Natalie Papes was the first Hilltopper to earn a medal in an event, notching a second place mark in the women's pole vault.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The 2025 CUSA Outdoor Championship meet got underway with the men's decathlon and women's heptathlon. In the decathlon, Joey Raybourne finished in the top-three on three occasions. Blake Foster managed top-five finishes on three occasions in the first leg of the event.
In the men's hammer throw, Kaison Barton charted a fifth place finish in the event with a mark of 57.47 meters. In the men's long jump, Sterling Weldon claimed a fourth place finish with a mark of 7.62 meters.
In the first track event of the day, the women's 1500, Kalina Urbaniak managed a top-10 finish with a mark of 4:35. Her finish along with Nayla Martin's 12th place mark earned them both a spot in the finals.
In the men's event, Trevor Hudnall managed a fifth place finish and will qualify for the 1500 meter finals.
Papes managed the first medal finish for the Hilltoppers in the women's pole vault. Her mark of 4.02 meters was good for second place and a personal best.
Kameron Horton managed to qualify for Sunday's 100 meter finals, setting a new personal best mark of 10.26, good for seventh place.
NOTABLES
- Five Hilltoppers managed to qualify for final events in their respective events on the track.
- Five set a new personal best when the events of the day had been tallied.
- Natalie Papes claimed the lone medal of the day for WKU with a second place finish in the women's pole vault.
- Her mark not only earned her the silver medal but a PR with a mark of 4.02 meters. This also stands as the fifth best mark in program history.
- In the 110 meter hurdles, Van Thrasher earned a fourth place-finish, setting a PR, good enough to qualify for the finals on Sunday at 6:40 p.m.
- In the men's decathlon, Joey Raybourne finished in the top-three in three of the five events.
- In the women's 1500, Nayla Martin and Kalina Urbaniak both managed top-12 finishes, qualifying for the final event on Sunday at 6:15 p.m.
- In the men's 1500, Trevor Hudnall took fifth place, finishing in 3:57 which will qualify him for the finals Sunday at 6:25 p.m.
- Kameron Horton set a new PR in the 100 prelims with a mark of 10.26. His mark qualifies him for the finals on Sunday at 7:10 p.m.
- Zachariah Taylor also set a new personal best in the event, clocking in at 10.41.
- Sterling Weldon also managed a personal best in the preliminary rounds of the 100-meter dash with a time of 10.53.
NEXT UP
WKU will continue action at the Conference USA Outdoor Championships on Saturday, May 17 in Murfreesboro, Tenn. Action is slated to get underway at 9:30 a.m. The meet will be streamed live on ESPN+.
FOLLOW THE TOPS: For complete information on WKU XC and T&F, follow the team on Twitter at WKUXCTF. The team is also on Instagram and Facebook.
Men's Results
100 (Prelims)
7th - Kameron Horton - 10.26* (q)
13th - Zachariah Taylor - 10.41*
18th - Sterling Weldon - 10.53*
19th - Jayden Freeman - 10.53
400 (Prelims)
9th - Brunel Desinor - 47.82
1500 (Prelims)
5th - Trevor Hudnall - 3:57.94 (q)
10000
10th - Jake Younger - 33:38.25
110 Hurdles (Prelims)
4th - Van Thrasher - 13.86 (q)*
Long Jump
4th - Sterling Weldon - 7.62 (25-00)
14th - Van Thrasher - 6.84 (22-05.25)
16th - JonJon Hunter - 6.66 (21-10.25)
Hammer Throw
5th - Kaison Barton - 57.47 (188-06)
10th - Luke Stegman - 51.17 (167-10)
12th - Jesse Grace - 48.50 (159-01)
13th - Connor Owens - 45.42 (149-00)
14th - Hunter Coslow - 45.24 (148-05)
Decathlon
100
3rd - Joey Raybourne - 11.25
4th - Blake Foster - 11.46
400
2nd - Joey Raybourne - 50.17
7th - Blake Foster - 55.02
High Jump
6th - Blake Foster - 1.72 (5-07.75)
7th - Joey Raybourne - 1.60 (5-03)
Long Jump
3rd - Joey Raybourne - 6.43 (21-01.25)
5th - Blake Foster - 6.23 (20-05.25)
Shot Put
4th - Blake Foster - 11.77 (38-07.5)
7th - Joey Raybourne - 9.69 (31-09.5)
Women's Results
100 (Prelims)
19th - Haley Zell - 12.01
1500 (Prelims)
10th - Kalina Urbaniak - 4:35.48 (q)
12th - Nayla Martin - 4:43.64 (q)
100 Hurdles (Prelims)
11th - Gianna Huerta - 14.81
Pole Vault
2nd - Natalie Papes - 4.02 (13-02.25)*
5th - Sophia Roskoski - 3.72 (12-02.5)
Long Jump
12th - Haley Zell - 5.68 (18-07.75)
Hammer Throw
11th - Aitana Safont Falomir - 49.04 (160-10)
19th - Jayla Gilbert - 42.86 (140-07)
Heptathlon
100
8th - Rachel Payne - 15.27
10th - Madison Rabe - 15.71
200
8th - Rachel Payne - 26.47
9th - Madison Rabe - 26.84
High Jump
2nd - Rachel Payne - 1.63 (5-04.25)
9th - Madison Rabe - 1.45 (4-09)
Shot Put
7th - Rachel Payne - 9.11 (29-10.75)
8th - Madison Rabe - 8.68 (28-05.75)
