LAFAYETTE, La. – Jade Bontke scored 24 points for the UT Arlington track and field team, while
Lucas Van Klaveren found himself on the podium with gold again as the Mavericks put together another outstanding day at the Sun Belt Conference Outdoor Championships at Ragin' Cajun Track Facility on Friday.
The UTA men sit third with 39 points, while the women are fourth with 39 total points with one day to go.
Bontke put together a memorable day in the heptathlon, breaking her own school record with 5,692 points, while also setting a new facility and meet record. Her point total is good for ninth in the country.
Bontke started the day with a first place finish in the long jump at 5.91 (19-4 3/4), but finished fifth in the javelin with a throw of 30.96 (101-7). Camryn Newton-Smith finished first with a huge throw and was breathing down Bontke's neck heading into the final event.
However, it was Bontke again, cruising to a first place finish in the 800 meter with a time of 2:21.24 to wrap up the event and secure the gold. Bontke finished first in five of the seven events she competed in.
Shortly after winning the grueling heptathlon, Bontke went to work in individual field events. She finished third in the long jump at 6.08 (19-11 1/2) and then followed that with a second place finish in the high jump at 1.76 (5-9 1/4) to cap a truly remarkable day.
It was not the only memorable performance as
Lucas Van Klaveren repeated as champion of the decathlon, breaking the Sun Belt Conference, Meet, and Facility Record with 7,625 points.
Brady Shadrick added a terrific day of his own, placing fourth in the event with a personal best of 6,765 points.
Van Klaveren had a pair of wins in the morning, crossing first in the 110 meter hurdles at 14.60 and first in the 1500 at 4:34.32. He finished second in the discus at 39.45 (129-5), fourth in pole vault at 4.55 (14-11), and fourth in the javelin at 54.26 (178-0).
Shadrick finished third in both the pole vault (4.65) and javelin (55.17).
Bryson DeBerry earned a fourth place finish in the long jump at 7.51 (24-7 3/4), a new PR.
On the track side, it was more qualifying for finals throughout the evening.
Shelby West led off the proceedings in the 100 meter hurdles, qualifying at 13.87 and setting a new PR, while
Joel Bengtsson earned a spot in the finals of the 110 meter hurdles at 14.02.
Tatyana Terrell (54.50) and
Vanessa Ugorji (54.90) each qualified for the 400 meter dash, while
Iyana Gray (11.67) and
Adeyemi Talabi (11.79) each qualified for the 100 meter dash.
Madeleine Rowe (2:14.86) and
Mathilde Ruud (2:16.91) each earned a spot in the 800 meter final including a PR from Ruud, while
Jackson Cichon earned a spot on the men's side at 1:52.86.
Tanner Henderson earned points for the Mavs to close the night as he finished fourth in the steeplechase with a season best 9:21.40.
UTA returns for the final day tomorrow and looks to make a move up the standings with 26 finals on deck. The action begins at 11:30 a.m. on the field side with the track side getting going at 4 p.m.
Gallery: (5-13-2022) Track & Field at SBC Outdoor Championships (Day 2)
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