CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – The Women's Track & Field team for UC Santa Barbara took their talents to the Northeast to compete in the Crimson Elite & Multis on Friday. The one-day event witnessed many Gauchos excel in both track events and field events, starting with the Women's Pentathlon and ending with the 400-meter dash.
PENTATHLON
For the first event of the day for the Gauchos, Allison Tito (3263), Hanna Barmettler (3254), and Quinn Petzold (3246) all recorded personal records in the Pentathlon. Tito placed eighth of 15 athletes overall, setting personal records in every event and recording the best mark in the high jump at 1.69m. Barmettler was just behind Tito in ninth and was top five in the high jump, posting a 1.60m jump. Petzold took tenth, with the 800-meter race ending up as her best event as she ran 2:27.62 to take fourth. Petzold also had a personal record in the high jump with a 1.57m jump.
FIELD
UC Santa Barbara participated in just one field event on the day, where junior Kennedy Johnson and freshman Quincie Richards both put on immaculate performances for the Gauchos.
Johnson took the gold out of 13 competitors with a 12.61m jump on her sixth and last attempt. The junior also posted 12.49m and 12.46m jumps, which also would have given her first place in the event. Richards took fourth place of the 13 participants with a jump of 11.94m, doing so on her third attempt.
TRACK
On the track, the Gauchos competed in four events consisting of the 60-meter hurdles, 60-meter dash, 400-meter dash, and the mile.
In the first round of the 60-meter hurdles, junior Maddie Conte took second in her heat with a time of 8.63, which ultimately awarded her the last qualifying spot for the final round by one-hundredth of a second. Senior Nyenuchi Okemgbo took 14th place, finishing at 8.82. Alison Tjoe recorded a personal record of 9.01, followed by Maya Cordoba at 10.09.
The final round of the 60-meter hurdles witnessed Conte coming out of the race with a spot on the podium, taking third place and recording a personal best of 8.51.
Three Gauchos also recorded personal records in the 60-meter dash as Mia Shepard (7.72), Sophia Pardo (7.73), and Avery Groves (7.74) all finished in the top 20. Briana Bartone was also close behind with a time of 7.77.
UC Santa Barbara continued their excellence in the 400-meter dash, where senior Aoife Hernon (55.76) and Conte (56.58) took second and third overall. Sophomore Meagan Kennedy (1:00.47) broke the top 20 while junior Maya Lacamp (1:02.04) took second in her heat.
The last event of the day was the longest as sophomores Leah Mendibles and Alexa Bryson took on the mile. Mendibles had a strong finish to end with a time of 5:13.44, passing two runners in the last 200 meters to steal second place. Bryson also had a great showing, placing fifth and recording 5:16.14 in the 1609-meter run.
"It was really good to see the freshmen continue to improve with the higher level of competition", exclaimed head coach Vijay Saxena. "We were using this day to get ready to break some records tomorrow at Boston University. This was a day to get their legs moving and the PRs and high finishes are great to see."
UP NEXT
The Gauchos will prepare for their last indoor meet of the season tomorrow, Feb. 8, in Boston, Mass. The Bruce Lehane Scarlet & White Invite will transpire at the Boston University Track and Tennis Center, with the doors opening at 9:00 a.m. and the women's 5K starting things off at 10:30 a.m. For information on live results, live streaming, and meet schedule, visit UCSBGauchos.com.
