May 14, 2015
San Diego, Calif. --- The San José State women's outdoor track and field team is officially on the board at the Mountain West Championships in San Diego, Calif., after Jade Childs scored four points for her fifth place finish in the heptathlon.
Season-bests in both the javelin throw and the 800-meter run helped Childs to 1,851 points on day two of the heptathlon, giving her 4,985 points total for the event.
"I thought Jade really came through in the 800," said Spartans' head coach Jeff Petersmeyer. "The long jump didn't really go our way today, but she was a fighter and finished strong. She has a handful of events left at these championships and we'll come right back tomorrow and compete."
A 2:37.53 in the 800 is an improvement of nearly three seconds from her previous season-best, which came at the California Invitational Combined (4/16). Child's threw the javelin 32.47 meters, eclipsing her previous season-best of 32.16 meters that also came at the California Invite. Childs finished fifth in the long jump event with a distance of 5.59 meters.
Utah State's Chari Hawkins took first place in the heptathlon with 5,622 points. Her victory earned 10 team points for the Aggies.
"This was a stacked field for the heptathlon this year," Petersmeyer said. "It's one of the best fields I've seen since being a part of this conference. The rest of the team is here, and we're excited to compete tomorrow."
The heptathlon was the beginning of a busy championship for Childs. She is also scheduled to compete in the high jump, long jump, 100-hurdles and the 4x400-meter relay.
A full slate of track and field events at the Mountain West Championships begin tomorrow at 12:00 p.m. PT. Live results and video are available via the MW Championship Central page.
2015 Mountain West Women's Outdoor Championship
May 13-16, San Diego, Calif.
Women's HeptathlonResults
5,622 -- Chari Hawkins, Utah State
5,350 -- Jessica Green, Colorado State
5,317 -- Nicole Wadden, Nevada
5,115 -- Samantha Bowe, New Mexico
4,985 -- Jade Childs, San José State
4,921-- Kylee Vandenberg, UNLV
4,913 -- Kyra Mohns, New Mexico
4,760 -- Monica Franco, Colorado State
4,681 -- Sabina Sandberg, Wyoming
4,023 -- Amber Thompson, Utah State
3,645 -- Sarah Haydock, San Diego State
DNF -- Lindsey Kroboth, Colorado State
Event Results
Long Jump
1. Chari Hawkins, Utah State, 6.10m (w); 2. Samantha Bowe, New Mexico, 5.87m (w); 3. Jessica Green, Colorado State, 5.62m (w); 4. Nicole Wadden, Nevada, 5.62m (w); 5. Jade Childs, San José State, 5.59m (w).
Javelin Throw
1. Kylee Vandenberg, UNLV, 43.37m; 2. Monica Franco, Colorado State, 37.22m; 3. Chari Hawkins, Utah State, 36.93m; 4. Jessica Green, Colorado State, 36.14m; 5. Nicole Wadden, Nevada, 35.15m; 9. Jade Childs, San José State, 32.47m.
800 Meters
1. Nicole Wadden, Nevada, 2:19.76; 2. Kylee Vandenberg, UNLV, 2:19.76; 3. Jessica Green, Colorado State, 2:19.87; 4. Kyra Mohns, New Mexico, 2:25.90; 5. Monica Franco, Colorado State, 2:26.04; 8. Jade Childs, San José State, 2:37.53.