SACRAMENTO, Calif. (May 27, 2023) – The UC Santa Barbara Track and Field teams had six athletes head up to Sacramento State for the NCAA West Regional in hopes of making it to the NCAA Championships in a few weeks in Austin, Texas. 

On the first day of competition, the javelin throwers and pole vaulters competed which consisted of Brad Thomas, Chase Tarr and Eitan Goore. Thomas and Tarr were up first as the javelin was one of the opening events of day. Tarr came out in his final meet as a Gaucho, making a throw of 59.24 meters while Thomas was close behind with a throw of 57.36 meters. Goore competed shortly after that, hitting a mark of 5.20 meters in the pole vault. Day Two was the women's javelin competition, where Malia Benson was slated to compete. She had to be scratched from the event due to illness, resulting in no mark. Even though her season was cut short, Benson set the new school record in the javelin while bringing home the gold in the event at The Big West Championships.

The third day of the NCAA West Regional led to Leon Gillis competing in the high jump. The freshman earned a spot after his phenomenal performance at The Big West Championships that led to a mark of 2.14 meters. Here at the regional, Gillis finished in the top third of the field, hitting a mark of 2.09 meters for his first NCAA meet. The final day of competition was today as Mariana Lanz represented the Gauchos in the triple jump. She was just shy of her season-best as she hit a mark of 12.08 meters in the event.

This concludes the 2023 track and field season for the Gauchos this season. UC Santa Barbara will be back in action this fall with the cross country team. The schedule will be announced soon.