CLOVIS, Calif. – With 13 event finals to be contested on Saturday, the Fresno State women's track and field team finished Day 2 of the Mountain West Outdoor Track and Field Championships just five points behind defending champion Colorado State. The Bulldogs have 72 points, 14.2 less than they scored in total at last year's championships, the program's second-most ever at the conference meet.
Kaja Bins and Cierra Jackson grabbed Fresno State's two medals on the day. Bins earned the first silver medal of her career in her final heptathlon, scoring a personal best 5,238 points. Jackson placed third in the shot put after breaking the championship record on her second attempt (17.24m/56-6.75).
HOW IT HAPPENED
Holding a nine-point lead going into the second day, Fresno State added to its lead in the heptathlon, claiming 18 points to take a 21-point advantage. Taking third in the pentathlon indoors, Bins jumped up to second with a personal best 2:20.94 in the 800 meters, the final event. It was a near four-second PB for the senior. Bins had a big final day, capturing 2,127 points, finishing second in the long jump (5.56m/18-3), third in the javelin (36.45m/119-7) and second in the 800m.
Last year's bronze medalist, Madison Hutton finished fourth with 5,199 points. Ella Spaulding placed fifth with a personal best 4,972 points. After finishing 11th in the first event of the competition, the freshman finished in the Top 6 in the remaining six events.
Kaitlynn Perez rounded out the Bulldogs' scoring in the multi-event, placing eighth with 4,865 points. Peyton Bitter, Fresno State's final athlete in the field finished ninth with 4,661 points.
In the women's shot put, the Bulldogs picked up 14 points through a 3-4-6 finish. Through two rounds, Cierra Jackson held the lead after breaking the meet record with a toss of 17.24m/56-6.75. She was passed twice though and watched the record get broken three times.
Jordyn Bryant took fourth with a toss of 15.82m/51-11. Amelia DiPaola was sixth at 14.64m/48-0.5.
Rachela Pace closed out the night, placing fourth in the long jump. The junior entered finals sixth on the leaderboard but moved to third on her fifth attempt with a jump of 6.17m/20-3. But in the final round, San Diego State's Xiamara Young passed Pace by less than an inch.
On the men's side, freshmen made noise for the 'Dogs in the jumps. Kamoni Reams earned Fresno State's first points of the weekend, tying for fourth in the high jump. In the long jump, Jabari King placed fourth and Kyle Hughes was seventh. King was in podium position with a personal best 7.48m/24-6.5 but was passed in the final round. Hughes also recorded a PB at 7.17m/23-6.25.
MOVING ON
Hutton was the first Bulldog on Friday to advance to finals day. The junior qualified ninth in the 100-meter hurdles with a time of 13.89.
In the 400 meters, Ceonna Pipion qualified with the top time of 52.82. She was the first of three 'Dogs to qualify. In the final heat, Iyanna Ross dropped her first PR in three years, winning with a time of 53.74. Chloe Sharp grabbed the eighth spot with a time of 55.15.
NOTES
Fresno State became the third team in Mountain West history to have four heptathletes score in the same championship, joining Colorado State (2005) and San Diego State (2003).
The Bulldogs' 18 points in the event were tied for the third-most by a team in the heptathlon at an MW championship.
Kaja Bins moved to No. 5 on the program's all-time list in the heptathlon with 5,238 points.
Ella Spaulding moved the No. 8 on the list with 4,972 points.
Cierra Jackson finished third to Mya Lesnar and Gabby Morris in the shot put for the second straight championship (2024 MW indoor).
Jackson, Lesnar, and Morris all surpassed the previous MW outdoor championship meet record which stood at 17.17m set by Morris in 2023.
Fresno State qualified three in the women's 400-meter final for the first time since 2016. The 'Dogs went 1-4-5 in that race.
Fresno State had two men score in the long jump at the championship for the first time in its history.
Jabari King's fourth-place finish in the long jump was the program's highest in the event since Devin Harrison won it at the 2014 MW championship.
UP NEXT
Championship Saturday begins at 1 p.m. PT with the women's discus.