EMPORIA, KANSAS – The UT Tyler track and field program wrapped up the opening two days of competition at the NCAA Division II Outdoor Track and Field Championships with an All-American performance in the heptathlon and several Patriots advancing to championship finals on Saturday.

Juliane Frueh delivered one of the top performances of the meet for UT Tyler, finishing eighth overall in the women's heptathlon with 5,255 points to earn All-American honors. Frueh opened competition Thursday with 848 points in the 100-meter hurdles after running 14.95 before adding 806 points in the high jump with a clearance of 1.66 meters. She continued with a 11.37 meter throw in the shot put for 619 points and closed day one with a 25.91 finish in the 200 meters worth 805 points. On Friday, Frueh added 680 points in the long jump with a mark of 5.43 meters before posting a 34.68 meter throw in the javelin for 566 points. She capped off the competition with the top time in the 800 meters, winning the event in 2:12.33 and earning 931 points to secure her eighth-place national finish.

In the women's 400 meters, Aerin Thompson advanced to Saturday's finals after placing third overall in the preliminary round with a qualifying time of 53.42 seconds. Kamaria Carr also represented the Patriots in the event and finished 16th nationally with a time of 54.98.

The Patriots also saw success in the relay events as both the men's and women's 4x400-meter relay teams advanced to Saturday's finals. The men's quartet of Dakalon Tyler, Caleb Williams, Preston Ayers, and Jakai Timmons posted the sixth-fastest qualifying time at 3:07.45. On the women's side, Hannah Lakin, Kamaria Carr, Jasmine Haywood, and Thompson finished second overall in the preliminaries with a time of 3:35.79.

UT Tyler's men's 4x100-meter relay team of Ashton Bates, Landon Smith, Jackson Crysup, and Dylan Bennett also punched their ticket to the finals after recording the seventh-fastest qualifying time at 40.15 seconds.

Individually, Bennett narrowly missed the finals in the men's 100 meters, placing 10th overall with a time of 10.55. Brandon Arenas competed in the men's 110-meter hurdles and finished 17th nationally after clocking a 14.63, while Hannah Lakin added an 18th-place finish in the women's 400-meter hurdles with a time of 1:00.99.

The Patriots will conclude competition at the NCAA Division II Outdoor Track and Field Championships on Saturday with Thompson in the women's 400-meter finals along with finals appearances in the men's 4x100-meter relay, men's 4x400-meter relay, and women's 4x400-meter relay.