LAFAYETTE, La. – Arthur Petersen took gold in the javelin, while
Liv Cantby and
Simona Cabella each earned bronze medals in the javelin and pole vault to lead the UT Arlington track and field team on the first day of the Sun Belt Conference Outdoor Championships at Ragin' Cajun Track Facility on Thursday.
The UTA women sit in fourth place after four events scored with 15 points, while the men sit fourth after three events scored with 14 points.
Petersen won the event for the second consecutive season and only needed two throws to do so. He began the event with a throw of 74.47 (244-4) and followed with his second throw at 75.09 (246-4), enough to easily take control of the event.
Petersen took a foul and three passes from there as he cruised to victory, looking ahead to the NCAA Championship Preliminary Round in two weeks. Petersen currently sits third in the nation with a throw 79.90 (262-2).
On the women's side, Cantby earned a bronze in the javelin with a throw of 46.50 (152-7), coming on her second throw of the day.
In the pole vault, Cabella found her way to the podium with a third place finish, clearing 3.72 (12-2 1/2).
Abigail Kelly-Salo earned a sixth place finish at 3.57 (11-8 1/2) to score points for the Mavs.
Multis were in full force on day one as they put together an outstanding opening day.
Lucas Van Klaveren leads the decathlon after five events with 3,930 points, while
Brady Shadrick sits fifth with 3,563 points.
Van Klaveren was outstanding, opening the day with a win in the 100 meter dash at 11.03. He followed with a pair of third place finishes in the long jump (6.74) and shot put (12.95) followed by a fourth place finish in the high jump (1.93).
The multis men closed the day in the 400 meter dash with a 1-2-3 finish as Van Klaveren led the way at 47.79 followed by Shadrick in second at 50.57.
Jorrdyn Dunn placed third with a time of 50.78.
On the women's side,
Jade Bontke was dominant in the heptathlon, earning first place finishes in three of the four events on day one. Bontke won the 100-meter hurdles with a new PR of 14.27 and followed with an unbelievable performance in the high jump, clearing 1.82 to win the event.
The jump was the second best in school history and good for 20th in the country.
Bontke closed the day with a fourth place finish in the shot put at 12.29 and a blazing time of 24.39 in the 200 meter dash.
A total of 12 athletes qualified for finals on the track side as the 1500, 400 hurldes, and 200 all had prelims on Thursday evening.
Five distance runners qualified for the 1500 finals as
Madeleine Rowe (4:40.99) and
Mathilde Ruud (4:45.36) led the way for the women, while
Alfredo Corona (3:55.09),
Jackson Cichon (3:58.44), and
Jeriel Algarin-Marquez (3:59.43) qualified on the men's side.
In the 400 meter hurdles,
Shelby West had the top qualifying time, setting a PR in the process, with a time of 58.82, the second best time of school history. Bontke (59.61) also qualified with a new PR, while Van Klaveren qualified on the men's side at 52.20.
Four Mavs qualified for the 200 meter dash final, including three on the women's side.
Iyana Gray (23.59) and
Tatyana Terrell (23.62) had the top two times in prelims, while
Adeyemi Talabi (24.35) also punched her ticket.
DaVontay Kennedy smashed his PR to qualify for the finals with a time of 21.19.
Patrick Estes closed the night with a fifth place finish in the 10,000 meter with a time of 31:25.51.
UTA returns to the track for day two tomorrow morning beginning at 9 AM as the multis will conclude as well as a full slate of track and field events.
Gallery: (5-12-2022) Track & Field at SBC Outdoor Championships (Day 1)
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