TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – The University of Dayton track and field and men's cross country finish their three-day meet at the Gibson Invitational in 10th place out of 19 teams. The weather was on their side this weekend too as Indiana was a pleasant 75 degrees and sunny. Many Flyers achieved PRs and climbed in the top-ten rankings for the A-10 for this season.
Highlights
- Raegan Ernst and Evelyn Albers set a combined total of 13 PRs in the heptathlon. Ernst now has the fourth-best heptathlon score in the A-10 with her 4150 points and Albers lands in fifth with her 3909 points.
- Luisa Himmler took second place in the javelin throw with her 41.88m throw, and Daniela Peralta set a PR while finishing in fifth place with a 39.50m throw.
- Lauren Santiago finished in fifth place and improved her third-best all-time school record in the 400m hurdles with her 1:03.43 time today. This is the third consecutive 400m hurdles performance where Santiago has set a PR and a top-five all-time record. She now sits at seventh place in the A-10 for this event.
- Grace Homan earned fourth place and set another outdoor shot put PR with her 14.31m put. She now owns the third-best shot put mark in the A-10.
- Jayla Pruitt finished in fifth place in the triple jump and improved her fifth-best all-time record in UD history with her 11.44m jump. She also hit this mark on her first jump attempt.
- The Flyers set 25 PRs, which is the most they have set in any meet during the 2023 outdoor season.
Coach's Quote
What do you think helped Raegan and Evelyn to excel this weekend in the heptathlon?
"I believe a big part of their success was their cognitive preparation leading up to the multi," said Associate Head Coach
Aaron Gordon. "Understanding the complexity of the event, as well as managing the ups and downs, is critical in the heptathlon. I also believe their ability to push and support one another throughout the meet was a big part of the outcome as well. You always train to compete your best, but to PR in 80% of the events is extremely difficult. These two have a very bright future in this event here at the University of Dayton."
How do you think this meet prepared the team for the final stretch of the outdoor season?
"I believe having the weather we had this weekend was very critical in understanding where we are in our training plan," said Gordon. "Bringing this much momentum into the highly competitive Jesse Owens Invitational next week, we are looking to see everyone firing on all cylinders and put on some great performances as well."
Day One Results
Heptathlon
- The Flyers will take a trip to Columbus to compete in the Jesse Owens Classic at Ohio State University on April 21-22.
