PRAIRIE VIEW, TX – On day one of the SWAC (Southwestern Athletic Conference), the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff track and field team had a grand opening with a piece of hardware secured.
Both men's and women's had competitors in the multi-events, with freshman Che Rochford and senior Franklyn Stanislaus competing in the men's decathlon and sophomore Jaylynn Hampton and senior sensation Safiya John competing in the heptathlon.
In the decathlon 100-meter dash, Rochford showed off his explosiveness and strength by clocking a solid 10.69 seconds to cross the finish line second.
However, in the men's shot put, Rochford and Stanislaus showed their power by going one-and-two, with Rochford leading the decathlon shot put with a throw of 13.56 meters and Stanislaus right behind with a 12.25-meter mark.
Heading over to the decathlon high jump, which happens to be one of Stanislaus' open events, Stanislaus was one jump away from leading the high jump competition with a height of 1.94 meters, falling short of the leading jump by 0.03 meters.
Stanislaus would use the high jump to fuel himself for the decathlon 400-meter dash. Demonstrating a great strategy and racing technique, Stanislaus finished with the fastest 400-meter time with a smooth 49.70 seconds, and Rochford was right beside him, clocking 49.76 seconds.
Stanislaus sits in first place with 3721 points, followed by Rochford in second with 3578 points.
John has been an unstoppable, dominant force for the Golden Lions in the women's heptathlon. Topping things off with her strongest event – the 100-meter hurdles. Firing out and running her race, John walked her competition by more than a second by finishing with a time of 13.59 seconds.
John then headed over to the heptathlon high jump, where she once again dominated her competition, clearing a height of 1.73 meters. What made the event so special was Hampton's finish right behind John with a height of 1.61 meters as she continues to show significant improvements.
Over in the heptathlon shot put, John found some great competition sitting in the 11-meter barrier but would not hesitate to show off her excellent strength, speed, and power, as UAPB head coach Christopher McCoy would say, by finishing second with a throw of 11.09 meters.
To wrap up her first day of competition, John capped things off in the heptathlon 200-meter dash. Fighting her way around the curve and giving her all through the straight-away, John crossed the finish line with a time of 25.08 seconds to hold the top stop in the heptathlon with 3408 points.
Hampton currently sits in fourth place with 2748 points.
The Golden Lions have already collected a significant piece of hardware to return to Pine Bluff in the individual events.
Danniel Bailey stunned his competition with a massive lead in the men's hammer throw, with his teammate Deandre Fyffe pushing him to his limits. Bailey would be named a SWAC champion with a massive throw of 50.27 meters to earn a gold medal. Fyffe would also become a SWAC medalist with a throw of 44.90 meters to earn a bronze medal.
The competition will resume this morning with the resume of the men's decathlon and women's heptathlon, followed by the open event preliminary rounds.
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