LAKELAND, Fla. – The Fire are firmly in control after day one of the Sun Conference outdoor track & field championships. Southeastern University claimed five individual event titles and sits atop both the men's and women's team standings heading into the final day.
Chase Graziadei in the men's pole vault, Aubrey Sellers in the women's pole vault, and Emily Powelson in the women's long jump all captured individual titles for the Fire. Southeastern also swept the 4x800-meter relays on both the men's and women's sides. In total, SEU athletes added four second-place and four third-place finishes on the opening day.
In the team standings, Southeastern holds commanding leads. The women amassed 89 points, 54 ahead of second-place Keiser University (35), while SCAD-Savannah sits third with 24. On the men's side, SEU leads with 57 points, ahead of St. Thomas (52) and Keiser (35).
Graziadei cleared 4.30 meters in the pole vault to claim the title, winning on fewer attempts over teammate Kevin Parker, who also cleared 4.30 meters for second place. Cody Rand added a second-place finish in the men's shot put (14.62m) and took fourth in the hammer throw (42.09m).
The Fire women dominated the pole vault, sweeping the podium. Sellers took the title at 3.05 meters, followed by Amari Graham (2.90m) and Sophie Bou (2.60m).
Powelson narrowly captured the long jump title with a leap of 5.57 meters, with Alyssa Morley finishing third at 5.54 meters.
In the 4x800-meter relays, SEU women — Jillian Blaser, Jaa'Ln McBride, Natalie Rohm, and Maci Mills — turned in a dominant 9:33.36 finish, winning by over 28 seconds. The Fire men — Caleb Durbin, Tobias Dickerson, Noah Joos, and Ethan Campbell — cruised to victory in 7:59.07, finishing 6.23 seconds ahead of the field.
In the women's throws, MarieAnge Moussignac took second in the shot put (12.03m) and third in the hammer throw (46.16m), while Emma Terry finished third in shot put (11.91m). Baylie Hartman (36.40m) and Terry (36.80m) placed sixth and seventh, respectively, in the hammer.
Jadyn Deverna placed fourth in the women's 10,000 meters (40:19.75), with Ashlin Price (fifth, 41:42.01) and Gracie McGee (seventh, 46:45.99) also scoring points.
On the men's side, Billy Mueller placed fourth in the 10,000 meters (34:31.43). Jeremiah Stewart cleared 3.40 meters for sixth in the pole vault, Lucky Baldwin took fifth in the hammer throw (41.22m), and Isaiah Burns was fifth in the long jump (6.96m).
Multi-Event Standings
In the decathlon, Zackary Cho-Sam leads the field with 2,858 points, 16 ahead of second place. Cho-Sam won the 400 meters, placed second in the 100-meter dash, and third in the long jump.
Josiah Dunlap sits third (2,704 points) after placing third in the 400 meters, while Jeremiah Stewart is eighth (2,125 points), highlighted by a win in the high jump.
In the heptathlon, Jessica Brown is second with 2,254 points, just 53 points out of first, after strong showings in the 100-meter hurdles, high jump, and 200 meters. Grace Coggins (fifth, 2,108 points) and Jazlyn Graham (seventh, 1,580 points) also remain in contention.
Preliminary Results
Women
Men
The Sun Conference Championships will conclude tomorrow with the final day of events.
