STANFORD, Calif. – The UC Santa Barbara Track & Field team took their talents to three different meets this weekend, including the Stanford Invitational in Stanford, Calif., Triton Invitational in La Jolla, Calif., and Mike Fanelli Distance Carnival in San Francisco, Calif. The Gauchos divided and conquered for a prosperous weekend filled with personal bests and team success.

STANFORD INVITATIONAL

Three Gauchos took on the track at the Stanford Invite and did not disappoint on the first day of competition. Senior jumps specialist Will Denning impressed with a 7.02m jump to take fifth overall in the men's long jump. Natalie Lyons proved dominant as well, earning a podium spot in the women's long jump with a mark of 5.81m for UC Santa Barbara. To end the day, hurdler Dario Rock qualified for the finals by taking fifth in the men's 110m hurdles while also setting a new personal record of 14.16 in the process.

On Day 2, Rock took fourth place in the finals with a time of 14.25, nearly snagging a podium spot for the event. Denning also recorded a massive personal record with a mark of 15.23m in the triple jump, taking sixth place overall and nearly breaking the school record.

TRITON INVITATIONAL

On the first day of contests in sunny San Diego, the Gauchos faired well in a variety of field events. Kayla Yap recorded a personal best of 50.68m in the women's hammer throw, placing seventh for Santa Barbara. Madison Rust also impressed with a personal record of her own in the women's javelin, posting a mark of 36.83m. Freshman pole vaulter Sahara Khoury also tied a previous personal best in the event, launching for a 3.50m leap that warranted her a top-10 finish overall on the day.

In the second day of field events, freshman Anthony Gash took second overall in the men's shot put with a mark of 16.47m, crushing his previous personal best by more than a meter. Chirs Nora also recorded a top-10 finish in the event, taking eighth and throwing for a distance of 14.88m. The women's discus saw Saloni Khandhadia take seventh overall as well, corralling a mark of 44.32m.

For track events, Pardo also recorded a top-10 finish in her event, running the women's 400m with a time of 56.43. Curtis Borden III also stringed together immaculate performances from last week to this week as he took first overall in the men's 100m with a time of 10.41, 0.20 seconds better than the next best competition and the second-best time in UC Santa Barbara history.

MIKE FANELLI DISTANCE CARNIVAL

The Gauchos distance crew made their presence known on the first day of events at the San Francisco State-hosted distance meet. In the two events the Gauchos competed in on the day, eleven new personal bests were made. The 5000m race saw Lindsey Reed (17:22.65), Ryann Strawn (17:46.10), Sophia Gutierrez (17:55.10), and Lexi Darley all record personal bests on the women's side. The first-year runner Strawn finished in first for her section. Nate Osborn (14:29.37) and Matthew Galindo (15:28.87) also posted personal records in the event, with senior Zachary Parker also putting up a stellar time of his own at 14:40.85.

Maya Lacamp, Alexa Bryson, Kiera Sorenson, and Jana Barron kept the PRs coming in the women's 1500m as well. Lacamp took first in her heat with an incredible time of 4:40.47 as well as Barron, who timed in at 4:48.72. Bryson took third in her section with a time of 4:46.33. Parker Herbert was the only men's 1500m runner to gather a personal record as he was mere milliseconds away from recording a sub-4 minute time in the event with 4:00.31.

Day 2 of the Distance Carnival saw six different Gauchos post personal records in the 800m race. On the women's side, it was Bryson (2:17.85), Molly Grupe (2:21.04), Danielle Hollander (2:22.78), and Reed (2:23.41) all finishing with personal bests. For the men, Noah De la Rionda (1:53.35) and Aakersh Mathur (1:59.68) showed out with personal bests in the 800m, with De la Rionda taking first in his heat.

UP NEXT

The Gauchos will have yet another week to prepare for their next meets, where they will be competing at the Bryan Clay Multis in Azusa, Calif. on April 10-11 as well as hosting the UC Santa Barbara Open, a one-day competition at the Pauley Track on April 12.