Frostburg, Md. – After both the West Liberty University men's and women's track & field teams sat atop the team leaderboards midway through Monday afternoon, the Hilltopper programs now close out day two in second place with 81 and 73 points respectively at the 2024 MEC Outdoor Track & Field Championships. Highlighting the day was Sierra Davis clinching her first career conference title as the Hilltoppers went one-two in the discus throw, while a total of three school records fell as Zayne Brakeall broke the heptathlon record for the second time this season and Sierra Lanham broke the 100m and 200m dash records. The WLU men's team will have five athletes advancing to the finals of four events, while the women's team will have four athletes advancing to the finals of four events.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED – WLU MEN'S TRACK & FIELD

• Jacob Huffman opened day two with a fourth place finish in the 110m hurdles of the decathlon, posting a career-best time of 17.78. Malachi Stewart followed closely behind with a fifth place and career-best time of 18.77, while Jonathan Stout rounded out the trio as he crossed the line eighth in a time of 22.20.
• Stewart, who notched a new career-best mark, and Huffman tied for sixth place in the decathlon's discus event with throws of 20.66m (67' 9"). Stout rounded out the trio with a mark of 17.23m (56' 6") for eighth place.
• In the decathlon's pole vault, Huffman cleared 2.60m (8' 6.25") to lead the Hilltopper trio with a fifth place finish. Stout and Stewart recorded jumps of 2.30m (7' 6.5") and 2.20m (7' 2.5") for sixth and seventh place respectively. Stewart's jump was a new career-best mark in the event.
• The highest placing Hilltopper in the decathlon's javelin throw was Stewart who notched a mark of 31.05m (101' 10") for fifth place. Huffman and Stout rounded out the trio with throws of 22.76m (74' 8") and 22.17m (72' 9") for seventh and eighth place respectively.
• Stout ran to a second place finish in the decathlon's 1,500m run, clocking a time of 4:58.36. Huffman collected another top-5 finish as he crossed the line fourth with a career-best time of 5:10.78, while Stewart rounded out the trio in eighth place with a career-best time of 5:32.48.
• As the decathlon competition came to a close following their fifth event of the day and tenth overall, Huffman led the Hilltoppers with a fifth place finish as he totaled a career-best 4,154 points. Stewart and Stout rounded out the trio of WLU multi-event athletes as they tallied 3,767 and 3,020 points for seventh and eighth place respectively. Stewart's point total was a new career-best.
• Joshua Fancher notched a second place finish in the shot put as he posted a mark of 15.24m (50' 0"). Also competing in the event but not qualifying for the finals was Jordyn Dickerson, who earned a 14^th place finish on a throw of 11.63m (38' 2").
• Quinn Ashbrooke led the way for West Liberty in the triple jump as he earned a sixth place finish with a career-best mark of 13.61m (44' 8"). Joining him in the finals was Daminn Cunningham who recorded a jump of 13.21m (43' 4.25") for eighth place. Just missing the finals in tenth place was Brijaun Baylor who notched a career-best mark of 12.86m (42' 2.25"), while AJ Cherico added a 14^th place finish with a career-best jump of 12.02m (39' 5.25").
• Julius Hobbs notched a third place finish in the pole vault as he matched his career-best mark in the event by clearing 4.15m (13' 7.25").
• Dickerson secured a fifth place finish in the discus throw as he recorded a mark of 40.67m (133' 5").
• With a second place finish and a time of 14.76, Mikhi Anderson punched his ticket to tomorrow's finals in the 110m hurdles.
• Lorenzo Ferrera secured a spot in the finals of the 100m dash as he clocked a career-best time of 10.87 for sixth place.
• The duo of Tavian Richardson and Francis Toohey advanced to the finals of the 800m run as they posted times of 1:53.27 and 1:54.23 for fourth and sixth place respectively. Toohey's time set a new career-best in the event.
• Finishing sixth place with a career-best time of 57.60, Dorde Donovic earned a spot in the finals of the 400m hurdles.
• Ferrera crossed the line 13^th in the prelims of the 200m dash as he posted a time of 22.25.

HOW IT HAPPENED – WLU WOMEN'S TRACK & FIELD

• Zayne Brakeall opened day two of the heptathlon competition with a second place finish in the long jump, recording a mark of 4.73m (15' 6.25").
• In the heptathlon's javelin throw, Brakeall posted a mark of 23.11m (75' 10") for second place in the event.
• Brakeall added another second place finish in the decathlon's 800m run by posting a career-best time of 2:37.15.
• With the completion of the heptathlon's three events today and seven overall, Brakeall totaled a career-best 3,895 points for a second place finish overall and a new school-record in the event.
• Brakeall also competed in the high jump competition outside of the heptathlon and cleared 1.45m (4' 9") for a sixth place finish in the event.
• The Hilltoppers went one-two in the discus throw as freshman Sierra Davis collected her first career MEC title with a mark of 42.57m (139' 8") while Kennedy Martin was second after recording a throw of 42.43m (139' 2"). Also earning points for WLU in the team race was Adriana Fazzini who earned a fifth place finish on a throw of 35.64m (116' 11"). Competing in the event for West Liberty but not qualifying for the finals was Catherine Neely who tallied a 15^th place finish with a mark of 29.18m (95' 9").
• With her second top-3 finish of the day, Martin recorded a mark of 12.29m (40' 4") for third place in the shot put. She was joined by Kaylee Savage and Davis in the final as the pair added throws of 11.13m (36' 6.25") and 11.01m (36' 1.5") for seventh and eighth place respectively.
• Marissa Scott narrowly missed advancing to tomorrow's finals in the 100m hurdles as she posted a time of 16.02 for ninth place. A few spots behind her was Hope Gestl who crossed the line in a time of 16.61 for 11^th place.
• Crossing the line in a career-best time of 59.44, Brookelyn Reynolds posted a sixth place finish to advance to the 400m dash finals.
• With a career-best and school-record time of 12.27 in the prelims of the 100m dash, Sierra Lanham advances to the event's finals tomorrow afternoon, while Ky'Ara Ross missed the cut by just 0.01 seconds with a time of 12.48 for ninth place. Also competing in the prelims was Abbe Stackpole who turned in a 15^th place finish with a time of 12.76.
• Lacey Dimit recorded a time of 2:23.11 for fifth place in the 800m run as she punched her ticket to the finals tomorrow afternoon.
• By less than half a second, Gestl narrowly missed the cut to advance to the finals of the 400m hurdles as she finished ninth with a career-best time of 1:10.55. Bailey Pack also competed in the prelims of the event and earned a 15^th place finish with a time of 1:21.33.
• Running to career-best times and the fastest two times in program history, Lanham and Ross each earned a spot in the finals of the 200m dash as the posted times of 24.91 and 25.47 for fourth and seventh place finishes respectively in today's prelims. Also competing in the event was Madison Cadle and Stackpole he recorded times of 26.23 and 26.44 for 12^th and 13^th place finishes.
• Ally Hicks and Emma Flynn collected a pair of top-10 finishes in the 3,000m steeplechase as they posted times of 13:02.98 and 13:06.44 for ninth and tenth place respectively. Flynn's time in the event was a new career-best. 

UP NEXT
The West Liberty University men's and women's track & field teams are set to compete in the final day of the 2024 MEC Outdoor Track & Field Championships on Tuesday afternoon as the action is slated to get underway at 12 p.m. at Bobcat Stadium in Frostburg, Maryland.