ALLENDALE, Mich. – Azusa Pacific opened up three days of competition at Nationals on Thursday, and it was the final event of the day that delivered the highlight for the Cougars on day one, as Jenny Sandoval became the NCAA Division II Women's 10K National Champion. 

Throughout much of the race, Sandoval hung around in third place, as she battled with Brianna Robles (Adams State), Fatima Alanis (Queen's) and Annika Esvelt (Seattle Pacific) in the top four for about the first 20 minutes of the race. Between the 5600 and 6000 mark, Sandoval moved into second place, and she held relatively steady until about 8,500 meters in, when Alanis worked her way back into second while Robles was holding on to first place. In the final lap, Sandoval delivered a thrilling performance, as she started the final 400 meters in third place with a bit of distance between herself and the leaders. However, with about 200 meters to go, she closed the gap to overtake Alanis for second, and then down the final straightaway, Sandoval flew past Robles and pulled away down the stretch to claim the title as national champion. Sandoval's winning time was 33:35.76. 

"Going into this race I was just trying to stay calm and have fun," said Sandoval, "I had a game plan coming in, and so I was focused on sticking to that. It started to hurt a bit near the end of the race, but the mantras I kept repeating was 'yes I can' and 'just go for it.'"

"Jenny executed a beautiful race," said distance coach Sean Smith, "She's been waiting a long time for this and we have really been working on her speed, so to see it in full force over the final 200 meters was really special. There was so much more to this title than most people realized, as the journey here was not as easy as it looked. I loved seeing the gifts that God has given her on full display tonight."



JONES II REPEATS AS LONG JUMP ALL-AMERICAN

Jermel Jones II achieved All-American status on day one, as he placed sixth in the men's long jump. Jones II advanced to the finals of the long jump with a mark of 7.59m (24' 11") in his third and final jump of the first round. In the finals, Jones II turned in his best leap of the day on his final attempt, as he reached a distance of 7.64m (25' ¾") to secure sixth place and score three points for Azusa Pacific. Jones II is now a two-time outdoor All-American in the long jump, as he finished eighth at Nationals last spring.

"All-American is a phenomenal accomplishment and I am beyond proud of him and all he has accomplished in the long jump this year," said assistant coach Josh Linker, "There is a lot of fuel left in that tank and we are excited to come back on Saturday and battle for that triple jump title."



MULTIS

Three Cougars opened competition in the heptathlon, while two Cougars began the decathlon on Thursday. Through day one of the heptathlon, Nicole Warwick is in third place (3,269 points), Alysa Henry is eighth (3,107 points), and Luisa Fischer is 15th (2,873 points) with three events to go tomorrow. Warwick sits among the leaders after she delivered personal-best performances in the 100 hurdles (14.06), high jump (1.66m/5' 5 ¼") and the 200 meters (25.32). Henry set a new personal record with a second-place finish in the shot put (12.53m/41' 1 ½"), while Fischer cleared a new personal-best height of 1.72m (5' 7 ¾") in the high jump to take second in the event as well.

In the decathlon, Aaron Worrell is in fifth place with 3,888 points through five events with five more to go, and Lincoln Krog is eighth (3,744 points). Worrell opened his day with a season-best time of 10.82 seconds in the 100 meters, and he wrapped up the day with a personal-record time of 50.04 seconds in the 400 meters. In the high jump, Worrell had the highest clearance of the day among the decathletes, as he rose over the bar at 2.05m (6' 8 ¾") to take first in the event. Krog turned in lifetime-best performances in three of the five events on day one, as he opened with a time of 11.14 in the 100 meters, had a mark of 13.18 meters (43' 3") in the shot put, and finished the day with a 400 meter time of 50.59. In the long jump, Krog won the event with a leap of 7.10m (23' 3 ½").

"I thought the multi group did a great job today," said head coach Jack Hoyt, "They competed hard, looked confident, and stayed up-beat. With ok weather on Friday, we should see some new personal bests and hopefully some All-Americans when all is said and done."

PRELIMINARY RESULTS

The Cougars had seven athletes secure finals spots in their respective events during the preliminary races on Thursday. To open the afternoon, the women's 4x100 relay team of Alayna Verner, Jaylah Walker, Kiayra Holmes and Mechaela Hyacinth ran a time of 45.23 seconds to qualify for the finals. 

In the men's 400 meters, Dominic Gonzalez-Shelmire secured the ninth and final qualifying spot in the event, as he crossed the finish line at 47.02 seconds.

Mechaela Hyacinth, the reigning national champion in the 100 meters, earned a spot in the finals for the event after she placed second in heat one with a time of 11.51 seconds.

In the men's 3K steeplechase, Azusa Pacific will have two athletes compete in the finals tomorrow evening (Friday). Ayrton Ledesma placed third in heat one with a time of 8:52.40 to secure his spot in the finals, and Nixon Korir earned his spot by way of his time, as he crossed the line at 8:51.33 in heat two.

Jaylah Walker and Jordan Hammond will both compete in the 400 hurdles finals on Saturday. Walker, the reigning national champion in the event, won heat three with a race of 58.87 seconds, and Hammond posted a qualifying time of 59.93 seconds in heat one.

TEAM STANDINGS

Day one had few opportunities to score points, however, Sandoval and Jones II both put their teams on the board. Behind Sandoval's national title, Azusa Pacific is tied for third on the women's side with 10 points heading into day two. On the men's side, Jones II's sixth-place finish scored three points for the Cougars, which puts them in eighteenth place. To view the team scores through day one, click here.

ACTION CONTINUES TOMORROW