Dunkley, Gottleib & Howard Advance in 800m on Day One of AAC Championships

5.10.19 | Women's Track and Field

WICHITA, Ks. – The Temple University track and field team got day one of the American Athletic Conference Outdoor Championships started on Friday, May 10 on a chilly afternoon in Cessna Stadium. The 800m prelims was a bright light for the Owls on the first of the three-day championship meet, as the Cherry and White advanced three student-athletes to compete in the finals on Sunday.

Meet Highlights
> Julianne Foering got day one of the AAC Championships started in the javelin. The sophomore threw for a mark of 39.79m, rounding out the top-10 in Temple's first event of the day.
> The Owls shined in their first event on the track this weekend with a contingent of steady performances across the board in the 800m prelims. In heat one, senior Ashton Dunkley ran with heart to finish second behind only UConn's Susan Aneno—the conference leader entering the championship meet—with a time of 2:13.04. In heat two, indoor conference runner-up Helene Gottlieb dominated the event, finishing first in her heat in 2:09.14 to advance into finals as the top seed. Closing out the event, junior Millie Howard ran her fastest 800m of the season in 2:10.63 to win her heat and advance as the two seed. All three eared an automatic spot in the finals for finishing first or second in their respective heats.
> Sophomore Sydney Williams competed in her first event of the weekend, finishing 15th in the 400m hurdles with a time of 1:03.08. To close out a solid first day of competition, senior Katie Leisher and sophomore Michelle Joyce ran together in a late-night 10K under the lights at Cessna Stadium. Leisher rounded out the top-10 with a time of 36:41.80, and Joyce finished 11th in 37:03.58 to wrap up the first day of competition for the Owls.

From the Coach
> "We got started today with day one of the 2019 AAC Outdoor Championships here in Wichita, Ks.," said head coach Elvis Forde. "Julie got us started in the javelin, and although she did not have her best performance, she put forth good efforts despite not feeling her best. On the track, we had a very good day in the 800m run, with three of our four girls qualifying for finals. Helene, Ashton and Millie all advanced, which should make for an exciting event on Sunday. We expect them to do extremely well, so a big congratulations to them on their success. Later in the evening, Sydney took out her 400m hurdles race very strong, but then lost it as she got around the 200m mark. She is disappointed in her performance, but we look forward to her coming out strong for us tomorrow. The last event of the night was a 10K with Michelle and Katie, and while we would have liked to see them end up a bit higher on the performance list, they put up a good fight. Now, we look forward to a solid day of competition tomorrow for day two here in Wichita."

Up Next
> The Owls will be back in action tomorrow, May 11 for day two of the AAC Championships. Sophomores Candus Burks and Kayla Nesbitt-McEwen will get Temple started in the long jump at 3 pm. Burks, who had the furthest jump of the season for the Owls, will look to best her mark of 5.63m from the Rider Invite, and Nesbitt-McEwen will strive to reset her PR of 5.39m.
> Williams will return to the track at 5:30 pm for the 100m hurdles. The sophomore had her best time of 14.28 in the finals at the Larry Ellis Invitational just two meets ago, and will look to carry this momentum into her second-ever short sprint race at the conference meet.
> In another riveting middle distance event, the Cherry and White will put four on the track for the 1500m prelims at 6 pm. Howard, who reset her own school record to 4:16.81 just a few weeks ago and has led the conference for the majority of the season, will look to capture the title after her second-place podium finish in 2018. Gottlieb, who sits one spot behind Howard on the AAC performance list, will also be a fierce competitor in the event after her PR of 4:20.29 from earlier in the year. Dunkley will also look to advance after making finals in the event in 2018 with a time of 4:41.26. Gelvin will be in contention alongside their teammates, illustrating the Owls' strong contingent of mid-distance runners.
> Temple will be back in the sprints at 6:30 pm, when freshman Marissa White will run her first outdoor championship race alongside Smith, who will be back for her second event on the weekend. After advancing to the finals and finishing fourth in the event at the indoor conference meet, White shined on the outdoor track this season. Continuing a compelling freshman campaign, she hit a PR of 54.62 to win the Charlotte Invitational and run the fastest time for the Owls this season. Smith has made consistent improvement in the quarter mile alongside her teammate, clocking a PR of 56.35 just a few weeks ago.
> Closing out day two of competition, Lucy Jones will compete in the 3000m steeplechase at 7:30 pm. A steady competitor for the Owls all season, the sophomore reset her own school record in her signature event to 10:36.10 at the Larry Ellis Invitational. Now, she looks to best her freshman year finish of sixth at the championship meet, where she hit a time of 10:39.36 a year ago