Katie Isenbarger wins the High jump Championship to close out C-USA Championships

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. (WBKO) - WKU Track & Field legend Katie Isenbarger added another accomplishment to her outstanding career when she won the Conference USA Women’s Outdoor High Jump Championship Sunday afternoon.

Isenbarger cleared a height of 1.79m to secure the gold medal. It was her second conference championship of 2023 as she also won the women’s high jump at the C-USA Indoor Championships.

Zackery Martinez also provided the Hilltoppers a big highlight Sunday afternoon when he earned a podium finish. Martinez placed third in the men’s 400m hurdles with a time of 52.95 to win the bronze medal in the event and secure WKU six points.

Grace Turner gave WKU a big lift on the day when she earned points for the Tops in two different events. Turner joined Isenbarger in the high jump where she finished fourth on a height of 1.70m to secure five points. She also came in fifth place in the pole vault with a height of 3.65m. That performance earned an additional four points.

WKU earned the bulk of its team points on Sunday, including multiple relay points. The men’s 4x400 relay made up of Julian Klenner, Martinez, Gabriel Dozier and Rafael Teodoro da Silva earned five points when they placed fourth. The men’s 4x100 relay team of Demetrius Rolle, Steven Simmons, Dozier and Klenner also secured three points with a sixth-place finish. After qualifying for the 400m final on Saturday, Klenner also finished seventh in the event on a time of 47.78 to win the Tops two points. Kaison Barton then provided WKU another top-10 finish when he came in at 10th in the shot put with a throw of 15.82m.

WKU’s men’s team totaled 25 points on the weekend to finish ninth overall at the championships. The women were close behind with 24 total points, placing them in 10th.

The conclusion of the Conference USA Championships marks the end of the season for the Hilltoppers. WKU will now wait to see which of its athletes qualify for NCAA Regionals.

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