AUSTIN, Texas – The Arizona Women began their first day of competition at the NCAA Outdoor Championships on Thursday, following up the men's impressive start from yesterday. Talie Bonds was the lone Wildcat to compete on the day, but she did not disappoint as she advanced to Saturday's 100m hurdles final. Additionally, Alexa Porpaczy, who will compete in the high jump on Saturday as well, was named the NCAA Women's Elite 90 Award Winner.
 
TRACK HIGHLIGHTS
Senior Talie Bonds kept her record-setting season alive in the women's 100m hurdles by advancing to the final of the event on Saturday. Bonds clocked an impressive time of 12.75, which is right around her school record time of 12.65 which she ran earlier in the year. She finished second in her heat, which was the fastest of the event and included the first, third, fourth, and sixth-place finishers. Bonds was one of those top overall finishers though, as she ended with the third fastest time in the competition. She will seek her highest career finish at the NCAA Championships on Saturday at 6:42 p.m. MST, as last year she placed 16th in the event. The last time an Arizona athlete advanced to the final in the 100m hurdles was in 2011.
 
Although she didn't compete tonight, Alexa Porpaczy still made an impact on the day, winning the NCAA Women's Elite 90 Award. The honor is given out at each of the NCAA's 90 championship sites to the student-athlete with the highest cumulative GPA that's competing at the finals. Porpaczy led all female participants at the NCAA Championships with the highest grade-point-average and was therefore awarded the accolade. For more information about the award, click here. A few weeks ago, Porpaczy, a Legal Studies major, was also included on the CSC Academic All-District Team. The senior will compete in the high jump on Saturday in her first career NCAA Championships appearance.
 
Tomorrow, the last Wildcat on the men's side, Youssef Koudssi, will compete in the discus at 5:35 p.m. MST. Bonds, Porpaczy, and Tapenisa Havea will then close out the outdoor championships on Saturday for the Arizona Women. Live results for all the events can be found here.
 
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