AUBURN, Ala. – Auburn triple jumpers Shawn Johnson and Marshay Ryan set top-10 national marks on Friday as the Auburn track and field team hosted the first day of the fifth annual Tiger Track Classic at the Hutsell-Rosen Track.
Johnson set a new personal best with a jump of 51-11.25/15.83m, which ranks eighth nationally, while Ryan’s jump of 42-11.00/13.08m ranks fifth in the nation. Freshman Deja Hillman finished seventh in the event with a personal-best jump of 40-4.25/12.30m.
“I am really pleased as we had a really good first day,” head coach Ralph Spry said. “The triple jumpers did a great job and had great openers. Those jumps are some of the best in the country and will also get them qualified into the first round of the National Championships. Brianna Heilsnis and Justin Carter also had pretty good days. We only had a handful of events today, so tomorrow we will keep on building. We will keep it rolling and it should be an exciting day tomorrow.”
Sophomore Justin Carter placed third in the javelin with a throw of 203-4/61.98m, as junior Parker Shearer set a new personal record at 159-10/48.72m. In the women’s javelin, freshman Shelby O’Neill set a personal best with a throw of 112-4/34.25m.
Sophomore Brianna Heilsnis took third in the hammer throw with a distance of 168-7/51.39m. Junior Amber Sudzius placed sixth with a personal-best throw of 162-9/49.62m.
Saturday’s action will begin at 11 a.m. CT with the women’s pole vault, men’s high jump and the men’s and women’s long jump. Running events are scheduled to begin at noon CT with the women’s 4×100 relay.
