Friday, February 28
Ames, Iowa
All Day
West Virginia University
vs
Big 12 Indoor Championship
Photo by: Big 12 Conference
WVU Opens Big 12 Championship
February 28, 2020 11:06 PM | Track & Field
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The West Virginia University track and field team began competition at the 2020 Big 12 Indoor Track and Field Championship, on Friday night, in Ames, Iowa.
The Mountaineers earned a bronze medal on the opening night of the two-day championship meet at Iowa State's Lied Recreation Center. WVU's distance medley relay team, comprised of sophomore Candace Archer, Tessa Constantine, freshman Mikenna Vanderheyden and redshirt sophomore Hayley Jackson, led the way with a third-place finish in a season-best time of 11:28.39.
The bronze-medal finish in the DMR marked WVU's second straight medal in the event after placing third in 2019. The medal marks West Virginia's third overall in the DMR after the Mountaineers finished third in the DMR at the 2013 Big 12 Indoor Track and Field Championships.
"We are leaving the track happy with multiple top-10 finishes and the DMR's third-place finish," Mountaineer coach Sean Cleary said. "Hayley (Jackson) did a really nice job moving up the track after her team put her within striking distance. We are looking forward to adding a few more All-Big 12 performances tomorrow."
In all, WVU competed in six events on Friday.
Freshman Erica Hegele opened the event for the Mountaineers with a 10th-place finish in the pentathlon, earning 3,112 points. Hegele tied a season-best time of 9.29 in the 60-meter hurdles, before posting a 1.40 mark in the high jump and throwing for 10.39-meters (34 feet, 1 inch) in the shot put. The Shady Springs, West Virginia, native wrapped up the pentathlon with a 4.82 meter (15 feet, 10 inches) long jump and a time of 2:30.71 in the women's 800-meter event.
Additionally, senior Olivia Hill placed 12th in the women's 5,000-meter dash in 17:14.
In the field, sophomore Peter-Gay McKenzie registered a 20th-place finish in the women's long jump with a mark of 5.73 meters (18 feet, 10 inches). Sophomore Sada Wright competed in the women's weight throw, recording a mark of 16.36 meters (53 feet, 6 inches) for 12th 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. 12 Texas, No. 14 Texas Tech and No. 24 Kansas State. The Longhorns were crowned the Big 12 women's indoor team champions in 2019.
The championship concludes on Saturday, Feb. 29, as field events are set to begin at 1 p.m., followed by running events at 2:30 p.m. ET. A broadcast of the championship will be available on Big 12 Now on ESPN+, and live results from the meet can be found on PTTiming.com. Fans can visit Big12Sports.com to find live result links, meet schedules, broadcast information and more.
For more information on the Mountaineers, visit WVUsports.com and follow WVUXCTF on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
The Mountaineers earned a bronze medal on the opening night of the two-day championship meet at Iowa State's Lied Recreation Center. WVU's distance medley relay team, comprised of sophomore Candace Archer, Tessa Constantine, freshman Mikenna Vanderheyden and redshirt sophomore Hayley Jackson, led the way with a third-place finish in a season-best time of 11:28.39.
The bronze-medal finish in the DMR marked WVU's second straight medal in the event after placing third in 2019. The medal marks West Virginia's third overall in the DMR after the Mountaineers finished third in the DMR at the 2013 Big 12 Indoor Track and Field Championships.
"We are leaving the track happy with multiple top-10 finishes and the DMR's third-place finish," Mountaineer coach Sean Cleary said. "Hayley (Jackson) did a really nice job moving up the track after her team put her within striking distance. We are looking forward to adding a few more All-Big 12 performances tomorrow."
In all, WVU competed in six events on Friday.
Freshman Erica Hegele opened the event for the Mountaineers with a 10th-place finish in the pentathlon, earning 3,112 points. Hegele tied a season-best time of 9.29 in the 60-meter hurdles, before posting a 1.40 mark in the high jump and throwing for 10.39-meters (34 feet, 1 inch) in the shot put. The Shady Springs, West Virginia, native wrapped up the pentathlon with a 4.82 meter (15 feet, 10 inches) long jump and a time of 2:30.71 in the women's 800-meter event.
Additionally, senior Olivia Hill placed 12th in the women's 5,000-meter dash in 17:14.
In the field, sophomore Peter-Gay McKenzie registered a 20th-place finish in the women's long jump with a mark of 5.73 meters (18 feet, 10 inches). Sophomore Sada Wright competed in the women's weight throw, recording a mark of 16.36 meters (53 feet, 6 inches) for 12th 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. 12 Texas, No. 14 Texas Tech and No. 24 Kansas State. The Longhorns were crowned the Big 12 women's indoor team champions in 2019.
The championship concludes on Saturday, Feb. 29, as field events are set to begin at 1 p.m., followed by running events at 2:30 p.m. ET. A broadcast of the championship will be available on Big 12 Now on ESPN+, and live results from the meet can be found on PTTiming.com. Fans can visit Big12Sports.com to find live result links, meet schedules, broadcast information and more.
For more information on the Mountaineers, visit WVUsports.com and follow WVUXCTF on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
Players Mentioned
Mid-Distance
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Hurdles
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Hurdles
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Distance
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Mid-Distance
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Multi
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Mid-Distance
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Throws
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