Seattle Pacific's Peace Igbonagwam finishes sixth in NCAA D2 long jump finals...
The freshman from Reynolds HS in Fairview, Oregon, jumped 19-2.75 (5.86m) on her second attempt, as Lauren Fairchild of Colorado State University/Pueblo took the victory with a best of 20-1 (6.12m).
What's more, as Igbonagwam tells it, she "really got that" without any of the jitters that usually come along with being a first-timer on the national stage.
"I was calm that I would do well and try my best," she said. "I wasn't nervous at all. I just went out to have fun."
"I felt like I could do more, I could do better," Igbonagwam said. "(But) it's really exciting. I was the only freshman in the long jump."
In finals contested Friday, Saint Martin’s Tyler Cronk finished 12th in the high jump with a clearance of 6-8.75 (2.04m), as Isaiah Kyle of Wingate won at 7-1.75 (2.18m).
Central Washington’s Alexa Shindruk finished 11th in the women’s 5000, running 16:56.77, as Alaska Anchorage’s Caroline Kurgat ran away with the win in a meet record 16:06.37.
In Friday’s qualifying heats, Mariyah Vongsaveng of Central Washington finished seventh in her heat of the 60 hurdles, running 8.80.
Kate Lilly of Seattle Pacific was seventh in her heat of the mile, running 4:54.79, as neither will advance to the finals Saturday.
Kodiak Landis and Braydon Maier of Central Washington are tied for 11th at the break in the heptathlon
The two Wildcats go into Saturday’s final three events with identical scores of 2707 points.
In the 60 meter dash, Landis opened with a 7.15 clocking, while Maier ran 7.34.
Landis, normally a good long jumper, followed with a mark of 22-2.75 (6.76m), while Maier had a best jump of 21-11.5 (6.69m).
Maier then threw 37-7.75 (11.47m), while Landis mustered a throw of 37-3.75 (11.36m).
In the high jump, both Maier and Landis were unable to clear 6 feet, with Maier’s best on the day 5-10.75 (1.80m), and Landis struggled to navigate 5-7.25 (1.71m), needing all three attempts.
Valentin Charles is the day 1 leader at 3252 points.
Saturday, Shindruk returns in the 3000, while Scout Cai of Seattle Pacific will double in the pentathlon and the pole vault.
Others competing Saturday include Central Washington’s Halle Irvine in the pole vault, HarLee Ortega in the pentathlon, and triple jumper Zach Whittaker.
Both of Western Washington’s competitors, pole vaulter Anna Paradee, and high jumper Maddie Taylor are in action Saturday.
Saturday's competition will be live streamed on ncaa.com starting at 8 am, Pacific. You can access the link to the live stream from the meet's home page.
Complete day 1 results of the NCAA Division II championships are available here.
NOTE: The NCAA and the sports information office of Seattle Pacific University contributed to this report.
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