POCATELLO, Idaho — The Sacramento State women's track and field team scored 23.5 points during the third day of the Big Sky Outdoor Championships and sits in third place. The Hornet men compiled six points during the day. Both teams are poised for a big final day as the men advanced six athletes into event finals and the women saw five move on.
Saturday will begin with the men's hammer at 8:30 a.m. PT. The men's 4x100 relay will start the track events at 1 p.m. with the women's 4x400 serving as the final event at 5:10 p.m.
WOMEN'S FIELD HIGHLIGHTS
- Shantel Nnaji earned all-Big Sky honors in a pair of events. Nnaji started the morning by placing third in the hammer with a best of 190-08 and then was second in the discus at 157-09. Her hammer throw was her second best of the year, trailing only her school record of 191-06 which came on April 9.
- Erin Whelan joined Nnaji as a scorer in the hammer. Whelan finished in sixth place to earn three points for the team following a throw of 177-00.
- Breanna Espinoza and Abby Meder each scored in the discus alongside of Nnaji. Espinoza had a career best of 148-05 to finish in fourth place. Meder placed seventh in the discus to provide two team points. Meder's best throw of 143-08 came on her third attempt.
- Freshman Izzi Leonard completed the team's scorers in the field events with a tie for sixth place in the high jump. After passing on the opening height, Leonard cleared 5-03.75 on her first attempt.
MEN'S FIELD HIGHLIGHTS
- Sawyer Howard had a massive PR to finish sixth in the shot put. Howard had a pit of 55-11.25 on his first attempt which was nearly two feet beyond his previous career best of 54-01.00 and moved him into a tie for sixth place in school history.
- John Gibbs also set a personal best to place eighth in the pole vault and give the men's team a point. Gibbs needed all three of his attempts to get over the opening bar of 14-10.00 but then sailed past 15-03.75 on his first try. Prior to today, his previous best was 15-01.00 which came in the most recent dual meet against UC Davis.
- Mason Mitchell ended the day with a seventh-place finish in the men's long jump. Mitchell earned a spot in the finals with a leap of 23-00.75 on his third attempt. That mark held as his best of the day and would be his season best if not for a wind reading of 2.4 meters per second.
WOMEN'S TRACK HIGHLIGHTS
- Daysha Ford became the first Hornet woman to advance to a final during the day as she won her heat of the 200 in 56.17.
- LaTrouchka Duke and Jayde Charlton each punched their ticket to the final of the 100. Duke earned the three seed with a time of 11.65 while Charlton ran 11.84 to rank sixth during the day. Duke's time was her fastest of the season in all meets, but will not count towards her personal best due to a wind reading of 2.6.
- Duke and Ford each qualified for a second final as both advanced in the 200. Duke ran 24.50 to finish fifth during the day while Ford was one spot back in 24.58.
MEN'S TRACK HIGHLIGHTS
- Nautus Moore and Jabari Reynolds each moved on to the final of the men's 400. Moore ran 48.43 to rank fifth in the field. Reynolds was one spot behind after crossing in 48.52.
- Blaize Holland ran an unreal time of 10.43 in the 100 behind a wind of 3.3 meters per second. Holland's time was the fastest in his heat and was his best mark this season.
- Holland came back to run 21.39 in the 200 to earn the four seed in the finals. He cracked 21.40 for the first time as a Hornet and missed breaking into the school top 10 by one hundredth of a second.
- He will be joined in the finals of the 400 by Reynolds who ran 21.52 to rank sixth during the day. Reynolds broke his PR by .17 seconds — a mark which was set in 2019. Despite not making the final, Nautus Moore ran 22.00 to top his PR by .36 seconds.
Women's Friday Results
100: 3Q. LaTrouchka Duke 11.65; 6Q. Jayde Charlton 11.84; 12. Gianna Scrugss 12.21.
200: 5Q. LaTrouchka Duke 24.50; 6Q. Daysha Ford 24.58; 11. Jayde Charlton 24.78; 19. Gianna Scruggs 25.63.
400: 2Q. Daysha Ford 56.17.
800: 11. Sarah Collier 2:16.83.
100H: 10. Kameryn Brown 14.45; 16. Eliana Coburn 14.74.
HJ: T6. Izzi Leonard 5-03.75; 12. Abby Sheets 5-01.75; Eliana Coburn NH.
LJ: 13. Alexia Crofet 17-11.75.
DIS: 2. Shantel Nnaji 157-09; 4. Breanna Espinoza 148-05; 7. Abby Meder 143-08.
Men's Friday Results
100: 2Q. Blaize Holland 10.43; 20. DeVonn Johnson 11.21.
200: 4Q. Blaize Holland 21.39; 6Q. Jabari Reynolds 21.52; 11. Nautus Moore 22.00.
400: 5Q. Nautus Moore 48.43; 6Q. Jabari Reynolds 48.52.
LJ: 7. Mason Mitchell 23-00.75; 17. Jaren Johnson 20-06.25.
PV: 8. John Gibbs 15-03.75.
SP: 6. Sawyer Howard 55-11.25.
