WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – Day one of the SAC Indoor Championships started out with a new school record, and it closed out with two more. The Railsplitters also got two medal, and finished out the day with the men in seventh place, and the women in ninth.
 
"The team's performance definitely caught the attention of several of our colleagues in the conference," said Director of Track and Field Rochelle Black. "Tomorrow is going to be a good day all around."
 
Elizabeth Close got the day started with a record-setting performance in the pentathlon, with 2912 points. She opened up the event by tying her PR in the 60m hurdles at 9.22. She followed that up with a new school record in the high jump at 1.42m. Up next was the shot put, which she threw 7.87m, and then jumped 4.81m in the long jump. The final event was the 800m in which she set another PR, running a 2:36.51.
 
"Elizabeth set a great tone for the team with her showing in the pentathlon," remarked Black. "To do 5 events as she did takes a lot of composure, which she held on to throughout the competition."
 
The first track event of the day was the women's mile, which saw both LMU runners post personal bests. Grace Rose ran a 5:27.89, beating her past PR by 15 seconds, and Kirsten Keith ran a 5:56.01, beating her former best by five seconds.
 
Next up was the men's mile preliminary races. Khotsofalo Pheko ran the fifth fastest time, and qualified for Sunday's finals with a 4:14.79. Mason Johns was just off qualifying for the finals, finishing 12th, in a time of 4:22.92. Marig Engelbrecht just missed out on his PR, running a 4:35.88.
 
In the women's 400m, Grace Mathis qualified for Sunday's finals, running a 1:00.09 to finish seventh, while Destiny Gibbs finished ninth, running a 1:00.34. "While it gutted me to see Destiny just miss out on the 400 final, I couldn't be happier for Grace. She had a setback last year, and that's fueled her this season," Black stated.
 
Sam Peters qualified for the finals in the men's 400m, finishing eighth in a time of 50.97. Chris Buford ran the 400m in 54.37. "Sam has a chance to do something special tomorrow in the men's 400. He's buying in, and trusting his own abilities just as much as the training," Black commented.
 
In a third straight event that saw a Railsplitter qualify for Sunday's finals, Roberto Fajardo placed third in the 800m in a time of 1:56.53, making him one of five runners to break the old meet record in the event. Spencer Baldwin ran a 1:59.24, and Jacey Grabeel ran a 2:23.35.
 
In the women's 60m hurdles, both Micah Sells and Elizabeth Close qualified for the finals. Sells ran a 9.26 to finish sixth, and Close ran a 9.33 to place seventh. "Micah and Elizabeth have shown themselves to undoubtedly be two of the best hurdlers in the conference. Tomorrow's another chance to show their talents," said Black.
 
Ashlee Lewis ran a 27.15 in the 200m, just missing her personal record in the event.
 
Amelia Lorrey picked up another top-10 finish for LMU, placing ninth in the women's 5000m in a personal best time of 18:23.22. Gillian Strealy also set a new PR in the event, running a 20:11.07. Kiley Holmes ran a season-best 21:09.48, while Lillian Turley ran a 22:18.47.
 
Gidion Sigei got the first medal of the day for LMU, as he placed third in the men's 5000m, in time of 14:23.82, making him one of 10 runners to break the old meet record. Benjamin Trimm ran the race in 16:38.27.
 
The women's distance medley relay team of Katilee Croft, Lidija Djokic, Harper Russell, and Elke Wijkmans broke the second school record of the day, running a 12:59.42 to take fifth in the event.
 
The men's DMR closed out the day on the track, grabbing another medal and setting another new school record. The Railsplitters team of Caleb Rigney, Patrick Zuralski, Spencer Baldwin, and Khotsofalo Pheko made a great comeback to take second place in the race, in a record-setting time of 10:20.11.
 
In the field, Lauren Smith threw her second-best mark of the year in the women's weight throw at 10.96m.
 
"This entire season has been a great showcase of what our distance group is capable of. They'll have a good amount of representation tomorrow," Black explained. "Everyone has gone out and given all they can, which is all you can ask of anyone at this time. We have some points up for grabs tomorrow, so the plan tomorrow is to take as many as we can."
 
UP NEXT
The LMU indoor track and field programs compete on day 2 of the SAC Indoor Championships on Sunday. The first event is scheduled for 11 am.
 
How to Follow
Stay tuned to LMURailsplitters.com, as well as LMU's social media platforms - @LMURailsplitter on Twitter, @LMURailsplitters on Facebook and @lmurailsplitters on Instagram, for complete coverage of Railsplitter and Lady Railsplitter track and field throughout the 2021-22 season.