The Southern Utah Track and Field team will begin its outdoor season on March 20 at the Utah Tech Invite, according to a March 19 announcement. The meet in St. George marks the first competition of the outdoor campaign for the Thunderbirds.
The start of the outdoor season is important for both teams as they look to build on their indoor performances and prepare for upcoming championship events. Head Coach Eric Houle said, “It’s always nice to begin our outdoor season close to home. Both teams are eager to compete this weekend as the outdoor season kicks off. Having outstanding performances in the indoor season, my hope is that we can build on those performances as we gear up for the championship season later on.”
The men’s team finished a strong indoor season with several notable results. Senior Jaedyn Carpenter posted times of 21.31 seconds in the 200 meters and 47.08 seconds in the 400 meters. Kadan Allen led middle-distance runners with a time of 1:50.42 in the 800 meters, while Garrison Shindler ran 3:48.58 in the 1,500 meters and Ezra Nelson completed a mile in 4:07.83. Freshman Amit Cohen contributed with times of 8:19.87 in the 3,000 meters and 14:42.82 in the 5,000 meters.
In sprints and hurdles, Ran Sawyer ran a time of 6.82 seconds in the 60-meter dash, while Isley Gutierrez finished the 60-meter hurdles in eight seconds flat. The relay teams also performed well; the men’s squad ran a time of 3:13.72 in the four-by-400 relay and finished their distance medley relay at 10:05.31.
Field event highlights included freshman Divin Kalanga clearing a height of 1.80 meters in high jump and jumping seven meters in long jump, while Dylyn Cooks reached nearly fifteen meters in triple jump (14.92). Mason Gooder threw over fifteen meters (15.72) in shot put, Wilmarson Van Hecke achieved a mark of just over fifteen meters (15.23) in weight throw, and Jared Sharp showed versatility across multiple events including pole vaulting at a height of four-and-a-half meters.
On the women’s side, freshman Timmia Rucks made an immediate impact by running a time of under eight seconds (7.82) for sixty meters and posting strong marks in both long jump (5.45m) and triple jump (11.29m). Sabrina Wright led sprinters with times under twenty-five seconds (24.98) for two hundred meters and under fifty-eight seconds (57.68) for four hundred meters; Kimberly Winward paced middle-distance runners with an eight-hundred-meter time just above two minutes eleven seconds (2:11). Isabella Evans anchored distance events with sub-five-minute mile runs (4:52) and sub-ten-minute three-thousand-meter races (9:40).
Hurdler Iana-Michovani Graham clocked an impressive time below nine seconds (8:85) over sixty-meter hurdles; relay squads also saw success—finishing their four-by-four-hundred meter race at just under four minutes—and field athletes Chloe Bingham cleared nearly one-point-seven-meters high jumps while Kiara Hansen threw more than twelve-and-a-half-meters shot puts.
As Southern Utah heads into its first outdoor meet this weekend, both teams aim to use these early competitions as preparation for later championship events.
