The Butler Grizzlies put on a good showing in the opening day of the Region VI and KJCCC Championships Saturday afternoon and into the evening from the Robert W. Plaster Center in Pittsburg, KS.
Day one featured the first Region VI Champion crowned for the Grizzlies with Destiny Castillo hitting the top mark in the entire NJCAA with a 6.08m leap in the women's long jump.
The women's Distance Medley Relay team finished 3rd in Region and runner-up in the KJCCC East with their 13:46.66 race. The men's DMR team took 6th in Region and 4th in KJCCC running a time of 11:10.71.
Day one was also filled with a number of prelims that had Grizzlies meeting the mark for the finals on Sunday.
In the women's 60 meter hurdles, both Jennifer Godfrey and Hadassah Hampton qualified for the finals on Saturday. Godfrey ran a 9.16 and Hampton was right behind here running a 9.69.
Two of the three men who competed in the prelims in the men's 60 meter hurdles qualified for the finals. David Niang and Brandon Smith finished back-to-back at 8.44 and 8.46 making it to Sunday's finals race.
Linesha Thompson and Destiny Castillo both qualified in the women's 60 meter dash. Thompson ran the second fastest time in prelims with a 7.44 while Castillo, who already claimed a Region title in the long jump, ran a 7.51, fourth fastest on the day.
On the men's side in the 60 meter dash, three Butler men entered the event and three will be running on Sunday in the finals. Caleb Jackson ran the fastest time on the day with a 6.75. Dakari Carter ran a 6.82 and Jerod Elcock finished with a 6.84. They will battle it out tomorrow for a chance at a Region VI title.
Daniell Birchell finished 11th in the men's 5000 meter running a 16:12.48 while Stephany Lechuga took 13th in the women's race with a time of 21:37.35.
Kiara Brown and Kaleb McDonald punched their ticket to the finals in the women's 200 meter dash. Brown ran a 25.08 while McDonald finished with a 25.28.
In the final event of the night, Dakari Carter and Jerod Elcock both qualified for the finals in the men's 200 meter dash. Carter ran a 21.77 while Elcock ran a 21.82.
Championship Sunday begins at 10:00am with the 4x800 meter relay followed by the finals of the 60 meter hurdles. The Grizzlies have high hopes heading into Sunday and will look to crown a few conference and Region Champions
