ARLINGTON, Texas – A pair of podium finishes highlight a successful day one of the 2025 Western Athletic Conference Outdoor Track & Field Championships for the UT Arlington track and field teams from Maverick Stadium on Thursday.
 
Josh Hoekendorf kicked off the scoring for the Mavericks on the men's side by taking the top spot in the hammer throw. Hoekendorf entered his final throw sitting in second before launching it 57.09m to take the lead over Abilene Christian's Sutton Welch. Welch's last throw fell just short of Hoekendorf's mark, going 56.98m to secure the victory for Hoekendorf and the Mavs.
 
Logan Villalva finished fourth in the men's hammer throw with a mark of 55.35m to give the Mavs five additional points on top of Hoekendorf's 10 points.
 
Jaalah Puryear struck first for the Mavs on the women's side, finishing fourth in the hammer throw with a mark of 53.02m, just short of her outdoor personal best of 53.06m. Puryear finished fourth overall to pick up the Mavs first five points on the women's side.
 
In the women's pole vault, Sophia Allen took the sixth spot with a vault of 3.52m to pick up three points for the women.
 
To wrap up day one, Matro Jepkemboi picked up the first medal for the women by taking second in the 10,000m with a new outdoor personal best of 35:49.06. Jepkemboi picked up eight points for the Mavs to bring the day one point total to 20 for the women which has them sitting in fourth overall.
 
In the women's heptathlon, Eliza Lemberga sits at the top of the leaderboards through four events with 3082 total points. She took first in the high jump with a height of 1.65m and took third in the 100m hurdles with a time of 14.63. In the shot put, Lemberga took fourth with a mark of 11.51m and finished the 200m with a time of 26.35.
 
Through five events in the men's decathlon, Brady Shadrick sits in second with 3784 points while Christian Coker is in fourth with 3745 points. Shadrick took second in the long jump with a leap of 6.99m and third in the shot put with a throw of 12.64m. Coker took the top spot in the high jump with a height of 1.95m and took fourth in the long jump with a leap of 6.90m.
 
Two out of the 21 scored events have wrapped up on the men's side and the Mavs sit in third with 15 total points. Four of the 21 scored events have concluded on the women's side and the Mavs sit in fourth with 20 total points.
 
NEXT UP
Day two of the 2025 WAC Outdoor Track & Field Championships continue with the conclusion of the heptathlon and decathlon along with four field events and the prelims of eight track events. We get started at 10 a.m. CT. The day wraps up with the men's and women's 3000m steeplechase. The men go at 6:30 p.m. while the women run at 7 p.m. 
   
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