Roberts places 3rd in pole vault during Day 1 of NJCAA Outdoor

Roberts places 3rd in pole vault during Day 1 of NJCAA Outdoor

Butler sophomore Jayne Roberts took third place in the women's pole vault, while the 4x800-meter relay team took sixth place during Thursday's opening day of the NJCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championships at BG Products Veterans Sports Complex.

The Grizzlies ended the day in 10th place with nine points after five events scored. New Mexico sits in first place after Day 1 with 30 points, followed by Iowa Central (28) and Cowley (21). ASA-Miami (18) and Barton (15) round out the top five.

On her third and final attempt, Roberts cleared the bar at 3.45 meters (11'-3 3/4") for the third-place finish. Roberts, who finished second in NJCAA indoors this season, finishes her Grizzly career as a four-time NJCAA All-American in the pole vault.

The 4x800-meter relay team of sophomores Conangela Senior, Jade Searles, Jeanna Baker and Roshae Burrell placed sixth with a time of 9:40.93.

In addition to medaling in two events, the Butler women qualified for Saturday's finals in two events.

In the 4x100-meter relay, Butler's team of Kai Lewis, Charnice Anderson, Tashoy Blake and Kylia Smith turned in the third-best preliminary time to advance to Saturday's finals with a time of 45.45 seconds.

Freshman sprinter Reina Ryan also qualified for finals in the 400-meter dash, placing sixth during prelims at 55.40 seconds. Sophomore Davia Smith just missed out in qualifying as she finished ninth (55.56).

Kylia Smith finished 11th overall in the long jump event, as she hit a mark of 5.18 meters (17'-0") in her final preliminary attempt.

Day 2 of the NJCAA Championships will open with multi events at 9:00 a.m., while field events start at 11:00 a.m. Track events, beginning with the 1,500-meter run, will go at 1:00 p.m.

The Butler women will have athletes in the following events on Friday: