FRESNO, Calif. (April 29, 2023) – The UC Santa Barbara Men's and Women's Track and Field teams competed at the Fresno State Invitational hosted by the Bulldogs. This was the last meet for the Gauchos before they compete at The Big West Championships in a few weeks.
There were six athletes who put themselves in the UC Santa Barbara record books. The person to make the biggest jump was Mariana Lanz. She ran a time of 24.36 seconds in the 200 to move into sixth in the record books while earning seventh place with a time of 55.23 seconds in the 400 to slide into ninth place in UC Santa Barbara's history. Joining her on the women's side is Chika Nwachukwu, who placed seventh in the 100 hurdles with a time of 14.47 seconds, the seventh-best time in Gaucho history, while Abigail Monti is sliding into ninth place in the record books with a time of 1:01.80 in the 400 hurdles.
For the men, both Tyler Holl and Dario Rock are both earning a spot in the record books in the 110 hurdles, grabbing second and fourth-place finishes at the meet with respective times of 14.37 and 14.39 seconds. These times put them at eighth and ninth in the Gaucho record book. Along with them, Deonne McCrary is now tied for ninth in the UC Santa Barbara record books with a time of 47.44 seconds in the 400 after placing fourth at the meet.
Not only did some Gauchos earn spots in the record books, but others had great performances to place highly at the meet. On the men's side, Eitan Goore had a strong performance in the pole vault, hitting a mark of 5.20 meters in the event. Also in the field events, Jackson Trimble placed first in the discus, hitting a mark of 51.75 meters, while Jared Freeman finished fourth in the same event with a throw of 50.58 meters. Freeman also grabbed third in the hammer with a mark of 59.50 meters. Leon Gillis continues to hit high marks in the high jump as he finished second with a height of 2.09 meters. On the track, Ethan Godsey finished strongly in the 1500 as well, running a time of 3:50.81 to finish fourth.
For the women, three Gauchos had very strong performances today. Amanda Spear continues to shine in the circle, making it to the finals in both the discus and hammer. Her higher finish came in the discus as she placed sixth with a throw of 50.55 meters while earning a seventh-place finish in the hammer with a throw of 54.35 meters. Lauren Lum shined in the 1500, placing fifth with a time of 4:32.81. Sophia Pardo also shined today, hitting new personal-bests in both the 200 and 400. In the 200, she ran a time of 24.88 seconds while finishing with a time of 57.29 seconds in the 400.
The Gauchos will now prepare for The Big West Championships that will begin with the Multis this Friday and Saturday, May 5 and 6, at Cal State Fullerton. The rest of the Gauchos will compete at Big West Championships on Friday and Saturday, May 12 and 13. More information on The Big West Championships will be released in the coming days.
