Both UVU Men and Women in Second Place After Day One

Both the Wolverines men's and women's teams are in second place after day number one at the GWC Indoor Track Championships.

March 1, 2009

Complete Day One Results

VERMILLION, S.D. - Day one of the Great West Conference Indoor Track and Field Championships is in the books as Utah Valley University's men's and women's teams are both currently in second place behind the leading host school South Dakota with the final day of events to come Monday.

Leading the way for the men's team was freshman Michael McPherson and sophomore Jared Keller. McPherson is currently leading the men's heptathlon that will wrap up Monday morning with 2701 points. McPherson has won three of the four completed events including the 60m dash, long jump and high jump. The freshman for Utah Valley also won the men's long jump with a leap of 6.99m. Keller was able to win the 3000m run on Sunday with a time of 8:42.56. Keller's win in the 3000m marked a lifetime best for him.

Keller also had a strong performance in the men's distance medley relay as his team trailed by 25 or more meters as he entered the last leg of the event. Keller helped his team to a second place finish in the event with his impressive comeback finishing with a time of 10:09.38 only one-hundredth of a second behind the winning team, UTPA. Members of UVU's second place finish relay team were Tim Rowberry, Jorden Pope, Michael McKell, and Jared Keller. In the finals of the men's pole vault UVU's Jacob Hull tied for second with 4.75m, Michael Ashton placed fourth with 4.65m, and Jared Ray fifth with 4.55m.

Leading the way for the Wolverines in the women's pentathlon was junior Tiera Zaugg. Zaugg finished placing third overall in the pentathlon with 2939 points. Out of the five-events Zaugg won the long jump with a jump of 5.28m, and also the shot put with a throw of 10.24m. She also placed second in the high jump with a jump of 1.49m, and placed third in the 800m run with a time of 2:34.63. UVU's Amanda Peart finished right behind Zaugg placing fourth, Shantay Hall fifth and Jami Daniels seventh.

UVU junior Mary Nothum also helped the women's team as she placed second in the 3000m run on Sunday with a time of 10:06.19, as her teammate senior Karinne Bentley finished fifth with a time of 10:20.18. In the distance medley relay the team of Bentley, Jessica Wortley, Kalina Zufelt, and Nothum finished second for the Wolverines with a time of 12:06.81.

Utah Valley also had a number of athletes qualify for the finals in a number of events for tomorrow's conclusion of the two day long championships. UVU's Jazmine Wittman, Amanda Morse, and Natasha Martin all landed spots in the finals of the 60 and 200m dashes. Kaylee Hornbeck also qualified for the finals in the 60m hurdles for Utah Valley. Qualifying for the men's team was Mike Fogt in the 60m dash, Brandon Lovell in the 60 and 400m dashes and Brent Fogt in the 200m dash. UVU also had a number of athletes qualify for the finals in the 60m hurdles as Andrew Graham, Kenneth Boggs, Michael McPherson, and Justin Tungate all made it.