ARLINGTON, Texas — Grace Degarimore and Caren Kipsirat claimed golds in the shot put and steeplechase as Utah Valley wrapped day two of the WAC Outdoor Championships in the lead on both sides.
The Wolverines claimed six medals in total on the day, with Cole Johnson (decathlon) and Cameron Jacobs earning silvers and Eddie Garcia (shot put) and Kaitelyn Emmons (steeplechase) taking bronze. At the end of the second day, the Wolverine men sit at 54 points with 15 events left, with UT Arlington at 39 and SUU at 38. The Wolverine women hold a stronger advantage entering the final day of competition, racking up 99 points with 13 events remaining to lead second-place UTA by 22 points.
Kipsirat led wire to wire in the steeplechase to win the race in dominant fashion. Kipsirat came just one second short of her school record, set earlier this season at the Bryan Clay Invitational, running 10:16.14. Emmons landed on the podium, taking third with a time of 10:52.53.
Degarimore overcame a shaky start with fouls on her first two throws to jump all the way to first with her third throw in the shot put at 14.56m. That mark would stand all the way through the finals.
Jacobs nearly made it a double for the Wolverines in the steeplechase, but ran out of gas down the home stretch as CBU's Ernesto Ruiz pulled away. Jacobs ran a time of 8:57.17 to earn silver, the second medal of his collegiate career after taking gold last season.
Johnson earned the first medal of his UVU career, taking second in the decathlon with a point total of 6311. Johnson took first in each of the throwing events — shot put, discus, and javelin — while taking second in the 100-meter and third in the 110-meter hurdles.
Utah Valley picked up a meet-best 15 points from the decathlon, with Neal Berkey taking fourth and Joey Trageser landing in seventh behind Johnson. Berkey posted an impressive final day to battle back from eighth after day one due to a false start in the 100-meter.
Eddie Garcia earned his second medal of the weekend, posting a new personal best in the shot put at 16.07m to take third. Garcia's new best ranks sixth all-time.
Gavin Stafford impressed yet again in qualifying, running a meet-best 10.15 in the 100-meter dash, his top time under the 4.0 wind factor threshold. Stafford previously ran 10.00 at the BYU Robison Invitational, but came with a 7.7 wind factor aiding him. Stafford's time ranks second behind former All-American Gabe Remy, who ran 10.09 last season.
Utah Valley saw two other program top 10's fall on Friday, with Cale Stinebaugh moving up to ninth in the shot put at 13.38m and Makaylie Roberds debuting at 10th in the 110mH with a time 14.20. Roberds is one of 11 Wolverines who advanced to Saturday's finals in their respective events.
Utah Valley will close out the WAC Championships tomorrow beginning at 10 a.m. MT with the women's discus. Live coverage on ESPN+ will begin at 3 p.m. MT.
MEDALS
Caren Kipsirat - Steeple, Gold
Grace Degarimore - Shot Put, Gold
Cole Johnson - Decathlon, Silver
Cameron Jacobs - Steeple, Silver
Eddie Garcia - Shot Put, Bronze
Kaitelyn Emmons - Steeple, Bronze
SATURDAY QUALIFIERS
Makaylie Roberds - 100mH
Jaylee Antonino - 100mH
James Duncan - 110mH
Matthew Maclennan - 110mH
Ella Hopper - 400m
Kylie Hadfield - 400m
Jayden Fitzgarrald - 800m
Max Clemons - 800m
Pierce Vittone - 800m
Gavin Stafford - 100m
Kade Thompson - 100m
