Owls Thrive on Day Two of AAC Championships to Prepare for Action-Packed Sunday

Saturday, May 11

Temple University

AAC Outdoor Championships (Day 2)

Owls Thrive on Day Two of AAC Championships to Prepare for Action-Packed Sunday

5.11.19 | Women's Track and Field

Results

WICHITA, Ks. – After advancing three to finals on day one of the American Athletic Conference Championships, the Temple track and field team put forth a slew of impressive performances to wrap up its second day of competition in Wichita. After two full days of racing, the Owls have advanced four student-athletes in six events into finals as they prepare for another exciting day of competitions on Sunday.

Meet Highlights
> The Owls got Saturday's portion of the AAC Championships started at 3 pm in the long jump. Sophomore Kayla Nesbitt-McEwen performed well to set a solid tone for the day, jumping a personal best of 5.41m on her second attempt to finish 18th overall.
> On the track, Sydney Williams was back for her second event of the weekend to race in the 100m hurdles. The sophomore was outstanding on the straightaway, resetting her personal record to 14.25 in heat two of the prelims to punch her ticket into tomorrow's final.
> In one of Temple's strongest events, the mid-distance duo of Millie Howard and Helene Gottlieb shined on the track during the 1500m prelims. In heat one, Howard ran a steady race to earn the top spot and qualify her into finals with the fastest time of the day at 4:32.54. Near-after in heat two, it came as no surprise when Gottlieb bolted through the final straightaway to win her heat in 4:36.97 to secure an automatic spot in the finals. A familiar sight, this standout pair enters tomorrow's meet as seeds one and two for both the 800m and the 1500m. Sophomore McKenzie Gelvin also performed well in the event, missing finals by just two spots after clocking a time of 4:43.87.
> Today's 400m dash gave flashbacks to the indoor championship meet as Marissa White moved up on the performance sheet to punch her ticket to the finals. The freshman blazed through heat two of the event, clocking a time of 54.89 to finish seventh overall and advance into tomorrow's race.
> Lucy Jones competed in the 3000m steeplechase to conclude day two of competition at the championship meet. The sophomore had a solid showing in the event, finishing seventh with a time of 10:45.82 to earn the squad two points.

From the Coach
> "We started the day in the long jump with Kayla and Candus," said head coach Elvis Forde. "There was nothing spectacular there, but they will be back to compete in the triple jump tomorrow and the expectation is that they can bounce back and put some points on the board. On the track, Sydney put together a great 100m hurdle race to make it through to the finals. This race indicated what she is capable of, and I think she has the ability to go even faster tomorrow. In the 1500m, Millie and Helene have both had fantastic years and that was no different today. We are extremely excited to see what they come out and do tomorrow in the finals of both the 800m and 1500m. Marissa is having a wonderful freshman campaign, she is a very competitive person and has continued to overcome adversity to do well in the 400m. She fought extremely hard to make it into the finals, and I think she will come back and run even better tomorrow. I'm looking forward to the ones who qualified into tomorrow having a very good day, as well as the ones who have not competed yet. It will be an exciting day of track and field to close out a very competitive conference meet."

Up Next
> The Owls will return to Cessna Stadium tomorrow, May 12 for the final day of the AAC Championships. To begin the day, Nesbitt-McEwen and sophomore Candus Burks will compete in the triple jump at 2:30 pm. Later in the day, sophomores Aisha Brown and Nesbitt-McEwen will compete in the high jump at 4:30 pm to wrap up the field events for Temple.
> The Cherry and White will run their first event at 4:30 pm when they gear up to put their fastest 4x100m relay on the track. Howard and Gottlieb are set to compete in a thrilling 1500m final at 4:50 pm, as Howard looks to improve upon her own school record in the event and both battle to capture their first-ever outdoor conference titles.
> At 5:10 pm, Williams will compete in the finals of the 100m hurdles. Then, White will return in the 400m dash finals at 5:30 as she looks to earn her first-ever podium finish as an Owl.
> Gottlieb and Howard will return to the track at 6 pm for the 800m finals. At 7:05 pm, Jones and sophomore Michelle Joyce will join senior Katie Leisher in her last-ever 5000m run in Cherry and White. Temple will conclude the day at 7:45 pm when it competes in the 4x400m relay.