COMMERCE, Texas – A pair of Huskies earned points on the first day of the 2023 Southland Conference Outdoor Track & Field Championships with four others qualifying for finals on the track and another in striking distance for the top of the podium in the hepthathlon at Memorial Stadium.
 
Senior Garrett Gibson placed second in his heat in the 400 meter hurdles to qualify for the finals with a time of 52.80 while teammate Denzel Hinds just missed out on the qualifying for the finals, placing ninth in the prelims with a time of 53.16. In the women's 400h, freshman Brianna Hinds finished in 1:04.84 to qualify for the finals.
 
Two Huskies, Krzysztof Turski and Justice Artisst, each qualified for the 1500 meter finals with Turski finishing in 3:58.03 while Artisst crossed the finish line in 3:59.57.
 
Freshman Samantha Rabius earned a point in the javelin with a PR mark of 36.83m/120-10.0. Madison Langlinais finished just behind Rabius in ninth thanks to a PR throw of 36.54m/119-10. Domen Sadic recorded an eight-place finish for one point in the men's pole vault, clearing 4.30m/14-1.25.
 
Four Huskies are competing in the heptathlon with Rebecca Pecora standing in second while Noa Grochowski is fourth followed by Grace Perez in fifth and Rabius in eighth through four events.
 
Pecora totaled 2,975 points and is 179 points out of first. She opened by earning 808 points in the 100 meter hurdles with a time of 15.26 before recording the top height in the high jump, 1.72m/5-7.75 for 879 points. Pecora then picked up 455 points with a shot put of 8.86m/29-1.00 and ran a time of 25.59 in the 200 meter dash for 833 points.
 
Grochowski, at 2,826 points, is just 136 points out of third and a spot on the podium. She finished second in the high jump with a height of 1.63m/5-4.25 and third in the 200m, finishing in 25.52. Perez, meanwhile, totaled 2,708 points on the day and placed second in the shot put with a top mark of 10.36m/34-0.0.
 
Day two at the SLC Outdoor Championships begins on Friday, May 5, at 11:00 a.m.