CHARLESTON, Ill. – Jacksonville State heads into the final day of the 2021 Ohio Valley Conference outdoor championships in eighth place with 10.5 points. 

The highlight for the Gamecocks on day two of the championship came early as senior Baylee Porch etched her name in the JSU record books with a school record score of 4,861 in the heptathlon. The product of Albertville, Ala., opened the day in third after four events on Thursday, she briefly moved to second in the overall standings before finishing on the podium with the bronze.
 
Porch won the heptathlon at Murray State earlier this spring with a final score of 4,756 points to come within nine points of JSU's school record held by Alina Bocicor in 2008. On Friday, Porch finished sixth in the long jump to begin the day, and followed that up with a runner-up finish in the javelin throw to move 616 points shy of the school mark heading into the 800-meter run. In the seventh and final event, her time of 2:28.45 was good for fifth and awarded 712 points to secure history.
 
The third-place podium finish gave JSU its first six points of the championship. The Gamecocks would add 4.5 points when Madison Rollins cleared 1.64 to split for fourth in the high jump competition.
 
JSU would get personal bests from freshman Hally Lee with a height of 3.19 meters in the pole vault, and senior Zaria Coprich recording a 58.24 time for the 400-meter run to finished 11th of 26. Sophomore Elizabeth Wetmore timed 11:50 in her debut, and JSU's return, to the steeplechase event.
 
With more finals to come on Saturday, juniors Tylynn Register and Ashton Coats qualified for their second hurdle finals with advancing times in the 100-meter hurdle prelims on Friday. Coats finished the 1—h heat in 14.68, while Register clocked a 14.81 mark. The two will run in the finals of both the 100h and 400h, which they previously qualified for, in tomorrow's final day.