DAY ONE A SUCCESS FOR TRACK AND FIELD TEAMS

CONWAY, Ark. - Even with storms looming in the area the men's and women's track team put up strong performances in day one of the SCAC Championships. The men have scored seven points through the first day and are in 8th place while the women are still searching for their first points of the championships.

Avery Sheppard left the rest of the competition in the dust as he had the fastest time in the 400 meter dash, coming in at 48.97 to qualify for the finals. His time was also an SU record.

In the 3000 meter steeplechase Josh Gideon improved on his previous time, breaking the SU record once again and came in fifth place overall for four points with a time of 9:59.02. 

Stephen Fuentes also scored points for the Pirates, taking sixth place in the 10K, coming in at 34:34.47, a personal best time. Daniel Rudd also competed in the event, finishing in ninth place at 35:05.85.

Matt Wladyka, while not qualifying for the finals, did break his own SU record in the shot put with a toss of 10.32 meters. Brady Kent ran a personal best time of 25.88 in the 200 meter dash but it wasn't quite enough to put him into the finals.

The women also had some record setting performances. Jillian Curran broke her own record in the Steeplechase, taking 13th place in a time of 13:37.13. Dianna Urrego had a personal best run in the 400 with a time of 1:06.37, but didn't make the finals.

Kelly Myers, however, was the 8th highest performer in the 100 hurdles, running in a time of 16.79, earning her a spot in the finals tomorrow.

Events will resume tomorrow morning assuming weather conditions don't deteriorate throughout the night. For the most up-to-date information check the SCAC Track & Field Championships official website at http://www.hendrix.edu/athletics/content.aspx?id=46315.