MOBILE, Ala. – Five top-5 all-time program records, a gold medal in the men's javelin and several other podium finishes highlighted a strong opening day for UT Arlington at the 2021 Sun Belt Conference Outdoor Track and Field Championships from South Alabama's Jaguar Track Complex on Thursday.
 
Among the top-5 program records established by the Mavericks included: Liv Cantby (2nd, javelin), Marisa Fleck (3rd, javelin), Justin Domangue (3rd, 10000m), Abigail Kelly-Salo (4th, pole vault) and Cole Klashinsky (4th, 10000m).
 
Leading the podium finishes for the Mavs was Arthur Petersen as he easily won gold in the men's javelin. Kelly-Salo posted a 2nd-place finish in the women's pole vault, while Cantby claimed bronze in the women's javelin in her championship debut. Domangue closed the night with another bronze for the Mavs, this time in the 10000m.
 
While only three of 21 total events over the three-day championships have been scored to this point, the UTA men have jumped out to a great start as the Mavs reside in 2nd place with 23 points – just five back of leader Troy (28). On the women's side, four of the 21 events have been finalized, and the Mavs are in 4th place with 21 points.
 
Below is much more information about UTA's performances on the first day of the Sun Belt Championships, including strong starts in the decathlon for Lucas Van Klaveren and heptathlon for Jade Bontke.
 
JAVELIN
Petersen continued his domination of the men's javelin in the Sun Belt this year as the freshman delivered a distance of 71.29m (233-10) on his first attempt, and then did not make another throw and won by nearly five feet. Petersen – who holds the program's best-ever throw of 77.75m (255-01) – ranks 2nd in the nation in the javelin this year, only one inch behind the country's leader. The Denmark native claimed 10 points for the Mavs with the 1st-place finish.
 
Cantby delivered the 2nd-best women's javelin in program history as the freshman launched a throw of 48.64m (159-07) on her fourth attempt to surpass her own mark of 47.96m (157-04) set at the Texas Relays in March. The Denmark native put UTA's first points on the board of the championships as she finished 3rd in the event to score six points.
 
Cantby's performance was only one of two top-5 all-time javelin performances on Thursday as Fleck posted the 3rd-best mark in program history at 42.29m (138-09), shattering her previous PR of 40.38m (132-06) by more than six feet. Fleck secured three points for the Mavs with that throw.
 
POLE VAULT
Kelly-Salo established the 4th-best women's pole vault in program history as she cleared 3.93m (12-10 ¾) to win silver. Kelly-Salo – whose previous PR was 3.88m (12-08 ¾) – and Lauren Beauchamp were the only two competitors to get over that 3.93m bar, but neither could clear 4.03m (13-02 ½); Beauchamp cleared 3.93m on her first try, whereas Kelly-Salo did so on her second attempt. Still, the Maverick sophomore gave UTA eight points toward the team total.
 
10000M
Domangue cut two seconds off his previous best to establish a new PR in the men's 10000m with a time of 29:40.47 to remain 3rd on the all-time program list. That performance gave him a 3rd-place finish, a bronze medal and six points for the Mavs. Klashinsky made a significant improvement as he shaved more than a minute off his PR and crossed in 29:59.60 to represent the 4th-best time in program history, finish in 4th place in the event and collect five points for UTA.
 
DECATHLON & HEPTATHLON
Van Klaveren is in position to bring home a decathlon title on Friday as he sits in 2nd place midway through with 3,811 points after five events – only three points behind Ben Collerton from Texas State (3,814). Those two have created a nearly 400-point gap between themselves and 3rd place.
 
Van Klaveren finished 2nd in the 100m with a time of 11.31 to garner 793 points. He also collected a 2nd-place showing in the long jump at 6.77m (22-02 ½) to collect 760 points. The Netherlands native missed matching a PR in the shot put by half an inch as he finished 3rd with a throw of 12.49m (40-11 ¾) to result in another 636 points.
 
His string of top-3 finishes continued into the high jump as he tied for 2nd by clearing 1.92m (6-03 ½) and receiving 731 points. Van Klaveren then concluded his day with a blistering PR-setting time of 48.37 in the 400m to win by more than three seconds and grab 891 points.
 
Through four of the seven heptathlon events, Jade Bontke finds herself just outside the top-3 as she resides in 4th place with 3,085 points – just 73 back of 3rd.
 
Bontke tied for 3rd in the high jump, clearing 1.66m (5-05 ¼) to secure 806 points. She established a PR in the shot put with a mark of 10.43m (34-02 ¾), giving the Hillsboro product another 558 points. She posted another PR – this time coming in the 200m – with a time of 25.11 to finish in 2nd and net 877 points to complete the multis for the day.
 
QUALIFIERS

• Madeleine Rowe finished 2nd in her heat and 3rd overall in the 1500m with a time of 4:35.19 to qualify for the finals on Saturday afternoon.
• In the men's 1500m, Connor Butterfield (3:53.29) won the 1st heat and advanced to the Saturday final with the 2nd-fastest qualifying time. He will be joined there by Marquentin Barnes, who shattered his PR by exactly six seconds with a time of 3:51.35 to finish 5th in qualifying, and also Jose Alfonzo, who set a PR (3:55.35) to qualify as well.
• UTA only entered two competitors in the 400m hurdles prelims, but both Shelby West (3rd, 1:00.78) and Bontke (6th, 1:01.96) moved on to Saturday's final. Bontke absolutely destroyed her previous best in the event by almost 10 seconds.

THIS AND THAT

• Both of the UTA men who did not qualify for the 1500m final still set PRs: Jacob Ye (3:58.52) and Tyler Rodriguez (3:59.82).
• In the women's 200m, Ariel Price set a PR (26.16).
• Jordan Watkins set a PR in the men's 200m (22.51).
• Running the 10000m for the first time, Valeria Diaz missed cracking the top-5 all-time record list by just four seconds as she crossed in 5th place with a time of 37:10.82 to earn four points.
• Following in Diaz's shoes in terms of a first-time participant, Patrick Estes crossed the 10000m in 31:09.44 for 7th place and two team points.

NEXT ON THE BLOCKS
Van Klaveren and Bontke kick off action in the decathlon and heptathlon at 9 and 9:30 a.m., respectively, on Friday, as they will conclude the multis. Field events commence at 12:30 p.m. with the women's long jump, and running events start at 5 p.m.
 
ESPN+ broadcast coverage will kick off with the running events at 5 p.m., and live results will be available all day via Half-Mile Timing.
 
FOLLOW ALONG
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