DAYTON - University of Dayton track and field will compete this weekend at the Atlantic 10 Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Fairfax, Virginia hosted by George Mason University. The two-day meet will take place at George Mason Stadium both Saturday and Sunday. The Flyers look to add to their trophy case in what has been an outdoor season filled with wins and personal best.
COACH'S QUOTE
"This team has faced a lot of adversity this year and has come into this outdoor season with a chip on their shoulders. This group is set to make some noise this weekend in the A-10. We have had a lot of great performances leading up to the end of the season which brings us a lot of confidence going into Championship weekend. As a coaching staff, we prepare year round for this moment with our athletes and time after time we continue to see many PRs set with the hopes we continue to let the training we have done all year combine with the excitement of such a competitive meet to create some truly unforgettable moments." -Kevin Gilhuly-
"As a staff we feel our team has performed extremely well to date. There have been a lot of great consistent performances throughout the year. They have answered the call week after week this outdoor season. With A-10's being the same week as their academic finals, it is a very challenging time for them. However, they are resilient both academically and athletically. We look forward to seeing them compete hard and grit out some amazing performances to bring back some hardware." -Aaron Gordon-
OUTDOOR SEASON HIGHLIGHTS
Casey Bogues has won the A-10 Championship in javelin twice and looks for number three on Saturday. The Red Bank, New Jersey native has won three times during the outdoor season taking first place at the Tennessee Invite, BSU We Fly Challenge, and the Jesse Owens Track and Field Classic. The redshirt junior holds the five best throws this year in the conference including a 53.19m mark at Ball State, which ranks 18th in the country and third in the east region.
Abby Carter also had a successful spring with three victories during the outdoor season. The Fishers, Indiana native won the 5000m at the Atlantic 10 Indoor Championship in February and started the outdoor campaign in March with first place finishes in both the 1500m and 3000m at the Blizzard Buster hosted by Miami University. The senior the following week ran the best outdoor time in the conference this year in the 5000m (16:15.45) at Raleigh Relays. Carter grabbed another win outside in the 5000m at the Jesse Owens Classic.
Kendall Johnson was the Most Outstanding Rookie in the A-10 during the indoor season and the freshman has produced a record breaking outdoor campaign. The Tulsa, Oklahoma native won the long jump at the Oliver Nikoloff Invitational at Cincinnati and the Jesse Owens Classic at Ohio State. Her school record jump at UC (6.32m) is also the best jump this year in the conference and the 18th best jump in the east region. The freshman started her A-10 career winning the long jump at the Indoor Championships in February.
Christierra Cici Williams picked up her second career win in the triple jump when she took first place at the Oliver Nikoloff Invitational (11.70m). The senior is also coming off a personal best in the long jump (5.58m) at the RedHawk Invitational where she finished third.
Zoe Chappelle won the 3000m steeplechase at the Tennessee Invite in March. The senior also had a second place finish in the 5000m at the Oliver Nikoloff Invitational.
Jadyn Haywood had a strong showing at the A-10 Indoor Championships with multiple trips to the podium. The Dayton native finished second in the 200m and third in the 60m. The sophomore currently has the third fastest 100m time in the conference at 11.69 seconds, which was a third-place finish at the Tennessee Invite and the second fastest 100m in school history.
Lauren Santiago owns the second fastest 400m hurdles time in the conference at 1:03.03. The senior posted the time at the BSU We Fly Challenge, where she finished third. Santiago also has a second place finish this spring at the Oliver Nikoloff Invitational.
Luisa Himmler finished second last year in the javelin at the A-10 Championship as Dayton went one, two, and three on the podium. This year, the graduate senior has three top-four finishes. The graduate student grabbed second place at the BSU We Fly Challenge with a season best throw of 42.02m.
Grace Homan has the second best discus throw in the A-10 during the outdoor season. The senior threw 45.95m at the Jesse Owens Classic in April and finished fourth. The Botkins, Ohio native has seven top-five finishes this spring between the discus throw and shot put.
It was a great day for Dayton throwers last Saturday at the Miami RedHawk Invitational. Rebekah Conrad, Maggie Hofner, Jillian Yates and Anna Yater all threw personal best. For Hofner she finished second in the discus throw with a PR (43.20m) and also recorded a personal best in the hammer (48.56m) to finish sixth. Yates also had a second place finish, but in the shot put where she recorded a personal best (12.87m). The sophomore also posted a personal best throw in the discus at 41.03m. Anna Yater was the third Flyer to finish in second place when she posted her personal record of 52.02m in the hammer.
A-10 OUTDOOR TRACK AND FIELD CHAMPIONSHIPS SCHEDULE
The Flyers start Saturday morning with Raegan Ernst, who will compete in the heptathlon, which begins with the 100m hurdles at 11:15 a.m. On Sunday, the action starts again with the heptathlon at 10:00 a.m. and the long jump. All events will take place at George Mason Stadium and for more information on the A-10 Outdoor Championships in Fairfax, Virginia, click on the links above.
