GULF SHORES, Ala. – Heading into the final day of the 2022 NAIA National Championships, the UBC Thunderbirds hold the lead in both the men's and women's banner races.
With the majority of final events still to come in the last day of the meet on Friday, the T-Birds got a massive boost on the women's side with 21 total points with three top four finishes in javelin, led by
Hailey Kjaer's 47.65 metre personal best throw in what would earn her NAIA Champion status.
Giovanna Janes also threw a lifetime best of 44.89 metres for a third place finish while JV Patry-Smith finished in fourth with a season best attempt of 43.88 metres.
Both the men's and women's teams came through big time in the 5000 metre race walk, with number one ranked
Olivia Lundman living up to her billing as she topped the podium with a time of 23:41.20 and a big ten points towards the team total.
The T-Birds boasted four of the top five finishers in the women's race walk with
Joean Lu coming across the line second with a time of 24:42.44. Freshman
Cassidy Cardle finished third while
Joanna Yu came in fourth for a 27 point haul in that event alone.
As for the men's race walk, freshman
Tyler Wilson led the T-Birds squad with a third place finish in 22:24.61. In his final NAIA appearance,
Kenny Ho finished fifth in 23:32.07 while
Erik Thies was only 15 seconds behind in seventh.
One of the most inspiring performances of the day for UBC came courtesy of
Rebecca Dutchak's fifth place finish in the heptathlon which included a first place finish in long jump with a lifetime best attempt of 5.72 metres. All told, the sophomore Thunderbird completed the seven events with 4734 points, just nine back of fourth.
The women's dominance was further on display in the final event Thursday when
Kyla Becker finished third in the 10,000 metres with a final time of 35:52.91 and another six team points.
Both the men's and women's 4x800 metre relay teams advanced to Friday's final with automatic qualifying times Thursday. The women won their heat and finished sixth overall among the 24 teams who competed. The T-Birds men's squad finished fifth overall and will also be in the running for key points on Friday.
Friday's 3000 metre steeplechase finals will also be T-Birds heavy with three women in the blue and gold qualifying Thursday.
Jenna Melanson finished atop the preliminary entries while
Jamie Hennessey qualified in second.
Dylan Uhrich will compete for UBC in the men's 3000 steeple final after a sixth place overall finish Thursday. The freshman will be joined in the final by teammate
Riley Miller.
The women's 4x400 metre relay team also advanced to Friday's final, as the foursome of
Cayla Smith,
Hanna Sobkowich,
Hassy Fashina-Bombata, and
Katherine Lucas automatically qualified with a second place finish in their heat.
Fashina-Bombata also assured herself an even busier Friday after qualifying in the women's 100 metre hurdles.
Fellow sprinter Lucas is also going to be busy on the final day of the meet having won her 100 metre dash heat to advance to the final.
All told, the T-Birds women head into Friday with 60 points, a 38 point advantage over second place Marian (Ind.).
The UBC men's team boasts 22 points, all coming courtesy of
Rowan Hamilton's record breaking hammer throw, and the race walking success Thursday afternoon, good for an eight point lead over Hastings.
Friday will undoubtedly be the biggest day for the T-Birds Track & Field program in three years as they continue to push for another pair of national championship banners, repeating the feat accomplished in 2019.
Live streaming of the meet is available
HERE. Live results are available
HERE.
