GENEVA, Ohio -- The Bruins battled through adversity on the first day of the NCAA Track and Field Championships, with 10 athletes making the trip to compete.

Top Performances
Three Bruins started the day off in the decathlon, with Blake Smith, Thomas McMillan, and Max Ashour all competing. Smith was the high finisher in both the 100m and the long jump, placing sixth in each event. Unfortunately, a DQ in the 400m derailed his day, ending the first day in 22nd place. McMillan battled through an injury to finish seventh in the shot put, and heads into day two in 20th place. Ashour finished as the top Bruin in 19th place.

In the heptathlon, Jenna Huntsman had a high finish of 11th in the 100m hurdles en route to a 19th position overall after the first day.

In the pole vault, Grace Tully finished 17th overall, clearing her first height of the day with a vault of 11-09.75 before bowing out of the competition.

Though Ellie Corwin just missed out on advancing to the final round of the women's javelin, she still ended the day as an All-American; the senior threw her first throw 128-09 to end in 10th place and earn her second All-American honor. Competing in the men's javelin was Darrin Campbell, who placed 19th thanks to his final throw of 181-09.

Aidan Arthur also came close to advancing to the final, finishing ninth in his heat and 12th overall with a time of 3:54.18. Still, Arthur's time was good enough for another Second Team All-American honor, his first career award.

Ellie Rising ended the day on a bright note for Fox, advancing to the final round of the 1500m. Rising, who qualified for both the 800m and 1500m, showed speed in her prelim, ending with a time of 4:31.45 — third in her heat and eighth overall to qualify for the 1500m final on Saturday.

What Comes Next
The Bruins will be back in action for day two of the NCAA Championships on Friday, May 23, with decathlon events starting at 7:00 am PDT.