Albuquerque, N.M. -- With the distance crew waiting until tomorrow to compete in Seattle, all eyes were on Arizona's other squad in New Mexico for the Don Kirby Invite where they impressed in day one.
“Overall it was definitely an outstanding day.” Head Coach Fred Harvey said. “Nnenya opened up in the hurdles and posted a top-15 mark in the country, which sets her up pretty nicely for the national championships. I thought Morgan's race was great and gave her a lot of confidence, that was really exciting for her and pleasing to see. Pau had a great day setting PRs on the vault with a mark of 17 feet and 7 inches and a quarter, and then with the hurdles at 8.13 seconds. The whole spirit of the team was great with everyone running so well. Gia ran a 24.47 which was a huge PR for her, she took over half of a second off of it.”
“We are excited about what we are doing, we have been extremely competitive and that is a great thing going into the conference meet in two weeks.”
Pau Tonnesen set a personal record in the pole vault with a mark of 17 feet and 7.25 inches (5.37m). That was good for a second place finish. He also ran a personal record in the 60-meter hurdles at a time of 8.13 seconds, good for sixth overall and qualifying him for the semifinal in the event tomorrow.
Harrison Ivie also qualified for the semifinal in the 60-meter hurdle with a time of 8.45 seconds and an eighth place overall finish.
Nnenya Hailey and Traci Hicks both qualified for the semifinal in tomorrow's women 60-meter hurdle event. Hailey finished fifth and posted a mark of 8.27 seconds, good for a top-15 mark in the country while Hicks posted a time of 8.56 seconds.
Morgan Struble set a personal record in the 600-meter race by posting a time of 1:32.58 garnering a fourth place finish. Bryce Houston competed in the men's event, a race he was debuting in, and ran a time of 1:21.75 for a solid fifth place overall finish.
Avery Mickens competed in the men's long jump today and set a personal record with a mark of 24 feet and 1.75 inches (7.36m) which was good for the third best overall mark on the day.
Lisanne Hagens came in second place overall in the women's high jump by posting a mark of 5 feet and 8.5 inches (1.74m).
Bryant O'Georgia finished fifth in the men's high jump with a mark of 6 feet and 9.75 inches (2.08m). This was the first event O'Georgia has competed in this season.
Blake Eichler posted a personal record in the men's 200-meter race with a time of 21.59 seconds. His previous record was 21.74 seconds set at the MPSF Championships last February.
Gia Trevisan ran a time of 24.47 in the women's 200-meter today, smashing her previous personal record of 25.07 seconds. Tatum Waggoner ran a 24.35 good for her second best mark in her career. Jasper Gray also ran a personal record clocking in at 25.01 seconds.
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