Day 2 Results

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Eastern Kentucky University's Emma García-Palencia and Laura Taborda both won gold medals on day two of the ASUN Outdoor Track and Field Championships.
 
Emma Garcia-Palencia claimed gold in the heptathlon on Friday, smashing her own school record with 5,165 points. That is the second-best heptathlon performance in ASUN Championships history.
 
Garcia-Palencia recorded personal bests in five of the seven events – 100-meter hurdles (14.73), shot put (40-11.75 / No. 5 all-time at EKU), 200 meters (25.74), long jump (17-7), and 800 meters (2:23.12). She also won the javelin with a toss of 124-10.
 
Coming into this weekend, Garcia-Palencia's score of 5,165 points ranks No. 22 in the NCAA East Region.
 
Garcia-Palencia is now a two-time conference champion during her EKU career. She won heptathlon gold at the 2021 OVC Outdoor Championships. She also owns two conference silver medals in the pentathlon (2020 OVC Indoor Championships and 2022 ASUN Indoor Championships).
 
Taborda capped Friday evening by winning the women's 3,000-meter steeplechase title. Her time of 10:07.54 broke her own school record in the event and is the second-fastest steeplechase time in ASUN Championships history.
 
The Colonels scored 21 points total in the women's steeplechase final. Taborda's teammates, Anouk van Gils (3^rd / 10:30.33) and Saskia Pingpank (4^th / 10:37.10) also scored big with personal-best performances.
 
In Friday's 100 meters prelims, Quantasia Perry (11.74) and Christian "Joy" Scott (12.23) overcame a slight headwind to finish 1-2 in the first heat and automatically advance to Saturday's final.
 
Freshman Madison Fleming then ran the fastest time of the day in the 100-meter hurdles prelims, clocking a personal-best mark of 13.70. That moves her up to No. 4 all-time at EKU.
 
Alicia Recio went through to Saturday's final in the 800 meters, clocking a time of 2:11.79 in the prelims on Friday.
 
On the men's side, freshman Ahmed Sayf Kadri highlighted the day by taking silver in the 3,000-meter steeplechase. He lost only to Liberty All-American Felix Kandie, and his time of 8:41.76 is both a 16-second personal best and an NCAA regional qualifier.
 
In the men's 800 meters prelims, Jan Badia-Celma and Alex Leshan both cruised into Saturday's final. Badia-Celma went sub-1:50 for the first time in his career, clocking a personal-best time of 1:49.94. Leshan, meanwhile, finished second in his heat with a time of 1:50.63.
 
Heading into Championship Saturday, both the EKU women (37 points) and men (26 points) sit in fourth place.
 
Saturday's action gets underway at 11 a.m.