Wildcats off to hot start on rainy Day One in Seattle

SEATTLE – The ACU track and field teams opened the Western Athletic Conference Championships on Thursday, finishing Day One with five individuals on the podium and five more finals qualifiers. Annina Brandenburg was the Wildcats' top finisher for the day, while Irene Rono and Briahna Gerlach both broke a meet record in the women's 10K.  
 
INSIDE THE MEET: 

• Event: WAC Championships
• Host: Western Athletic Conference
• Site: Husky Track
• Location: Seattle
• Results

 
HOW IT HAPPENED:

• Tyler Richardson became ACU's first podium performer of the weekend, finishing the hammer throw in third place with a distance of 56.31m (184' 9"). 
• In his first event of the weekend, Jamal January came away with a second-place finish in the 400m hurdles (54.97), and the finals will take place on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. CT. 
• Jack Marshall won his 200 heat with a time of 21.78, good enough for third place in the prelims. He will race in Saturday's final at 7:50 p.m. CT. 
• Taylor Tolen (24.46) took first in the women's 200, while D'Anna Smith (24.75) came in fourth and Savannah Walker (25.11) gave ACU three of the top five individual finishers. All three will compete in the finals on Saturday at 8:00 p.m. CT. 
• Over in the women's javelin, Brandenburg posted a season-best mark of 48.70m (159' 9") to take second place and pick up some key points for the Purple and White. 
• Levi Chambers came away with his first-ever outdoor point in the 10K, turning in an 8th-place time of 31:13.57. 
• On the women's side, both Rono (34:04.82, 4th) and Gerlach (34:18.63, 8th) broke a meet record that had previously stood since 1997 to find their way onto the podium.  

 
UP NEXT: 

• Ethan Christian will be the first Wildcat to compete on Friday, as the decathlon version of the 110 hurdles are slated to be the first event of a full day in Seattle. To view the Championship schedule in its' entirety, please click here.