The indoor track season is underway for the Southern Utah University track and field team, who made the trip to Provo to compete in the Brigham Young University Invitational from Thursday, Jan. 11, to Saturday, Jan. 13.
Men’s
Getting things started for the men’s team in the long jump were junior Cedar English and freshman Easton Smith, who took first and second in the event. English won with a monstrous jump of 25-4 1/2 but Smith was close behind with a leap of 22-7 3/4.
Santiago Gaitan finished fourth in the 3,000-meter run, ending with a time of 8 minutes and 23.65 seconds as the Thunderbirds’ sole distance runner.
Sophomore Nick Pembroke had a stellar showing for the sprinters, finishing third in the 400 dash with a blazing time of 49.64. The sprinters also found success in the relays, with the 4×400 team of Pembroke, Dylan Gibson, Noah Bringhurst and Jace Rodgers finishing in 3:17.75, which was good for third overall.
Women’s
In the field events on the women’s side, it was redshirt sophomore Ariana Baker leading the charge in the pole vault. Baker finished second overall, jumping 12-8 1/4, which gave her sole possession of the school record.
Junior Ajia Hughes found success in the high jump, taking second place in the event with a height of 5-7.
Junior Savannah Nielson dominated in the 60 hurdles for the women’s sprinters, claiming the top spot on the podium with a scorching time of 8.62. In the 800, sophomore Kimberly Winward finished in second with a speedy time of 2:19.36.
Up next
The Thunderbirds jump back into action almost immediately, as on Friday, Jan. 19, they will travel to Flagstaff, Arizona, to compete in the Northern Arizona University Lumberjack Team Challenge. Results for the meet can be found on milesplit.com.
Author: Aidan Mortensen
Photographer: Noah Hales for SUU Athletics
Editor: Anden Garfield
sports@suunews.net
