LUBBOCK, Texas – Arizona Track & Field started strong at their first ever Big 12 Indoor Championships on Friday.
The Wildcats saw plenty of highlights on day one of the conference championship event. The team had seven point scorers (three of which finished runner-up), six running event final qualifiers, and broke five school records.
BIG 12 SCORERS
Zach Landa – Second, Men's Weight Throw, 8 Points
Hollan Powers – Second, Women's Pentathlon, 8 Points
Reinaldo Rodrigues – Second, Men's Long Jump, 8 Points
Jenica Bosko – Fourth, Women's Long Jump, 5 Points
Michael Ogbeiwi – Sixth, Men's Weight Throw, 3 Points
Sylvan Osman – t-Seventh, Men's Pole Vault, 1.5 Points
Tapenisa Havea – Eighth, Women's Weight Throw, 1 Point
RUNNING EVENT FINAL QUALIFIERS
Zach Extine – Men's 60m Hurdles
Keilee Hall – Women's 600y
Antonia Sanchez Nunez – Women's 400m
Christian Simmons – Men's 800m
Trayvion White-Austin – Men's 60m | Men's 200m
Taylen Wise – Women's 60m Hurdles
SCHOOL RECORD PERFORMANCES
Isaac Davis – Men's 600y
Zach Extine – Men's 60m Hurdles
McKenna Watson – Women's 200m
Trayvion White-Austin – Men's 60m | Men's 200m
FIELD HIGHLIGHTS
The Wildcats had two scorers in the men's weight throw, led by Zach Landa who finished runner-up in the event to earn eight points for the team and a silver medal. Landa posted a massive personal best throw of 73-3.5 (22.34m) which came on his third attempt of the competition. Michael Ogbeiwi was the other scorer for the team, finishing sixth overall with a throw of 66-5 (20.24m). Additionally, Sam Hala'ufia threw a personal best mark to finish 14th, Youssef Koudssi placed 15th, Tyler Michelini ended in 19th, and Richard Legarra finished 22nd with a personal best heave.
Reinaldo Rodrigues finished runner-up in the men's long jump, earning a silver medal for himself and eight points for the team. Rodrigues' best jump on the day was 24-11.25 (7.60m) which came on his first attempt. It was a tight battle for first place, with Rodrigues only losing by 0.02m.
Jenica Bosko finished fourth overall in the women's long jump, posting a leap of 20-0.25 (6.10m) to score five points for the Wildcats. Bosko jumped over 6m twice in the competition.
Freshman Sylvan Osman scored points for the Wildcats in what was his first career conference championship. Osman tied for seventh overall in the men's pole vault after clearing a height of 16-5.25 (5.01m).
In the women's weight throw, Tapenisa Havea scored points for the Wildcats with an eighth-place finish. Havea posted a strong series, surpassing her previous best on five of six throws and going over 18m three times. Her best mark of the day was a personal best throw of 61-2 (18.64m). Additionally, Mackenna Orie placed 15th in the event and Lauryn Love finished 19th.
Olivia Dillon, Kelly de Jong, and Ena McMahon all competed in the women's pole vault.
TRACK HIGHLIGHTS
Overall, the Wildcats had six athletes qualify for a running event final on Saturday based off their performances in the first round of competition. The team also had five school records broken. The top eight times in each first round event advanced.
Trayvion White-Austin had an impressive day on the track. The senior broke both of his own school records in the men's 60m and the men's 200m. In the 60m, White-Austin clocked a time of 6.57, which was the second fastest in his heat and third fastest overall. The event was incredibly competitive, with the last qualifying time being 6.67. Additionally, Tyson Tippett (6.75) placed 12th in the event, James Onanubosi (6.82) 19th, and Brian Limage (6.82) 20th.
White-Austin followed up his 60m school record with another in the 200m. He ran a time of 20.56 to win his heat and finish fourth overall. The senior was again joined by his teammates Tyson Tippett (21.34), Brian Limage (21.59), and James Onanubosi (21.59) who also competed in the event. White-Austin qualified for Saturday's finals in both events.
Zach Extine broke the Arizona school record in the men's 60m hurdles for the third time this season. Extine's time of 7.62 was the second fastest in his heat and fourth fastest overall. His most recent school record time of 7.66 was also ran at Texas Tech, before he broke it today to advance to Saturday's final. Additionally, freshman Bogdan Vidojkovic ran a time of 8.04 to place 15th.
