OREM, Utah – Day one of the 2024 Western Athletic Conference Outdoor Championships came to a close after a day full of finals qualifiers, top finishes and a podium visit for the UT Arlington track and field teams.
 
The day was highlighted by Matro Jepkemboi's bronze medal finish in the women's 10k. In the second to last event of the night, the 2023 WAC Women's Cross Country Freshman of the Year finished with a time of 36:14.53 to reach the podium. In her first time running the 10k at the collegiate level, Jepkemboi gained six points to give the women's squad 14.50 total points heading into day two.
 
In the women's javelin, Allissa Rodriguez took 5th place with a new outdoor personal best throw of 141-8.0, earning four points. Khya Walton-Ravenell finished 7th overall with a throw of 137-0.5 which gained two more points. The pair totaled six points for the Mavericks.
 
Simona Cabella finished 7th overall in the women's pole vault with a mark of 11-7.0, claiming 1.5 points for the Mavs.
 
Rogelio Aguirre finished 6th overall in the men's 10k which rounded out day one of the championships. His time of 31:15.89 picked up three points for the men's team.
 
In the men's hammer throw, Junior Josh Hoekendorf placed 7th overall with a throw of 171-6.25, picking up two points for the Mavs.
 
In the women's heptathlon, Jade Bontke currently sits in 2nd place overall with 3037 points through four events. The 100m hurdles kicked off the heptathlon where Bontke finished 2nd with a time of 14.49 to pick up 910 points. In the shot put, Bontke claimed the top spot after a throw of 37-6.75 for 625 points. Bontke finished 2nd in the 200m dash with a time of 24.94 for 892 points while she finished 8th in the high jump for 610 points. Also in the shot put, Khya Walton-Ravenell placed 3rd with a throw of 35-8.0 which picked her up 587 points.
 
In the men's decathlon, three Mavs reside in the top-10 after the first day of competition. Brady Shadrick currently sits in 2nd with 3760 points, Luke Bontke is in 5th with 3628 points while his twin brother Levi Bontke is in 7th with 3583 points. 
 
The trio finished in the top five for the shot put with Shadrick taking 1st with a throw of 43-0.25, Luke placed 3rd after a mark of 39-8.5 and Levi finished 5th with a distance of 38-6.25. In the first event of the decathlon, the 100m dash, Luke placed 2nd with a time of 10.99 while Shadrick took 4th with a mark of 11.07. In the long jump, Shadrick finished 2nd with a jump of 22-4.0 while Levi placed 5th with a leap of 21-7.75. In the 400m dash, Luke took the top spot with a time of 49.46, Levi clocked in with a time of 49.56 to take 3rd and Shadrick placed 6th with a time of 50.65.
 
In the first event of the preliminary rounds for the day, Winnie Kipsang punched her ticket to the finals in the women's 1500m run with a time of 4:35.18. This was the fastest time among the entire field.
 
In the women's 200m dash, three Mavs claimed their spot in the finals after all finishing at the top of their heat. Alexis Cain (23.74), Adeyemi Talabi (23.76) and Madison Pippins (24.05) all move on to the final round of the event.
 
Zaire Moore finished 3rd overall in the women's 400m hurdles prelims with a time of 1:00.03, moving her to the final round.
 
In the men's 200m dash prelims, Khalid Mendez punched his ticket to the finals after running a time of 21.03. 
 
After finishing 3rd overall in the men's 400m hurdles prelims, Lucas Van Klaveren is moving onto the finals after finishing with a time of 52.06.
 
The men currently sit 6th overall while the women are currently in 4th place as we head into the second day of the WAC championships.
 
Day two will kick off with the continuation and completion of the men's decathlon and the women's heptathlon.
 
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