LONG BEACH, Calif. (March 4, 2023) – The UC Santa Barbara Track and Field teams competed in their first outdoor meet of the season at the Beach Opener, hosted by Long Beach State University.
On Day 1 of the two-day meet, the hammer and javelin throwers competed which was highlighted by Jared Freeman on the men's side. He made it to the finals of the men's hammer throw, finishing in fifth with a throw of 57.63 meters. He continued with his success on Day 2 in the discus, grabbing fourth place with a throw of 53.1 meters. For the women, Amanda Spear had a phenomenal outing in the hammer, grabbing second in the event with a mark of 53.52 meters, which is tied for her personal best.
The rest of the events happened on Saturday, March 4, with some key highlights including Brendan Fong, who won the 400-meter dash with a time of 48.81 seconds while getting second in the 200 with a time of 21.67 seconds. Tyler Holl earned a second-place finish in the 110-meter hurdles with a time of 14.52 seconds. Leon Gillis also had a strong performance in the jumps, grabbing third place in the high jump as he cleared 2.01 meters.
On the women's side, Mariana Lanz placed highly in two of her individual events, securing first in triple jump with a mark of 12.57 meters while grabbing fourth in the 200-meter dash with a time of 24.58 seconds. Paige Damron and Abigail Monti had strong performances in the 400 hurdles, securing fourth and fifth place, respectively. The 1600-meter relay team also found success with Monti, Damron, Sophia Pardo and Lanz as they earned second out of 14 teams with a time of 3:49.58.
UC Santa Barbara has a quick turnaround as they compete again beginning this Wednesday, March 8, as they host the UCSB Invite with Sam Adams Combined events. This meet goes across three days with decathlon and heptathlon events taking place on Wednesday and Thursday with all events happening on Friday. Following the meet on Friday, the teams will host the Track and Field Round up, which will include dinner and a meet-and-greet with the team. Tickets for the event can be purchased through ucsbgauchos.com.
For a full schedule of the team's upcoming home meet, visit the UC Santa Barbara Track and Field page at ucsbgauchos.com.
