SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – Just over the hill from their home turf, the UC Santa Barbara Track and Field team competed at Westmont College in the Sunshine Indoor Open today. The team aimed to gain some experience before the upcoming outdoor season and proved to be in good standing for the year.
Men's Track
The Gauchos dominated the Men's 60mH, with Dario Rock winning with a standout time of 8.11s. Matthew Molina and Tyler Holl then finished back-to-back in fourth and fifth, giving UC Santa Barbara three of the top five slots. Finn Andrews and Jeremiah Havens also finished in the top ten, coming in ninth and tenth. Andrews flew past his competition in the 400m, winning the race with a personal best of 48.02s. Havens came in a strong eighth, with his time of 52.36.
Matthew Staples and Justin Fong both placed in the 60m top ten, placing fourth and sixth with times of 6.95s and 6.98s. Staples and Fong also scored peak spots in the 200m, with fifth and seventh. They were joined by Elan Goetz, who snagged the tenth spot to round out the top ten stack. Not far behind were Sean Beihoffer and Dario Rock in eleventh and twelfth, putting all of the Gauchos in the upper half of racers.
The Gauchos saw another win with Matt Frey, who clinched the title in the 1K and made a new personal record of 2:34.92. Like the 60m, the mile was also governed by the Gauchos, with KC Barber, Nate Osborn, Parker Simmons, Gus Marshall, Manan Vats, and Luca Romero all placing in the top ten.
Manny Correia won the 3000m race and simultaneously set a new personal record of 8:22.11 seconds. TJ Bryson followed closely in third for the bronze, while KC Barber, Hayden Owen, and Manan Vats secured eighth, ninth, and tenth place. UC Santa Barbara also won the Men's 4 x 800m Relay, with exceptional performances by Aakersh Mathur, Correia, Zaki Blunt, and Advait Krishnan.
Men's Field
Andy Buttrell landed second with his toss in the Shot Put, with a mark of 15.51m. He cleared the third place spot by over two meters. Buttrell also won the silver in the Weight Throw, hitting 15.69m with his attempt. Jackson Trimble placed fourth in the Javelin, with a hurl of 52.08m.
Eitan Goore won the Pole Vault, springing over the competition with a height of 4.95m. Collin Young placed fifth in the vault, hitting 4.20m. Matthew Molina won the High Jump, putting up a successful jump over the 1.98m stick. Molina also placed third in the Long Jump with a leap of 6.81m. Havens succeeded in fourth, landing at 6.40m, while William Denning secured fifth with a jump of 5.78m.
Women's Track and Field
On the Women's side, Danielle Hollander and Claire Selleck took second and third in the Mile Run, with twin times of 5:10 minutes, separated only by milliseconds. Ashling Carr followed up in sixth place with a time of 5:29.09.
Mia Ziblatt scored sixth in the 600m, with a time of 1:46.55. Lexi Darley snatched fifth in the 3000m for a time of 11:08.98. UC Santa Barbara beat Westmont in the 4000m DMR, with Alexa Bryson, Mia Ziblatt, Leah Mendibles, and Ava Maier working together to win.
Nika Edson won the Javelin, heaving a titular personal best of 37.82m. Dalila Washington had a silver earning bound in the High Jump, earning a height of 1.52m in the event.
The remaining track schedule is set to be released next week.
