LA CROSSE, Wisc. -- The George Fox track and field team began their NCAA Championship trip with a successful day one, earning one First Team All-American spot and in a first day that featured several standout performances.

Top Performers
The day began with the multis events — an area where the Bruins succeeded in in 2026; of their six competitors in Wisconsin, four are either in the decathlon or heptathlon.

For the decathlon, Blake Smith currently leads the way in 10th place, while Caleb Smith is close behind in 12th. Blake started strong with a third place finish in the 11.11 in the 100m, and finished strong with another third in the 400m (49.29) to earn 3507 points on the day. Caleb, meanwhile, also finished well in the 400m, placing fourth with a 49.37, and totaled 3470 points on day one.

In the heptathlon, freshman Makaylah Johnson sits just 138 points behind leader Claudia Ouimet of Johns Hopkins, ending day one in sixth place with a 2956. Johnson started with a 10th place effort in the 100m hurdles before the high jump with a mark of 1.65m, a PR that tied for the win with SUNY Geneseo's Mackenzie Kubat. Jenna Huntsman also competed for Fox, and sits in 17th with a best finish of 15th in the 200m (26.40).

Not to be outdone, the two non-multis competitors also put together some impressive performances. Janice Hellesto ended her freshman season with bang, finishing fourth in the long jump. The freshman recorded a stunning jump of 5.93m, or 19-05.50 ft, just one inch back of the program record held by Asia Greene. The jump gave Hellesto a First Team All-American honor thanks to her fourth-place finish.

Carson Tapia, meanwhile, wasn't ready to be done with his record-breaking freshman season yet. The freshman was the final qualifier for the final heat of the 200m, running a 21.36 to nab the final available spot. Tapia battled through a strong headwind of -1.5 m/s (the fastest any heat had to deal with) to reach the final; the 200m final will be held on Saturday, May 23 at 1:50 pm.

What Comes Next
While Tapia waits one additional day to compete, the four Fox multi athletes will round out their season on Friday, May 22. The decathlon starts at 8:00 am Pacific, while the heptathlon starts at 10:30 am Pacific.