SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – Through one day of the 2021 GSAC Track & Field Championship, the Warriors have already made a noticeable impact. After a full day of competition, three student-athletes for Jessup have won a conference title, while another four have placed their names on the All-GSAC list.
 
The first name on the all-conference list Friday came in the women's pole vault, as senior Rachel Travis took second with a vault of 3.35m. The accolades quickly continued in the field events, as senior Alec Richmond set a new personal record in the discus, as his throw of 37.08m finished third.
 
For Richmond, the day was only beginning as he would earn his second All-GSAC nod just a few hours later with a javelin throw of 48.88m, good enough for second. Also competing in the decathlon, Richmond leads the event through day one with 3033 points, breaking the Jessup high jump record in the process with a leap of 1.76m.

Head Coach Jeff Magley spoke highly on the day of Richmond, stating, "He did a great job balancing his workload. To be all-conference in two open events while you're doing five events in the decathlon, just hats off to his effort today."
 
Jessup's first conference title of the day came in the women's 3,000m steeplechase, as junior Natalie Loo set a new Jessup record with a time of 12:08.58. Coming in third was senior Allison Eskenazi with a time of 12:59.37 in just her second time ever competing in the event.

"In her first year, to be a conference champion and to break our school record today, it's just a great story and a great ending to her season," said Magley on Loo's performance. 

"Definitely a highlight event for us today in that women's steeplechase."
 
In the discus, junior Michelle Flint added to what has been a great season for her as her throw of 40.78m was the best of the day, winning Flint a conference championship. Flint will look to add more tomorrow in the remaining throws events.

"(Michelle) was the favorite coming into today," added Magley. "She had some elbow issues coming into today, but she overcame them and got the win for us, which was awesome to see her win a conference championship in her first year in the GSAC."
 
Closing out day one in Santa Barbara was the distance events, as freshman Azalea Prince and senior Bailey Cossentine earned All-GSAC honors in the 10k. It was the first time competing in the 10k at the collegiate level for Prince, as she posted a third-place time of 39:14.14.

On Prince's performance, Magley said that "she ran a brilliant tactical race. She did exactly what we asked her to do as a coaching staff."
 
Cossentine adds another trophy to her long list of accolades as she took first place, shattering her own Jessup record in the 10k by five seconds. Her time of 37:08.50 is the new mark to beat.

"Bailey just continues to do what she does," added Magley. "I can use any number of words to describe her, but she's a machine. When she runs it's with a purpose, and there is no one better than her in the NAIA, and she proved that today with another conference championship."
 
Another event to keep an eye on is the women's heptathlon which began Friday and will wrap up Saturday afternoon. Currently, senior Joelle Hameister is in second place with 1955 points. She trails by just 114 points, with the long jump, javelin, and 800m still to occur.
 
There are 30 events still to come on Saturday, as the action from Santa Barbara begins with the resumption of the decathlon at 10:30 a.m. The day's final events, the men's and women's 4x400m relay, will start at approximately 3:55 p.m. In team scoring, the Jessup women currently sit in second place (65 points; 7 events scored) while the Jessup men sit in fourth (36 points; 7 events scored).

Magley closed the night stating that the Warriors placed themselves in a good position to be on the podium tomorrow, stating, "We had a strong day one. We did what we needed to do to be a podium team tomorrow. That's our goal, to be a top-three team."
 
Westmont College is offering free live streaming of the 2021 GSAC Track & Field Championship, available online HERE.
   
William Jessup University is a member of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), and the Golden State Athletic Conference (GSAC). For additional information regarding Jessup Athletics, visit www.jessupathletics.com; visit www.jessup.edu for more information on William Jessup University. Follow Jessup Athletics on social media: William Jessup University Athletics (Facebook) and @JessupAthletics (Twitter and Instagram).