Keilee Hall finished third overall in the women's 600y with a time of 1:20.17, which is right around her personal best. She finished second in her heat.
In the women's 60m hurdles, Taylen Wise clocked a personal best time of 8.21, which was the fourth fastest time of the competition, and advanced to Saturday's final.
Antonia Sanchez Nunez qualified for Saturday's final in the women's 400m, clocking a big personal best time of 53.16. She won her heat and finished seventh overall. Ava Simms just narrowly missed out on advancing as well, clocking a personal best time of 53.25 to place ninth. Additionally, Camila Aguilar-Perez ran an indoor personal best time of 54.39 and finished 18th. Brooke Nordman and Cecelia Woods competed in the event as well.
In the men's 800m, Christian Simmons clocked a personal best time of 1:50.31 to finish eighth overall and secure the last spot for Saturday's final in the event. Additionally, José Rodríguez placed 10th in the event with a time of 1:51.20 and Noah Ray finished 11th with a personal best time of 1:51.39. Cade Russo also competed in the event.
McKenna Watson ran a school record time in the women's 200m of 23.23. Watson, who broke the Arizona 300m record earlier in the season, had been inching closer to the 200m record as well. She just narrowly missed out on qualifying for the event's final, placing ninth overall by 0.10 seconds. Jade Brown and Dakota Minor also competed in the event, and Presley Money clocked a 200m personal best time as well.
Isaac Davis broke the Arizona school record in the men's 600y, clocking a personal best time of 1:09.35 in the event. Davis just narrowly missed out on advancing to the final in the competitive event, placing ninth overall by 0.08 seconds. Evan Simmons and Julius Cheek ran personal best times in the event as well and Yan Vazquez also competed for the Wildcats.
Kara Mickelson ran a near-personal best time in the women's 800m of 2:10.68 to place 12th in the event.
In the women's 60m, McKenna Watson matched her personal best time of 7.41 to place 17th in the event. Jade Brown and Dakota Minor also competed in the event.
Diego Marquez posted a personal best time in the men's 400m for the Wildcats.
The team closed out day one of the competition with the distance medley relay. The women's team consisted of Dunja Sikima, Brooke Nordman, Kara Mickelson, and Laina Friedmann. The men's team consisted of José Rodríguez, Diego Marquez, Cade Russo, and Gideon Mengich.
MULTIS HIGHLIGHTS
Hollan Powers was the first competitor of the day for the Wildcats and set the tone with a win in the women's pentathlon 60m hurdles. Powers clocked a personal best time in the event of 8.33 to jump to an early lead. In the second event of the pentathlon, the high jump, Powers logged her second personal best of the day, clearing a height of 5-4.25 (1.63m) to place 12th. She followed that up with an eight-place finish in the pentathlon shot put.
In the pentathlon long jump, Powers went on to finish fifth with a jump of 18-10.75 (5.76m). She ended the competition by clocking a time of 2:16.28 in the pentathlon 800m to place fourth. Overall, Powers finished second with a personal best score of 4,080 points, earning herself a silver medal and eight points for the Wildcats.
TEAM SCORES
MEN
1. Texas Tech – 33
2. BYU – 29
3. Kansas – 28
3. Oklahoma State – 28
5. Arizona – 20.5
6. Iowa State – 18
7. Kansas State – 13.5
8. Colorado – 9
8. TCU – 9
10. Houston – 5
11. Cincinnati – 2
12. Arizona State – 0
12. Baylor – 0
WOMEN
1. BYU – 36
2. Baylor – 30
3. Oklahoma State – 22
3. West Virginia – 22
5. Cincinnati – 19
5. Kansas – 19
7. Kansas State – 18
8. Texas Tech – 15
9. Arizona – 14
10. Iowa State – 12
11. Colorado – 9
12. Arizona State – 8
13. UCF – 6
14. TCU – 2
14. Utah – 2
16. Houston - 0
UP NEXT
The Big 12 Indoor Championships continue on Saturday at Texas Tech. Multi events begin at 9:00 a.m. MST, field events begin at 12:00 p.m. MST, and running events begin at 1:00 p.m. MST. The meet can be streamed on ESPN+ here and live results can be found here.
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