GOLETA, Calif. (Apr. 25) – The UC Santa Barbara track and field team wrapped up competition at the UCSB Invite on Saturday with a strong showing across distance events, hurdles, and the jumps, highlighted by multiple event wins and a wave of personal best performances at Pauley Track.
TRACK
UC Santa Barbara dominated the women's 1500m, sweeping the top four spots behind Sierra Gill, who crossed first in 4:34.47. Jordin Liberman followed in second with a personal best 4:35.59, while freshmen Addie Oversmith (4:36.67 PB) and Danielle Hollander (4:38.49 PB) finished third and fourth. Lexi Darley, Jana Barron, and Lindsey Reed added additional scoring depth in eighth through tenth.
The Gauchos matched that success on the men's side, claiming the top four finishes in the 1500m as Niall Monteleone led the way with a personal best 3:50.06. He was followed by Nate Osborn (3:51.99 PB), Parker Herbert (3:54.36 PB), and Will Mulliken (3:55.10 PB).
In the hurdles, Maddie Conte captured the women's 100m hurdles title in a personal best 13.51, while Pyrce Edwards won the men's 110m hurdles in a personal best 14.01. Zach Galvez, Mac Lamkin, and Julian Singell followed close behind for the Gauchos.
The sprint group continued its strong afternoon with Matthew Staples placing second in the men's 100m in a personal best 10.37 before returning later to win the 200m in 20.99. On the women's side, Parker Halgren (11.80) and Amor Jones (11.94) both recorded top-six finishes in the 100m.
In the 400m, Svea Wickelgren posted a personal best 55.62 to finish third, while Kenna Bradley followed closely behind in second at 55.31. The men's 400m saw Denny Dong and David Slaughter finish fourth and fifth respectively.
Distance success continued in the women's 800m, where Isabel Ross placed second in 2:11.11. Addison Paladino added a personal best 2:19.00, while Liberman, Hollander, and Oversmith all doubled back from the 1500m to contribute strong performances.
In the 400m hurdles, Lamkin claimed the men's title in 52.63 as Singell followed in second with a personal best 54.57. On the women's side, Conte placed second in 1:00.23, leading a group that included Anna Josephson, Layla Roslan, Alison Tjoe, and Maya Cordoba.
The Gauchos closed the day strong in the steeplechase events. Parker Simmons won the men's 3000m steeplechase in 9:02.54, followed by Manuel Correia in second (9:14.52) and Camden Luecht, who recorded a personal best 9:27.45 in third. On the women's side, Keira Sorenson and Ryann Strawn finished second and third respectively.
Santa Barbara also secured the men's 4x400m relay title in 3:18.44 and added a runner-up finish in the women's relay in 3:50.45.
FIELD
In the horizontal jumps, Jessica Mackenzie won the women's long jump with a personal best 5.98m, while Kendal Handy followed with a personal best 7.15m to place second in the men's competition. Amanda Eames added another personal best in the women's long jump at 5.46m.
The Gauchos picked up another victory in the women's triple jump behind Kennedy Johnson, who recorded a winning mark of 12.32m. Samuel Agbakoba and Monroe Barnum finished second and fourth respectively in the men's triple jump.
In the vertical jumps, Layanna Green and Allison Tito each cleared 1.67m in the women's high jump, while Jarod Nunnemaker led the Gauchos in the men's pole vault with a fourth-place finish at 4.60m. Sydni Harden, Claudia Turner, and Sofia Rakfeldt added depth in the women's pole vault.
Santa Barbara also saw strong performances in the throws, led by Kayla Yap, who placed third in the women's hammer throw at 56.09m. Cassidy Faulkner and Dimitra Vitogiannis followed in sixth and seventh respectively, while Sam Polkenhorn and Christopher Nora paced the men's hammer throw group.
In the javelin, Madison Rust finished third with a mark of 42.73m, while Mackenzie added a fifth-place finish. Barnum rounded out the day with a third-place finish in the men's javelin.
UP NEXT
The Gaucho multis squad will open up the post reason with the Big West Heptathlon and Decathlon Championships in two weekend hosted by Long Beach State.
