BOULDER, Colo. Day 1 of the two-day Colorado Classic concluded late Friday afternoon, the day's event schedule filled with only the field events in which Western Colorado earned several top-12 finishes at a meet full of Division I competitors.
The pole vault event produced four of those finishes as
Brayden Jones placed seventh in the men's event, clearing a height of 4.70 meters (15 feet-5 inches), with teammate
Shaw Walker placing 10th (4.40m, 14-5.25).
In the women's vault,
Aaleiah Porter-Gyll placed 11th (3.35m, 10-11.75) while
Sophie Varela was 12th (3.05, 10-0).
Western's highest finishes of the afternoon came in the men's long jump as both
Braxton Walk and
Nolan Kemper scored top-5 finishes.
Walk earned second place with a best leap, on his first attempt, of 6.40m (21-0), and Kemper placed fifth with a mark of 6.10m (20-0.25) scored on his third attempt.
In the other vertical jump,
Aiden Ellebracht and
Alexander Taylor finished ninth and 10th respectively in the men's high jump. Ellebracht cleared a height of 1.91m (6-3.25), while Taylor cleared a career best height of 1.86m (6-1.25).
In the throws, the shot put scored top-12 finishes in both the men's and women's events.
Johanna Brown placed ninth for the Western women with a best throw of 13.11m (43-0.25), and
Austin John placed 12th in the men's event with a heave of 14.38m (47-2.25).
The Mountaineers earned similar finishes in the women's weight throw with
Katrina Trahan (14.65m, 48-0.75) placing 11th and Brown (14.43m, 47-4.25) one spot below in 12th.
Saturday brings about the track events at the Classic, beginning with the prelims of the men's 60-meter hurdles at 11 a.m.
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