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HUMBLE, Texas – Christopher Welch and Kaitlin Smith reached the medal stand in the long jump and Scott Boon stands in first in the decathlon after the first day of the 2021 Southland Conference Outdoor Track & Field Championships being held at Turner Stadium on Friday.
 
In the men's long jump, Welch tied for the longest jump of the day, reaching 7.31m/23-11.75 to match Southeastern Louisiana's Rodney Ruffin. Ruffin, however, had the longer second-best mark to take first with Welch earning the silver. Smith, in the women's long jump, placed third overall with a top leap of 5.96m/19-6.75.
 
Boon leads the decathlon by nearly 300 points with a total of 3,901 which is close to 100 points better than his previous best day one total. The junior picked up 822 points in the 400 meters with a time of 49.84 while his mark of 11.18 in the 100 meter dash to open the day gave him 821 points. He posted the top mark in the long jump with a mark of 6.97m/22-10.50 for 807 points while adding 794 in the high jump thanks to a PR mark of 1.99m/6-6.25. Boon posted a mark of 12.84m/42-1.50 in the shot put for 657 points.
 
Jorg Vanlierde is seventh in the decathlon with 3,487 points. A PR of 11.32 in the 100 meter dash accounted for 791 points while he also set a new PR in the shot put with a throw of 13.08m/42-11.0 for an addition 672 points and to win the event. Vanlierde also posted marks of 51.87 in the 400m, 6.44m/21-1.50 in the long jump and 1.78m/5-10.0 in the high jump.
 
Hannah McNaughton qualified for the finals in the women's javelin, placing ninth overall with a top throw of 38.18m/125-3.
 
Day two of the SLC Outdoor Championships continue on Saturday, May 15, at Turner Stadium with events beginning at 9:00 a.m.