Friday, February 22
Lubbock, Texas
4:00 p.m.
West Virginia University
at
Big 12 Indoor Championship
Photo by: Liz Parke
DMR Team Leads WVU at Big 12s
February 22, 2019 10:00 PM | Track & Field
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The West Virginia University track and field team began competition at the 2019 Big 12 Indoor Track and Field Championship, on Friday night, in Lubbock, Texas.
The Mountaineers earned a pair of trips to the podium on the opening night of the two-day championship meet at Texas Tech's Sports Performance Center. WVU's distance medley relay team, comprised of redshirt sophomore Sarah Wills, redshirt senior Bria Welker, freshman Mikenna Vanderheyden and redshirt freshman Hayley Jackson, led the way with a third-place finish in a season-best time of 11:40.42, while redshirt senior Madelin Gardner tied for fourth in the women's pole vault with a mark of 4.13 meters (13 feet, 6.5 inches).
In all, WVU competed in seven events on Friday.
The Bronze-medal finish in the DMR was West Virginia's best since the Mountaineers took third at the 2013 indoor meet. Gardner, who was named the WVU Student-Athlete of the Week on Monday and Big 12 Women's Athlete of the Week on Wednesday, matched the best finish of her career at a conference meet. The Williamstown, West Virginia, native also placed fourth in the pole vault at the Big 12 Outdoor Championship last season.
Along with her performance in the DMR, Jackson also competed in the women's mile preliminary race on Friday. The Lusby, Maryland, native won her heat and finished third overall with a time of 4:55.97, qualifying for Saturday's event final.
Additionally, Welker earned a lifetime-best time of 55.76 in the women's 400 meters, good for a 14th-place finish, while sophomore McKenna Smith placed 23rd in the women's 60-meter dash in 7.85.
In the field, freshman Peter-Gay McKenzie registered a 10th-place finish in the women's long jump with a mark of 5.94 meters (19 feet, 6 inches). Freshman Sada Wright competed in the women's weight throw, recording a mark of 14.30 meters (46 feet, 11 inches) for 11th place.
The Big 12 Indoor Championship features three teams ranked in the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) National Rankings: No. 13 Texas Tech, No. 21 Texas and No. 22 Kansas.
Competition concludes on Saturday with action scheduled to begin at 2 p.m. ET. FloSports will provide live video coverage of the meet at FloTrack.org. Fans also can visit the championship webpage for more information, including the meet schedule, live results, heat sheets and more.
For more information on the Mountaineers, visit WVUsports.com and follow WVUXCTF on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
The Mountaineers earned a pair of trips to the podium on the opening night of the two-day championship meet at Texas Tech's Sports Performance Center. WVU's distance medley relay team, comprised of redshirt sophomore Sarah Wills, redshirt senior Bria Welker, freshman Mikenna Vanderheyden and redshirt freshman Hayley Jackson, led the way with a third-place finish in a season-best time of 11:40.42, while redshirt senior Madelin Gardner tied for fourth in the women's pole vault with a mark of 4.13 meters (13 feet, 6.5 inches).
In all, WVU competed in seven events on Friday.
The Bronze-medal finish in the DMR was West Virginia's best since the Mountaineers took third at the 2013 indoor meet. Gardner, who was named the WVU Student-Athlete of the Week on Monday and Big 12 Women's Athlete of the Week on Wednesday, matched the best finish of her career at a conference meet. The Williamstown, West Virginia, native also placed fourth in the pole vault at the Big 12 Outdoor Championship last season.
Along with her performance in the DMR, Jackson also competed in the women's mile preliminary race on Friday. The Lusby, Maryland, native won her heat and finished third overall with a time of 4:55.97, qualifying for Saturday's event final.
Additionally, Welker earned a lifetime-best time of 55.76 in the women's 400 meters, good for a 14th-place finish, while sophomore McKenna Smith placed 23rd in the women's 60-meter dash in 7.85.
In the field, freshman Peter-Gay McKenzie registered a 10th-place finish in the women's long jump with a mark of 5.94 meters (19 feet, 6 inches). Freshman Sada Wright competed in the women's weight throw, recording a mark of 14.30 meters (46 feet, 11 inches) for 11th place.
The Big 12 Indoor Championship features three teams ranked in the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) National Rankings: No. 13 Texas Tech, No. 21 Texas and No. 22 Kansas.
Competition concludes on Saturday with action scheduled to begin at 2 p.m. ET. FloSports will provide live video coverage of the meet at FloTrack.org. Fans also can visit the championship webpage for more information, including the meet schedule, live results, heat sheets and more.
For more information on the Mountaineers, visit WVUsports.com and follow WVUXCTF on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
Players Mentioned
Pole Vault
/ Track & Field
Mid-Distance
/ Track & Field
Multi
/ Track & Field
Sprints
/ Track & Field
Mid-Distance
/ Track & Field
Hurdles/Sprints
/ Track & Field
Distance
/ Track & Field
Throws
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