Day One of American Athletic Conference Indoor Championships Wraps Up for Track & Field

Photo by: Ben Solomon/American Athletic Conference

Day One of American Athletic Conference Indoor Championships Wraps Up for Track & Field

2.28.16 | Women's Track and Field

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – At the conclusion of the first day of the American Athletic Conference Indoor Championships, Temple women's track and field is ranked sixth overall with 20 total points. In the day's events, the Owls earned three top-five final finishes and two school records.

"This program is growing and the team really raised the bar today," said head coach Elvis Forde. "The distance medley relay was certainly a highlight for today. Bionca [St. Fleur] was completing her long jump at the same time, so that whole set of events was really special for us, those girls really pulled through."

Junior Bionca St. Fleur was one of two Owls to compete in the long jump. St. Fleur posted a mark of 6.01 meters (19'8 ¾") in her final attempt to place second overall and break a 29-year school record in the event. The previous record, set in 1987 by Bridgette Hayes, stood at 5.95 meters. Senior Jimmia McCluskey also competed in the event, logging a top jump of 5.66 meters.

The 60-meter hurdles saw two personal-records from freshman Sylvia Wilson and senior Sydnee Jacques. Jacques posted a time of 8.79 seconds and narrowly missed qualifying for the finals. Wilson, who has bested her own school record numerous times in the 2016 indoor season, shattered her record once again with a time of 8.29 seconds to place first in her heat. Her time in the event stands as the fastest time in the American Athletic Conference this season. Wilson will be running in the 60-meter hurdles finals tomorrow at 12:25 p.m.

"There's something special about Sylvia Wilson," said Coach Forde. "I don't know what it is but it seems like the bigger the event, the bigger she performs. I can't wait to see what she does tomorrow."

Wilson also competed in the 60-meter dash, posting a time of 7.72 seconds to place 14th in the preliminary round.

The distance medley relay, which closed out the night for the Owls, completed the race in an impressive time of 11:43.70 to place second overall. The team of Blanca Fernandez, Kenya Gaston, Katie Pinson, and Maya Halprin-Adams came within one tenth of a second from the current school record in the event.

Competing in the pentathlon for the first time in her career, freshman Crystal Jones totaled 3,498 points to earn fifth overall.

Halprin-Adams along with freshman Alexis O'Shea both competed in the 800-meter race. O'Shea logged a personal-best time of 2:17.69 to take 16th overall and Halprin-Adams ran the event in a time of 2:15.00 to place 11th.

Pinson also logged a personal-best time in her mile race. Her time of 5:03.55 was less than one second away from qualifying for the finals in the event.

The second day of competition will feature Owls in the high jump, triple jump, 60-meter hurdle finals, 3000 meter race, and 4x400-meter relay. Jones' high jump will kick off the day at 9:45 a.m.

"We know that our team is going to show up and give their best tomorrow," said Coach Forde. "We hit the 20-point range today in team points and that is fantastic."

To watch tomorrow's events live, click here.