PRAIRIE VIEW, TX - The University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff men's and women's track and field teams completed day one at the Southwestern Athletic Conference Outdoor Championships at the Prairie View A&M Track.
Day one of the SWAC Championships consisted of the multi events, men's javelin, and men's and women's hammer throw and as today was a great day to be a Golden Lion in the throws.
Junior Rudy Alvarez had a good day in the men's javelin throw, throwing a huge personal best to secure fourth with a mark of 42.69 meters after coming into the meet with the seventh seed.
Also throwing a personal best was junior Deonmonique Granville in the women's hammer throw. Throwing conditions were tough in the ring for Granville as she threw into a wind, forcing her to adjust accordingly to the wind. After her adjustments were made, Granville launched the hammer to mark an impressive distance of 48.30 meters to secure fourth place and a new personal best.
Junior sensation Safiya John had a field day in the women's heptathlon, completing four events today. Starting with the 100-meter hurdles, John dominated clocking a time of 13.63 seconds, beating her competitors by more than a second and a half. John would then take her talents to the high jump where she jumped an electrifying 1.70 meters to win the event and earn a new personal best in the high jump. John carried her energy over to the shot put, earning a mark of 10.94 meters to continue her winning campaign in the women's heptathlon and finishing her day in the 200-meter dash where she left the track blazing with a first-place finish with a time of 25.17 seconds. John currently leads with 3348 points with three events to go.
Sophomore Franklyn Stanislaus also finished day one leading in the men's decathlon, competing in five events in the day. In the 100-meter dash, Stanislaus muscled his way to a first-place finish with a quick impressive time of 10.67 seconds, earning a huge personal best. Stanislaus would then jump against the wind and finish second in the long jump with a distance of 6.58 meters. Staying focused through the heat, Stanislaus placed second in the shot put, marking 11.86 meters and would later on tie for first in the high jump with a height of 1.86 meters. Looking to leave everything he had on the track, Stanislaus showed how strategical he can be by winning the 400-meter dash with an excellent time of 49.59 seconds, keeping him at first place halfway through the decathlon with 3762 points.
In the men's hammer throw, juniors Mykhel Oppon Kuntu and Danniel Bailey would bring back the first set of Golden Lion hardware from the ring with Oppon Kuntu winning the men's hammer throw with a mark of 50.24 meters with Bailey placing right behind in second place with a throw of 49.12 meters to bring some gold and silver back to Pine Bluff, AR.
The SWAC Outdoor Track & Field Championships will resume tomorrow morning, continuing the men's decathlon at 8 a.m. You can stay updated with live stats from the meet on our UAPB Athletics App or by visiting SWAC.org.
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