BIRMINGHAM, AL – On day one of the Southwestern Athletic Conference Indoor Track & Field Championships, the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff men's and women's track & field teams had a great opening day of competition.
On day one, Che Rochford competed in the men's heptathlon while sensation Safiya John and newcomer Jaylynn Hampton competed in the women's pentathlon multi-events.
This would be Hampton's first year competing in the multi's, and she did not back down from the competition at all. She scored the highest number of points in her lineup in her strongest event, the high jump, where she cleared the bar at the height of 1.55 meters to gain 678 points, placing third.
She then headed her way over to the long jump pit, where she took a nice leap into the sand to equal a distance of 5.18 meters to place second, adding 609 points to her total.
Missing the podium by only 314 points, Hampton's performance was impressive on the day to secure a fourth-place finish in the women's pentathlon.
"Her performance for us was great today," said UAPB head coach Christopher McCoy. "We wanted the first and third spots, but Jaylynn's performance was super outstanding today."
John was a star in the women's pentathlon. Starting her day off with a first-place finish in the 60-meter hurdles with a time of 8.56 seconds to get a massive 1004 points, she knew today was her day to get cooking. Making her way over to the field events, John would tie for first in the high jump, clearing 1.67 meters. Wanting the victories to herself, she would throw an impressive 10.69 meters in the shot put, beating her opponents by over a meter to finish first.
She dominated her competition in the women's long jump, with the event being one of her strengths. Soaring 5.96 meters into the sand, 837 points put John in a position to win the entire competition, which she would after running 2:25.75 in the 800-meter run to finish first.
"It was a team effort in winning the pentathlon," said John about her support in winning a gold medal.
John's impeccable performance would secure the first gold medal of the competition for her team and set a new SWAC record, school record, and personal best with 3981 points on the day.
"Safiya's performance will always be great, but there are moments like when she sets the meet record that you won't forget," said McCoy about John's gold medal performance.
Over on the men's side, Che Rochford has done a great job of representing Arkansas-Pine Bluff in the men's heptathlon competition, hunting his competitors, as Coach McCoy would say.
Setting a statement from the jump, Rochford finished first in the 60-meter dash with a blazing fast time of 7.03 seconds for 872 points.
Rochford also finished in first place in the shot with an excellent throw of 13.01 meters.
Through four out of seven events in the men's heptathlon, Rochford is currently sitting first place with 2622 points.
Day one of the SWAC Indoor Track and Field Championships was suspended till tomorrow, unfortunately, due to severe inclement weather.
The competition will resume tomorrow at 8:30 a.m. with the women's weight throw and the conclusion of the men's heptathlon.
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