ARLINGTON, Texas — The steeplechase closed out a rain and lightning-filled afternoon, and Utah Valley University captured both the men's and women's titles to extend their leads in the team race as weather wreaked havoc on day two of the WAC Outdoor Championships at Maverick Stadium. Cameron Jacobs was the first of five straight Wolverines to cross the finish line for the men, and Oakley Olson left little doubt as she held off any would-be late chargers.

Following Jacobs was Abdulsalam Farah, Caleb Ream, Adam Bunker, and Gilbert Olivas as the quintet finished the race less than nine seconds apart from first through fifth. Jacobs' win follows Bunker's gold from the 2024 outdoor championships in Orem and while Jacobs win is Utah Valley's fifth steeplechase crown, Olson's win marked the first time a UVU woman has won the WAC steeplechase gold..

Behind the 33 points from the steeplechase, the men have 83 team points with UT Arlington (45) and Tarleton State (36) in second and third. The women have 92 points, with Tarleton State (51) and UT Arlington (49) rounding out the top three. There are still 15 of 21 men's finals and 13 of 21 women's finals left to be contested on Saturday.

Friday's events were hampered by a weather delay that lasted over four hours and was issued with all but one of the men's shot put entrants finishing their first two throws. Among those pre-delay throws was Luis Diaz Bojorquez' PR of 16.70 meters, earning him fourth place in the event, which finished after the delay and after the sun had set. Trevor Hill (16.54) was fifth, Eddie Garcia (15.79) took seventh, and Payton Vernon (15.51) was eighth as the four scored 12 points. Karsten Deakin took fourth to pick up five team points for the women in the shot put. It was a PR for Deakin that moves her to fifth in the school's record book.

Due to possible weather issues on Saturday, times have been adjusted with the day beginning at 10 a.m. CT with the women's discus. The track events are all moved up two hours, with the 400-meter relay slated for 2 p.m. CT.

Caleb Washington earned bronze in the men's long jump with a personal record of 7.20 meters that puts him at fifth in the school's top 10. He finished behind Tarleton State's powerful duo of Lokesh Sathyanathan and Sir Jonathan Sims. Sathyanathan won the event with the No. 10 mark in the country this season, hitting 7.81 meters, while Sims jumped 7.50.  Washington earned six team points while Gavin Stafford took fifth with his best jump of 7.05 meters, earning the Wolverine men three points.

Other finals on Friday included the mutlis, with Krista Farley finishing eighth in the heptathlon on the strength of a pair of first-place finishes; she was first on Thursday in the 200 and once again in the long jump on Friday, where she jumped 5.75 meters. Just two hours after being recognized on the podium for her finish in the heptathlon, Farley competed was back at the long jump pit, competing in that standalone event, where she also took eighth with a mark of 5.83 meters. Kelsi Oldroyd, who won her third straight javelin title on Thursday, finished sixth in the long jump with her best mark of 5.92 meters.

Cole Johnson finished fifth while Matt Biggins took seventh in the decathlon. Johnson took second in the discus and third in the javelin to help him reach 6384 points, moving him to No. 7 in the top 10. Biggins' seventh-place finish came after he suffered an earlier injury on Thursday, with the senior fighting through to earn two valuable team points.  

Friday's prelims on the track were the included the women's 100-meter hurdles and 100-meter dash. Quincy Bonds and Kali McEuen both took care of business in the 100-meter hurdles, taking first and third, respectively, in the prelims to advance to Saturday's final. Bonds finished her heat in 13.49 seconds while McEuen matched her personal best which sits at No. 2 in the top 10. Bonds also advanced to the 100-meter finals after recording the fourth-best time in the prelims and she'll also race in the 200-meter final.

Gabe Remy and Kade Thompson both advanced to the men's 100-meter final. Remy (10.39) had the best time among the 16 competitors while Thompson (10.60) was third. Both finished first in their respective heats to earn automatic qualification. Ella Hopper advanced to the women's 400-meter final, while Cameron Franklin and Isaiah Archer will run for the men in the 400 on Saturday.

Utah Valley's women are in pursuit of their second straight outdoor title and the WAC Triple Crown, after winning both the cross country and indoor championships this season.