MEDFORD and CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (Feb 13) – After traveling cross country, the UC Santa Barbara Women's Indoor Track and Field team opened their weekend in Massachusetts with two meets: the Cupid's Challenge, hosted by Tufts, and the Crimson Open, hosted by Harvard. Across both meets, the Gauchos delivered strong performances across a variety of events and held their own against East Coast competition.
CUPID'S CHALLENGE
Jessica Mackenzie, Hanna Barmettler, Ally Tito, and Bella Valley represented the Gauchos in the Tufts Invite pentathlon, opening the combined event with the 60m hurdles. Mackenzie led the way, capturing first overall with a personal best of 8.66. Barmettler followed in 8.96, while Valley clocked 9.25 and Tito crossed in 9.27.
In the high jump, Tito matched her personal record of 1.70m to place third in the event. Mackenzie cleared 1.49m, Valley posted 1.58m, and Barmettler added a mark of 1.55m.
Mackenzie continued her strong showing in the shot put with an impressive throw of 12.78m. Valley followed at 11.76m, Barmettler recorded 9.78m, and Tito rounded out the event with a mark of 7.30m.
In the long jump, Mackenzie delivered one of the top performances in program history, soaring 5.89m – the second farthest mark in program history. Barmettler followed with a jump of 5.59m, Tito recorded 5.38m, and Valley added a mark of 5.16m.
To close out the pentathlon in the 800m, Barmettler led her squad with a strong 2:22.92 finish. Mackenzie crossed in 2:41.08, Valley posted 2:37.61, and Tito clocked 2:39.65.
When the final points were tallied, Mackenzie secured second overall with 3,682 points, while Barmettler placed third with 3,621. Valley and Tito rounded out the standings, with (3,357) and 3,305 respectively, as all four Gauchos recorded personal-best totals in the combined event.
CRIMSON OPEN
Kayla Yap and Dimitra Vitogiannis opened up the day's field events in the women's weight throw. The junior duo impressed in their event debuts, with Yap earning a third place overall in a field of 23 after posting a mark of 15.70, and Vitogiannis throwing 11.52m. Yap's performance places her eighth all time in program history.
Natalie Lyons opened the jump events with an eighth place finish in the long jump, in a mark of 5.43m. For her season debut, junior Dalila Washington cleared 1.60m in the high jump. Kenni Johnson once again found the podium in the triple jump, securing a second place overall finish with a mak of 12.26m.
On the track, Alison Tjoe crossed the line in 9.20 during the preliminary round of the 60m hurdles. hurdles. Briana Bartone followed in the 60m dash, clocking 7.69 to secure a qualifying spot in the finals, while Amor Jones posted a time of 7.94. In the finals, Bartone edged out the competition to move up to seventh overall, with a personal record of 7.67.
Freshman Kenna Bradley impressed in her collegiate debut, placing fourth overall in the 500m. Her time of 1:13.88 moves her to number one in the UC Santa Barbara indoor record book for the event. Isabel Ross finished close behind in 1:16.14, earning the number three spot in program history as well.
Mia Shepard continued her record breaking streak in the 200m, clocking 23.98 to secure a first place finish and set a new program record. Natalia McGowan and Amor Jones followed in the event with times of 25.82 and 26.20, respectively.
Jordin Lieberman secured a top 10 finish in the women's mile – crossing the line in 4:55.83 – coming just shy of the program record she set in the event last weekend in Seattle.
NEXT UP
The Gauchos will have a quick turnaround, as they rest and recover for a long day at the David Hemery Valentine Invitational, hosted by Boston University tomorrow. The first gun will go off at 6:20 a.m. PST for the preliminary round of the 60m dash. For more information on the
