Southwestern Community College sophomore Fane Sauvakacolo is off to a blazing start to the 2021 indoor track and field season.
The lone woman on the roster for the Spartans this spring, Sauvakacolo has delivered enough success for an entire team.
Sauvakacolo, of Fiji, started off her season on Jan. 16 with a second-place performance in the triple jump at the Mel Tjeerdsma Classic at Northwest Missouri State University. Sauvakacolo shattered her own school record in the event by leaping 10.67 meters on her first attempt. Her previous school record, set in 2020, was 9.91 meters. Sauvakacolo went on to better that school record twice more over the course of the competition, finishing runner-up with her best mark of 10.74 meters.
After the first weekend of competition for NJCAA schools, Sauvakacolo ranked second in the NJCAA in the triple jump and also owned five of the top 10 marks nationally in the event.
"For Fane to come right out of the gates and put up a quality mark like that was huge for her confidence," Southwestern Director of Cross Country/Track & Field Scott Vicker said. "I think that performance gave her a glimpse of her potential. She can now set her sights on the qualifying standard of 11.03 meters. That gives her a great mark to shoot for."
Sauvakacolo also jumped 4.78 meters in the long jump and ran a personal best time of 8.21 seconds in the 60 meter dash at the Mel Tjeerdsma Classic.
On a short turnaround, Sauvakacolo continued her improvement at Thursday's Jack Jennett Open/UNI JC Open at the UNI Dome in Cedar Falls.
With NJCAA schools only contesting running events, Sauvakacolo ran another new PR of 8.15 seconds in the 60 meter dash prelims, before bettering that mark once again in the finals at 8.05 seconds for a runner-up performance. Just minutes later, Sauvakacolo claimed an event victory in the 200 meter dash, running a PR of 26.97 seconds.
"Fane had a very gutsy performance in the 200 meters. She had the toughest task of anyone in the event, running out of lane eight in the first heat. She had no one to chase and just went out there and ran away from the field in her heat," Vicker said. "To get the win out of lane eight in heat one is a testament to how well she ran Thursday. Her times will continue to drop in both the 60 and the 200. Coach (Mark) Evans and Coach (Jackson) Shantz have done a great job with Fane so far this season and they will continue to help her make improvements over the course of the spring."
The Spartans return to action Friday, Jan. 29, at the Washburn Open before traveling to Humboldt on Saturday, Feb. 6, for the Waldorf Open.
