Gwangju, South Korea- July 11, 2015 –  Day 4 was a wet on one the track but concluded with some impressive finishes in the women’s heptathlon and 5000m finals as well as more qualifying marks for tomorrows final day of competition at the World University Games here in Gwangju.

The top finisher of the day belonged to Chari Hawkins finishing 4th overall in the women’s heptathlon with a score of 5707.  Despite the rain and grueling schedule with long time delays between events Hawkins was able to stay on top of her game and place high marks in several of the events including a first place finish in the 100m hurdles with a time of 13.59 and a 3rd place finish in the high jump with a mark of 1.74m

“This competition has really shown me that anything can go anybody’s way and sometimes you have to just beat the elements, there is just so much talent in the world.  I have always appreciated everything that Utah State has done for me and this performance was for me and them and my family and I am just so excited to represent America and get to do something I love.”

Also finishing off the heptathlon today was Tatum Souza.  She finished off with in 8th place with a score of 5477.  Souza posted several great marks placing second overall in the shot put with a mark of 13.98m and 5th overall in the 100m hurdles with a time of 13.95.

“As far as my performance I did not meet my expectations at all, but I am just so happy to be here and so honored to have been chosen to represent USA and will do everything I can to get my score back up where it needs to be.”

Rounding out the action on the field in the morning session was Idrees Bernard in the long jump who finished 14th in his group with a mark of 6.94m.

The afternoon/evening portion of the meet saw three finals and a few more qualifying rounds.  Starting things off on the field, Mike Woepse competed in the men’s pole vault final.  There was a slight weather delay due to rain and the pole vault plant box filling with water, but once they were able to drain the water, things began to roll.  Woepse was successful in clearing 5.15m, skipped over 5.30 and was unsuccessful in clearing 5.40m.  He finished off at 9th place overall.

In other action on the field Ashlie Blake competed in the women’s shot put finals.  She placed 11th overall with a mark of 13.13m

Races on the track were quite thrilling to watch this evening.  Kicking things off were the mid distance runners of Shaquille Walker and Nick Harle in the men’s 800m semi-final round.  Shaquille Walker easily won his heat in a time of 1:48.15 to automatically qualify. Hartle on the other hand had to make up some ground after getting boxed in with about 100m to go was able to make a dash for it and lean out to cross the line at 1:47.98 and also qualify to the finals.

In the women’s 5000m final Paige Holly and Sara Sutherland and a great showing of endurance and strength as the battled a tough group of competitors around the track in the rain.  They hovered about the middle of the pack for the majority of the race and with about 1000m to go the group started to separate.  Sutherland was able to stay with the top group and with just over 400m to go took off with them to finish 5th overall with a time of 16:06.94

“It was so fun to wear this jersey for the first time in an international competition.  The final was a little tactical, a little slower than most of the women’ planned on, but a really valuable experience.”  This is the first time in over 2 years that Sutherland has raced in a 5k.

Paige Holly finished in 12th place with a time of 16:16.17

Rounding out the night were the relay teams.  The women’s 4x100m team consisting of Ana Holland, Kylie Price, Jade Barber, and Nataliyah Friar won their heat in a time of 40.40 to automatically qualify to tomorrow’s final.  Unfortunately the men’s 4x100m team dropped the stick between the 3rd and 4th legs and will not advance.

in the 4x400m relay, the women will be a straight final tomorrow while the men’s team consisting of Cole Lambourne, Keyunta Hayes, Joe Herrera, and Ronnie Baker finished in a time of 3:08.67 advance to the next round