Saturday, April 17
Prairie View, Texas
All Day
Michigan State University
vs
Husker Big Ten Invitational
Franklin and Stephenson Earn Pole Vault Titles at B1G Husker Invitational
4/17/2021 10:10:00 PM | Track and Field
EAST LANSING, Mich. - On the final day of action at the B1G Husker Invitational in Prairie View, Texas, pole vaulters Sophia Franklin and Trevor Stephenson both captured first-place honors.
The two-day meet was hosted by the University of Nebraska at Prairie View A&M University.Â
"I think everyone competed really well. You come all the way down to Texas expecting pristine conditions, and it just wasn't that. The one thing I think that everyone did really well was engage in the competition and control only what they could control. The thing about conditions is that everyone is in the same environment," MSU assistant track & field coach (jumps/multi-events)Â Ceith Creekmur said.Â
B1G Husker Invitational - Saturday
The bulk of Saturday's action for the Spartans took place in the field events. The men's pole vault and men's javelin scheduled to take place on Friday were both moved to Saturday afternoon.
The wait was worth it for Stephenson who tied for first with Illinois' Cooper Jazo. Stephenson was just shy of his personal best, clearing 5.19m. His outdoor PR is 5.22m at the Virginia Challenge in 2019.
Franklin won her first meet of this outdoor season after finishing second twice. She was the only athletes to clear 4.24m, doing so on her first attempt. Franklin cleared 4.14m on her second attempt and passed on 4.19m. Teammate Calli Ostapowicz also had a solid day with a PR vault of 3.94m to finish ninth. Her previous best was a vault of 3.87m at the Louisville Invitational in 2019.
"I thought that Trevor was fearless today, and he did a really good job. It was the same thing for Sophia and Calli. Every meet that we have had so far it seems like we have had some sort of adversity, but they both did a great job," Creekmur said.
In his first collegiate decathlon, Wade Walder finished fifth with 7493 points. He had a solid second day of action, finishing second in the discus throw with a personal best throw of 42.76m. Walder shot up to third after a stellar performance in the pole vault. He tied for first, clearing 4.80m to add 847 points. He finished the day with the javelin (54.61m) and the 1500m (4:52.60).
Brittany Krug had another top-five finish for the Spartans, taking fourth in the women's javelin. Her longest throw of 45.57m came on her fifth attempt.
B1G Husker Invitational - Friday
Rebecca Mammel started the Spartans off in the right direction at the B1G Husker Invitational, finishing fourth in the hammer. With her first attempt of the day, Mammel threw a 56.49m, which went on to earn her a fourth-place finish.
In the first day of the decathlon, Walder had a steady day standing seventh with 3,807 in his first collegiate decathlon. His highlights included finishing second in the shot put (14.28m) and sixth in the 400m (50.10). He also captured  PR in the long jump with a best jump of 6.87m.
Haley Rathwell set a new PR in the 400m hurdles (1:02.01). In the prelims of the 100m hurdles, Kaia Scheffler continues to improve every week. She finished 13th with a personal-best time of 14.40, while Jaiden Paris ran a 14.57. In the men's 100m, Antonio Postell finished 11th in the prelims with a time of 10.90, while Joseph McCarthy was 26th, crossing the line at 11.19.
Michigan State is back in action April 23-24 at the Fighting Illini Relays in Champaign, Illinois.
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The two-day meet was hosted by the University of Nebraska at Prairie View A&M University.Â
"I think everyone competed really well. You come all the way down to Texas expecting pristine conditions, and it just wasn't that. The one thing I think that everyone did really well was engage in the competition and control only what they could control. The thing about conditions is that everyone is in the same environment," MSU assistant track & field coach (jumps/multi-events)Â Ceith Creekmur said.Â
B1G Husker Invitational - Saturday
The bulk of Saturday's action for the Spartans took place in the field events. The men's pole vault and men's javelin scheduled to take place on Friday were both moved to Saturday afternoon.
The wait was worth it for Stephenson who tied for first with Illinois' Cooper Jazo. Stephenson was just shy of his personal best, clearing 5.19m. His outdoor PR is 5.22m at the Virginia Challenge in 2019.
Franklin won her first meet of this outdoor season after finishing second twice. She was the only athletes to clear 4.24m, doing so on her first attempt. Franklin cleared 4.14m on her second attempt and passed on 4.19m. Teammate Calli Ostapowicz also had a solid day with a PR vault of 3.94m to finish ninth. Her previous best was a vault of 3.87m at the Louisville Invitational in 2019.
"I thought that Trevor was fearless today, and he did a really good job. It was the same thing for Sophia and Calli. Every meet that we have had so far it seems like we have had some sort of adversity, but they both did a great job," Creekmur said.
In his first collegiate decathlon, Wade Walder finished fifth with 7493 points. He had a solid second day of action, finishing second in the discus throw with a personal best throw of 42.76m. Walder shot up to third after a stellar performance in the pole vault. He tied for first, clearing 4.80m to add 847 points. He finished the day with the javelin (54.61m) and the 1500m (4:52.60).
Brittany Krug had another top-five finish for the Spartans, taking fourth in the women's javelin. Her longest throw of 45.57m came on her fifth attempt.
B1G Husker Invitational - Friday
Rebecca Mammel started the Spartans off in the right direction at the B1G Husker Invitational, finishing fourth in the hammer. With her first attempt of the day, Mammel threw a 56.49m, which went on to earn her a fourth-place finish.
In the first day of the decathlon, Walder had a steady day standing seventh with 3,807 in his first collegiate decathlon. His highlights included finishing second in the shot put (14.28m) and sixth in the 400m (50.10). He also captured  PR in the long jump with a best jump of 6.87m.
Haley Rathwell set a new PR in the 400m hurdles (1:02.01). In the prelims of the 100m hurdles, Kaia Scheffler continues to improve every week. She finished 13th with a personal-best time of 14.40, while Jaiden Paris ran a 14.57. In the men's 100m, Antonio Postell finished 11th in the prelims with a time of 10.90, while Joseph McCarthy was 26th, crossing the line at 11.19.
Michigan State is back in action April 23-24 at the Fighting Illini Relays in Champaign, Illinois.
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Players Mentioned
Hurdles/Pole Vault
/ Track and Field
Throws
/ Track and Field
Sprints/Hurdles
/ Track and Field
Jumps
/ Track and Field
Sprints
/ Track and Field
Sprints/Hurdles
/ Track and Field
Sprints/Hurdles
/ Track and Field
Jumps
/ Track and Field
Combined Events
/ Track and FieldProcess Oriented | Spartans All-Access
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