CHARLESTON, Ill. – The University of Dayton track and field wrapped up the Big Blue Classic at Eastern Illinois University today. This two-day meet was full of PRs, first-place finishes, and top-five school records despite the numerous weather delays.
Highlights
- Christierra Cici Williams and Jayla Pruitt finished in third and fourth in the triple jump at the Big Blue Classic. Williams' jump was 11.45m and Pruitt's was 11.35m. Also, both of them got their scores on the final jump attempt.
- Freshman Marissa Pritchett took third place in the 5000m race with her 17:55.10 time.
- Zoe Chappelle and Liz Lechowicz took first and second place (respectively) in the first 3000m Steeplechase race of the season.
- The 4x100m relay squad took first place. Chloe Keating, Rayana Burns, Lauren Santiago, and Jadyn Haywood finished the race in 47.22 seconds.
- Abby Carter won first place out of 44 competitors in the 1500m race. Emily Sreenan joined her on the podium as she finished in third place. Carter's time was 4:36.18 and Sreenan's was 4:45.14.
- Jadyn Haywood set the fourth-fastest 100m dash time in UD history. Haywood finished in first place in the 100m dash with her 11.92 second finish.
- Abby Carter took first place in the 800m where she finished in 2:18.59 for her second top finish of the day.
- Lauren Santiago finished in first place and set the fifth all-time school record for the 400m hurdles with her 1:05.43 time.
- Jadyn Haywood placed second in the 200m dash at the Big Blue Classic with her 24.97 second time.
- Casey Bogues finished in second place in the javelin throw with her 46.24m throw. Luisa Himmler also earned fourth (41.52m) with Daniela Peralta finishing in fifth (38.35m).
- The Flyers set 22 PRs during Saturday's events.
Coach's Quote
"It is always great as a coach to see records broken and have Dayton athletes in finals in almost every event," said Associate Head Coach
Kevin Gilhuly. "We had some impressive times on the track with
Lauren Santiago and
Jadyn Haywood getting into the all-time record books in their respective events. But to continue to have PRs across all disciplines is huge this early in the season."
When asked about how the weather impacted the events, Gilhuly explained "Day one of the meet was cold, windy, and rainy which was something we knew we had to prepare for going into the weekend. It's essential to train in this weather and compete in it because when it comes down to the championship season, we have to be ready for anything. A lot of teams try to only compete in warm, sunny weather all the time… but our philosophy is to treat each weekend as an opportunity to improve and adapt regardless of the situation."
Friday Results
Hammer Throw
- The Flyers will be competing in the Texas Relays at the University of Texas on March 31 and the Oliver Nikoloff Invitational at the University of Cincinnati March 30 - April 1.
