WASHINGTON – The first day of the BIG EAST Championships presented by JEEP was highlighted by
Parker Stokes successfully defending his BIG EAST steeplechase title as the Hoya men sit in third place with 34 points after seven scored events. The first of the two-day championship held on UConn's campus in Storrs, Connecticut saw 18 Hoyas qualify for Saturday's finals events with nine men and nine women advancing from Friday's prelims. The 18 join those already competing in predetermined finals and relays. The women's 14 points currently leave them in a tie for sixth place.
ON THE RECORD
"Overall, we had a very good start to the BIG EAST Championships. We made out pretty well in the prelims with nearly everyone we expected advancing to finals. For
Parker Stokes - defending the title is always a challenge, but he definitely showed he is one of the best steeplechasers in the country tonight. He was in control and was smart in his approach to the race. I'm looking forward to another solid day of competition from the Hoyas tomorrow." - Director of Track & Field / Cross Country
Alton McKenzie
HOYA HIGHLIGHTS
- Stokes competed in the first final event on the track of the two-day championship as he toed the line to defend his 2021 steeplechase title. Through the first 1,400 meters, the defending champion tucked in behind the leader from Providence at a comfortable and controlled pace. With four laps to go, Stokes and fellow Hoya Jantz Tostenson split 1:09.20 and 1:09.53, respectively, to take over the top two spots. Stokes controlled the tempo through the entirety of the race and on the bell lap, split 1:08.53 to handily defend his title with a time of 8:45.29, more than six seconds faster than the field. To;stenson finished fourth with a time of 8:57.81. The pair picked up 15 points in the event.
- In the men's 10,000-meter run Sean Laidlaw put in a lot of work through the middle of the race, moving up through the lead pack to the top spot through 6,000 meters. He held on for three laps before slipping just slightly back to third where he held through the end of the race. Laidlaw clocked 29:54.99 for third and teammate Andrew Jordan finished fourth (29:59.91) for the duo to pick up 11 points.
- Also making an appearance on the podium for the Blue & Gray was Christopher Pitt. His jump of 7.28m in the men's long jump was good enough for third place and six points for the Hoyas.
- In the women's long jump, Chloe Williams narrowly missed the podium as she hit a mark of 5.76m, just .0.01m off the third-place jump (5.77m). Her jump picked up five points for GU.
- Kiera Bothwell and Katie Dammer were part of a fast women's 3,000-meter steeplechase for the BIG EAST Championships as both a meet and facility record fell today. As the race started to thin out, Bothwell held a small edge on Dammer but the duo remained among the top five.With four laps to go as the pace picked up, Bothwell started to slip back from her spot in second but held on for fourth place (10:04.39) as Dammer took fifth (10:19.20), good enough for a combined nine points. Bothwell's time is a little more than eight second faster than her previous best.
- Of the 18 performances that qualified for Saturday's finals - most impressive was Joshua Paige in the 100-meter dash. The 200-meter defending champion dropped a 10.45 to automatically qualify for the 100-meter finals. His time is the second-fastest 100m time in program history and the fastest a Hoya has run the event at the BIG EAST Outdoor Championships.
UP NEXT
- The Hoyas are back on the track in Storrs tomorrow for the final day of the 2022 BIG EAST Track & Field Championships presented by JEEP. The first event on the track is scheduled for noon ET and will be streamed live on the BIG EAST Digital Network presented by SoFi with Pat O'Keefe and Lisa Roman on the call. Live results will also be available.
- The BIG EAST Conference announced an agreement with leading sports streaming service FloSports to become the home of the BIG EAST Digital Network presented by SoFi for the 2021-22 academic year. Click here to sign up with special BIG EAST pricing for 12.50/month or 95.88/year.
