SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – The buildup for this moment has finally reached a crescendo, as athletes from across the GSAC met up on Thursday for day one of the GSAC Championship. Spanning two days from Santa Barbara's Thorrington Field, the action began Thursday with a series of prelims and field events.
 
Head coach Jeff Magley stated that for the Warriors competing in prelims, Thursday was "all about strategy in terms of moving through the prelims and getting to the finals. It wasn't necessarily about time or anything like that today."
 
The first two All-GSAC honors of the week go to thrower Jessica Pedretti, as she placed second in the women's discus and javelin. Pedretti's javelin mark of 35.71m sets a new PR. It was Pedretti's first time throwing the javelin in a month, as she had been battling an injury.
 
Dominating in the prelims on Thursday was senior Kamil Jones. Having already punched his ticket to nationals, Jones put himself in a good spot to potentially win three conference championships tomorrow, qualifying for the 100, 200m, and 400m hurdle.
 
"Kamil did a really good job," said Magley. "He has a very tough triple that we're asking him to do with the two sprint events and then the hurdles, and if you look at the time schedule, that's a tough ask."
 
Jones will be in Indiana next month, competing on a national stage in the 400m hurdle for the second year in a row.
 
Another sprinter lighting up the day was Erica Waseq. Waseq posted the fastest time of the day in the 100m hurdle (15.01), followed by a PR in the 100m (12.77) to advance to finals on Friday.
 
In the distance events, the Warriors saw a trio of PRs out of Ethan Loomis, Xavier Morales, and Jonathan Conklin. Conklin, running the 10k for the first time, posted a time of 35:25.80. Loomis bested his career best by nearly one minute.
 
"That was exciting to see him in his first ever 10k in a Jessup uniform," added Magley on Conklin's performance. "That was great."
 
A new event run by the Warriors on Thursday was the 4x800 relay. Not an event held regularly at track meets, the event saw the team of Loomis, Josh Spiva, Travis Brown, and Zachary Heberlein come together on the men's side in a sixth-place finish.
 
"That's not an event we normally get to run," added Magley on the 4x800. "It's usually, for us, in the regular season not hosted at most of the events we go to. So it was great to see those guys come together in that relay and score some valuable points for the team."
 
The women's team also participated in the 4x800, as Julissa Casillas, Hailey Hopkins, Karsyn Leikauf, and Lacy Cermony came together.
 
Athletes will return to action tomorrow as the final surge for All-GSAC honors resumes.
 
Day two of the GSAC Championship will allow fans the opportunity to view the action, as Westmont will be live-streaming the meet. In addition to the live stats, the live stream can be viewed online HERE.
   
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 Jessup University. Follow Jessup Athletics on social media: Jessup University Athletics (Facebook) and @JessupAthletics (Twitter & Instagram).