MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — The Jax State Track and Field program took home multiple personal bests and finals qualifiers on day one of the Conference USA Outdoor Track and Field Championship at the Dean A. Hayes Track & Soccer Stadium at Middle Tennessee State.

"The team competed well today," head coach Jeremy Provence said. "We knew it was going to be difficult to earn a spot in finals in a few of the track events, but getting Viola [Jepleting] and Cheyenne [Hill] through was great. They have been consistently two of the best in their respective events throughout the year."

The action began with the first four events of the heptathlon, with the Gamecocks being represented by Chaci Whitfield and Aliyah Gidharry. The duo both achieved personal milestones in the shot put, with Whitfield claiming a season-best distance of 8.54m and Gidharry setting a new personal best with a 10.83m toss.

"Proud of the heptathlon group," Provence said. "They had a great first day and have positioned themselves well heading into Friday."

Following their performances, Jax State participated in its lone field event of the day in the long jump. Tierra Agee placed fifth in the prelim round before advancing to the finals, where she leaped a personal best 6.02m distance to place seventh overall. Alongside Agee, junior Sky White placed 13^th in the event, picking up a season-best 5.85m distance in the process.

"Huge congratulations to Tierra for competing well and setting a new personal best in the long jump," Provence said. "She's been working really hard.

Moving to the track, Cheyenne Hill blitzed down the straightaway and tied her personal best and school record time of 13.75 seconds in the 100m hurdles. Hill placed third in the prelim round and will participate in the finals on Saturday afternoon. Also in the 100m hurdles was Tori Mack who placed 11^th with a 14.39 second time.

In the 400m, sophomore Amber Bailey and junior Emma Drinkard placed 16^th and 17^th in the event, with a time of 57.25 seconds and 57.70 seconds, respectively. To round out the sprinting events for the day, Jailah Loving, Ella-Grace Edwards and Amiyah Johnson placed 12^th, 13^th and 16^th respectively in the 100m dash.

Wrapping up the opening day of competition, Jax State had a trio of runners in the 10,000m, including Mercy Jebet, Olivia King and Clara Rubio Machacon. Jebet led the team with a 14^th place finish at a 37:29.89 time, with King and Rubio Machacon finishing 17^th and 18^th, respectively. King tallied her personal best time of 38:02.58 in her performance.

The Gamecocks will return tomorrow afternoon, beginning with the concluding events of the heptathlon, starting at 11:00 a.m.