COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Wichita State student-athlete Sydney Wilson won the pentathlon with 3,586 points, while Ben Johnson finished day one of the heptathlon in second.
 
Redshirt sophomore Sydney Wilson finished top-3 in three of the five pentathlon events,  including a first place finish in the high jump. The Sterling, Kan., native started the day setting a personal best in the 60m with a time of 9.03.
 
"That gave me a lot of confidence going into high jump," said Wilson. "PR's are always really good for carrying lots of momentum through the day. Going into this I set out goals with what mark I want to hit and if I do that then I'll score this, so it's really nice when you hit your goal on the very first event."
 
Wilson's momentum carried into high jump winning the event with a clearance of 1.67m/5-5.75, just short of her personal best height of 1.69m/5-6.5. Wilson led the pentathlon after two events with 1,722 points and never looked back extending her lead after finishing second in the shot put with a mark of 10.90m/35-9.25.
 
Claudia Rojo finished second in the pentathlon with 3,529 points, while Kendra Henry placed fourth (3,317) and Maria Romero in fifth (3,269).
 
"The women had a nice pentathlon and some really good performances," said head track and field director Steve Rainbolt. "I was proud of Sydney Wilson for winning the event and competing very close to her personal record."
 
The Shocker women finished the day with eight personal bests.
 
Ben Johnson finished day one of the heptathlon with two first place finishes and one second place. Johnson started the day finishing sixth in the 60m with a time of 7.20, but would quickly make his presence felt finishing second in the long jump equaling his personal best mark of 6.94m/22-9.25.
 
Johnson trailed leader and former Shocker All-American Austin Bahner by 119 points after two events. The redshirt senior would not give up as he finished the day winning the shot put (13.74m/45-1) and high jump (1.97m/6-5.50) to come within 41 points after four events.
 
"I'm really proud of Ben Johnson," said Rainbolt. "He remains in position to go for a national qualifying mark and that's really exciting for him. The other guys really did a nice job and I'm excited for how our multi-event crew shapes up in preparation for the conference championships."
 
Colin Reichenberger finished day one in fourth place with 2,692 points, including personal bests in the 60m (7.26), shot put (12.22m/40-1.25) and high jump (1.85m/6-0.75).
 
The men's team combined to set nine personal best marks.
 
Day two of the heptathlon kicks off with the 60m hurdles at 9:00 a.m., while the open field events and running events start at 1:00 p.m.