BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Wichita State track and field won three event titles on day one of the American Conference Indoor Championships as the men lead going into the final day of competition at the Birmingham CrossPlex.
 
With six of 17 events scored on day one, the Wichita State men lead the team competition with 61 points, while South Florida sits in second with 37.5. The Shockers hold a 9.5 point advantage in the conference's team score projections after the first day of competition. The Wichita State women sit in fourth with 32 points, while reigning champion Tulane leads the competition with 38 points.
 
Kaleb Tesmer, Elkana Kipruto and the Shocker women's distance medley relay all landed atop the podium on day one.
 
Tesmer, a sophomore from Olathe, Kan., cleared 2.08m/6'9.75" in the high jump to claim the first gold medal of the meet, and freshman Andre Pentecost Jr. joined him on the high jump podium, placing third with a clearance of 2.05m/6'8.75". Freshman Cole Smither and sophomore Darius Graham also scored in the high jump, finishing fifth and tying for sixth, respectively, both with clearances of 2.05m, bring the men's high jump point total to 22.
 
Sophomore Elkana Kipruto claimed the second crown of the day, running 13:50.72 in the 5,000 meters to win his second American Conference title after winning the cross country title in the fall. Senior Zander Cobb claimed his first podium finish, joining Kipruto on the 5,000-meter podium with a third-place performance, running 14:10. 58.
 
Senior Lucy Ndungu also finished on the 5,000 podium, racing to a runner-up finish in the women's race with a personal-best time of 16:11.67. Her time ranks fifth all-time in program history.
 
The Wichita State women's distance medley relay squad of Lea Jerkovic, Sadie Millard, Audrey Parson and Vivien Kipkorir claimed the Shockers' second title in program history with a huge comeback performance by Kipkorir on the anchor leg. The freshman from Iten, Kenya overcame a seven second deficit to bring the Shockers from seventh place to first over the course of her 1600-meter leg. The relay's time of 11:32.25 ranks fourth all-time in Wichita State history.
 
The Shocker men followed with a podium finish of their own as Kelvin Kipyego, Canyon Crowley, Riley Vandaveer and Austin Carrera put together a third-place distance medley relay performance, running 9:47.88, the second-fastest time in school history.
 
In the pole vault, sophomore Kylie Scott led the way for the Shockers with a bronze medal performance, clearing 3.97m/13'0.25" to earn her first all-conference recognition. Sophomore Shellamae Farmer cleared the same bar, a personal-best clearance, to place fourth, giving the Shockers 11 points in the event. In the men's competition, freshman Liam Miller cleared 5.10m/16'8.75" to place fourth, and freshman Ty Bybee jumped 4.70m/15'5" to take eighth, scoring a total of six points for the team.
 
The final podium finish of the day came from Josh Parrish in the long jump, who jumped a season-best 7.49m/24'7" to take the silver medal, just one centimeter away from the title. Darius Graham took eighth with a mark of 7.26m/23'10", giving the Shockers a total of nine points in the men's long jump.
 
Sadie Millard completed her first pentathlon of the season and finished sixth with 3,662 points to score three points, and Smither and Rikard Trogen Hedin sit in fifth and sixth place, respectively, after day one of the heptathlon.
 
In the men's weight throw, Beau Kerschen recorded a personal-best mark of 18.45m/60'6.5" to plave seventh and score two points for the team.
 
The Shockers also saw success in the running event prelims, advancing 11 through to Saturday's finals.
 
Kipkorir, Francesca Alvarado and Kipyego qualified to the mile finals, Josh Parrish, Jabari Armstrong and Tyler Carrol advanced to the 60-meter hurdles final, Jelese Alexander, Chairo Ogbebor and Jason Parrish moved up to the 60-meter dash finals, and Jason Parrish and Josh Parrish will race in the 200-meter dash final.
 
Day two of competition begins on Saturday at 9:15 a.m. in the Birmingham CrossPlex, and team champions will be crowned at 3:45 p.m.