SANTA BARBARA, Calif. - Azusa Pacific track & field opened two days of competition at the PacWest Track & Field Championships on Friday at Westmont College. The Cougars sit in first place in the men's and women's categories following the first day of competition. During Friday's competition, the Cougars had three athletes earn individual conference titles in their respective events, and Azusa Pacific set one meet record. 

DAY ONE SCORES

Men
1. Azusa Pacific- 87.50
2. Concordia- 43
3. Fresno Pacific- 41.50

Women
1. Azusa Pacific- 70
2. Concordia- 50
3. Biola- 43

PODIUM PERFORMANCES

On the first day of the championships, the Cougars delivered an impressive performance with Felix Perrier, Joey Rauwerda, and Alysa Henry clinching conference titles, leading to a total of 13 podium finishes for the team. The men contributed seven top-three finishes, while the women added six.

Felix Perrier won the steeplechase and set a new PacWest meet record with his time of 8:51.48. On the field, Joey Rauwerda captured his third consecutive pole vault title while achieving the NCAA provisional standard with a clearance of 4.83m (15' 10").

On the women's side, Alysa Henry had a standout day, securing first place in the javelin throw with a throw of 45.04m (147' 9"). In the long jump, she placed second with a personal best and NCAA provisional qualifying mark of 6.03m (19' 9½"), ranking her at No. 15 in the nation.

Additional podium finishes include Hannah Richardson, who grabbed second in the women's hammer throw with a personal best of 46.15m (151' 5"). Esther Conde-Turpin took second place in the javelin, throwing a personal best and NCAA provisional qualifying mark of 45.04m (147' 9"), and Molly Olson threw 43.42m (142' 5") to complete the Cougar's podium sweep in the women's javelin.

Other notable performances came from Jayden Khneiser, who claimed third in the men's hammer throw with a career-best 44.89m (147' 3"), and Keniko Parham, who secured third in the men's javelin throw with a personal-best distance of 54.57m (179' 0"). Jermel Jones II took second in the men's long jump with a leap of 7.37m (24' 2¼").

On the track, Jared Wright rounded out the men's 10,000m with a third-place finish, clocking in at 31:35.99, and Nixon Korir secured second place in the men's steeplechase in 9:02.10.

POINT SCORERS

On Friday, the men's team had 19 athletes combine for a total of 87.50 points, while the women had 13 different athletes combine for 70 points.

Men's Point Scorers
Felix Perrier - 3000 Steeplechase (8:51.48) | 1st- 10 pts.
Nixon Korir- 3000 Steeplechase (9:02.10) | 2nd- 8 pts.
Jared Wright- 10,000m (31:35.99) | 3rd- 6 pts.
Michael Schneider- 10,000m (31:37.27) | 4th- 5 pts.
Jayden Khneiser- Hammer Throw (44.89m/147' 3") | 3rd- 6 pts.
Brett Olson- Hammer Throw (41.59m/136' 5") | 7th- 2 pts.
Joey Rauwerda- Pole Vault (NCAA Provisional Mark: 4.83m/15' 10") | 1st- 10 pts.
Lincoln Krog- Pole Vault (4.28m/14' 0½") | 4th- 5 pts.
Makel Hubbard- Pole Vault (4.28m/14' 0½") | 5th- 4 pts.
Nicholas Jordan- Pole Vault (3.83m/12' 6¾") | T-6th- 2.5 pts.
Hayden McKee- Pole Vault (3.83m/12' 6¾") | T-6th- 2.5 pts.
Keniko Parham- Javelin Throw (54.57m/179' 0") | 3rd- 6 pts.
Makel Hubbard- Javelin Throw (50.01m/164' 1") | 6th- 3 pts.
Maddox Bradley- Javelin Throw (49.75m/163' 2") | 7th- 2 pts.
Nicholas Jordan- Javelin Throw (46.20m/151' 7") | T-8th- 0.5 pts.
Jermel Jones II- Long Jump (7.37m/24' 2¼") | 2nd- 8 pts.
Dejuan Walcott- Long Jump (7.00m/22' 11¾") | 5th- 4 pts.
Lincoln Krog- Long Jump (6.88m/22' 7") | 7th- 2 pts.
Nysir Johnson- Long Jump (6.75m/22' 1¾") | 8th- 1 pt.

Women's Point Scorers
Janelle Santos- 3000 Steeplechase (12:05.56) | 8th- 1 pt.
Alysa Henry- Long Jump (NCAA Provisional Mark: 6.03m/19' 9½") | 2nd- 8 pts.
Olivia Baerny- Long Jump (5.62m/18' 5¼") | 3rd- 6 pts.
Alysa Betiong- Long Jump (5.27m/17' 3½") | 4th- 5 pts.
Sierra Nelson- Long Jump (5.17m/16' 11½") | 5th- 4 pts.
Hannah Richardson- Hammer Throw (46.15m/151' 5") | 2nd- 8 pts.
Alexa Hume- Hammer Throw (39.64m/130' 0") | 8th- 1 pt.
Alysa Henry- Javelin Throw (45.04m/147' 9") | 1st- 10 pts.
Esther Conde-Turpin- Javelin Throw (NCAA Provisional Mark: 44.96m/147' 6") | 2nd- 8pts.
Molly Olson- Javelin Throw (43.42m/142' 5") | 3rd- 6 pts.
Allie Brooks- Javelin Throw (43.10m/141' 5") | 4th- 5 pts.
Nicole Warwick- Javelin Throw (41.06m/134' 8") | 5th- 4 pts.
Abby Keane- Pole Vault (3.67m/12' 0½") | 5th- 4 pts.

SATURDAY TRACK QUALIFIERS

A total of 24 Cougars clinched spots in the preliminaries to compete in the finals on Saturday. Trinity Miller highlighted the qualifiers with two provisional performances in the prelims. Miller ran a career-best 11.73 in the 100m to claim a spot on the national qualifying list and clinch a spot in the finals. In the 200, she ran a personal best of 23.97 to achieve her second provisional mark of the day and cruise to the finals in the event.

MULTIS

Azusa Pacific has three athletes competing in multis this weekend. Hayden McKee and Makel Hubbard are competing in Decathalon, while Ashley Hume is competing in the Heptathalon.

Mckee enters day two of competition sitting in first place with 3,440 points, while Hubbard is in third with 3,349. McKee claimed first in the long jump, leaping a career-best 6.87m (22' 6½"). Hubbard and McKee shared first in the high jump, both clearing 1.93m (6' 4").

Hume sits in third going into day two, with 2,634 points. She won the high jump with a clearance of 1.58m (5' 2¼").

Up Next: The Cougars enter day two of the PacWest championships, battling for their eighth consecutive titles. To view Saturday's schedule and access the live results, visit the PacWest's Meet Central page.