LONG BEACH, Calif. – UC Santa Barbara Track and Field had an impressive showing today at their first meet of the season in Long Beach. Against the backdrop of the iconic Long Beach State pyramid, the Gauchos took to the arena to showcase their skills and set their precedent for the season ahead.
TRACK
The Men's 4x100m team started off the day by taking a swift third place with a combined time of 42.33s. Justin Fong, Dario Rock and Matthew Staples with Elan Goetz as the anchor set a standard for the team and prepped them for the day to come.
Maddie Conte then placed an impressive third in the 100m Hurdles and set a personal best with a time of 14.14s. Alison Tjoe came in seventh and also ran a personal best in the 100m Hurdles, with her time of 14.86s. Jessica Swalve and Chika Nwachuku arrived in ninth and tenth, putting every Gaucho that competed in the event in the top ten.
Tyler Holl also secured a third place spot after dominating in the 110m Hurdles in 14.29 seconds. Dario Rock and Jeramiah Havens came in seventh and 10th, setting personal bests in the 110m Hurdles, with times of 14.36s and 15.70s, respectively.
Sophia Pardo placed fourth overall and scored a personal record in the 400m Dash of 57.24s. Abigail Monti and Meagan Kennedy succeeded Pardo in 10th and 11th.
Finn Andrews ran the 200m for the first time, placing a showstopping fifth and setting his new baseline at 21.63s. Justin Fong placed 10th, followed by Matthew Staples in 11th, who set a personal record of 21.93s.
Maddie Conte also stood out in the 200m, placing eighth and setting a new personal record of 24.67s. Sophia Pardo came in 10th with a personal best of 24.87s, and Tjoe set a personal best of 25.77s.
FIELD
Junior Eitan Goore won the Pole Vault, blasting away the competition with his ascendent leap. His height of 5.10m was a staggering 70.2m (8 inches) higher than the second place jump.
Cassidy Faulkner set a personal best in the Hammer Throw (46.29m), beating her previous record by about 2 meters. Andy Buttrell placed 11th out of 36 in the Hammer Throw with his mark of 52.59m.
Jackson Trimble threw a new personal record in the Javelin, with a distance of ?52.84m putting him in the tenth slot. Malia Benson placed fifth in the Javelin, with a hurl of 44.41m sealing her in the top ten.
Jessica Swalve placed ninth in the Shot Put, landing a mark of 12.19m. Madison Pelfrey placed seventh in the Pole Vault, achieving a height of 3.55m.
Jackson Trimble also set a new personal record in the Discus (52.47m) and placed eighth. Jared Freeman threw unattached, but placed second in the Hammer Throw, earning 62.49m.
The Gauchos will return to the course next Wednesday, March 6 for the first day of the UCSB Invite.
