand Canyon (5.88m/19-3.50). Utah Valley’s Aaron Johnson repeated as WAC champion in the men’s long jump by posting a second consecutive winning attempt of 7.54m (24-9.0).
On the track, Utah Valley’s Everlyn Kemboi shattered her own championship record in the 5000-meter run by over 40 seconds, defending the conference championship with a time of 16:00.32 to finish ahead of teammate Mazzie Melaney (16:08.41) and Abilene Christian’s Irene Rono (16:10.22). Utah Valley completed a team sweep of the event for the first time since 2017 as Habtamu Cheney won the men’s 5000-meter title for the Wolverines in 14:08.84. Cheney narrowly defeated Southern Utah’s Isaiah Labra (14:10.84).
UT Arlington capped the first night of its return to the WAC Indoor Championships as the winner of the women’s DMR. The UTA lineup of Mathilde Ruud, Tynecia Singletary, Krianne McBride and Lauren Walls-Portillo logged a victorious effort of 12:02.08. Seattle U’s lineup of Alex Franklin, Isaiah Payne, Matthew Holme and Gus Harquail won the men’s DMR in a photo finish of 10:00.10.
The second and final day of the 2023 WAC Indoor Track & Field Championships is scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. PT on Saturday at The Podium. Live coverage of finals events is set to commence at 2:30 p.m. PT on ESPN+.
2023 WAC INDOOR TRACK & FIELD CHAMPIONSHIP TEAM SCORES
2023 WAC Men’s ITF Championship Day 1 Team Scores
|
Rank
|
Team
|
Points
|
|
1.
|
Utah Valley
|
36
|
|
2.
|
Grand Canyon
|
34.5
|
|
3.
|
Stephen F. Austin
|
31
|
|
4.
|
Abilene Christian
|
30
|
|
5.
|
Southern Utah
|
28
|
|
6.
|
UT Arlington
|
11.5
|
|
7.
|
Seattle U
|
10
|
|
8.
|
Tarleton
|
8
|
|
9.
|
Sam Houston
|
4
|
|
10.
|
UTRGV
|
2
|
2023 WAC Women’s ITF Championship Day 1 Team Scores
|
Rank
|
Team
|
Points
|
|
1.
|
Stephen F. Austin
|
45
|
|
2.
|
Utah Valley
|
42
|
|
3.
|
Abilene Christian
|
26
|
|
4.
|
UT Arlington
|
24
|
|
5.
|
Sam Houston
|
23
|
|
6.
|
Grand Canyon
|
21
|
|
7.
|
NM State
|
17
|
|
8.
|
UTRGV
|
14
|
|
9.
|
Southern Utah
|
12
|
|
10.
|
Tarleton
|
5
|
|
|
Seattle U
|
5
|
--WAC--