AZUSA & WALNUT – With no team scoring on the line, the Gauchos made a strategic team split this week in search of improving marks on the Big West and NCAA list. They were rewarded with a wealth of season and lifetime PR’s while adding seven new marks to the UCSB All-Time list. Earlier in the week, decathlete Darion Williams took the Big West lead in the decathlon with a score of 6578.
Results Links
Track and field results are known to be hard to find. That is why we have assembled all of the weekend’s results links below:
Bryan Clay Invite (Azusa Pacific) Results (Majority of UCSB team)
Mt. Sac Results (Friday, April 17th) (Johnson, Hughes, Rausa, Moreno, Guijarro)
California Invitational Decathlon (Williams, Tombol, Oechsli, Okpara, Coach Fleming and Masterson)
Mt. Sac Relays Recap
With the most rigorous entry standards on the schedule, the Gauchos competed a small group of athletes at the Mt. Sac Relays. Adam Avila started the meet off Thursday evening, competing in the collegiate/open section of the 3,000m steeplechase. Avila dipped under 10 minutes for the second time this season and escaped with a .04 personal best in 8:59.60. His time is the eighth fastest in UCSB history.
Anthony Monroy took the line in the 10,000m and finished in 30:20.49, nearly three seconds off his lifetime best. Monroy’s time is currently the second fastest in the Big West this season behind teammate Bryan Guijarro’s 29:11.20.
Bryce Rausa ran another impressive 3,000m steeplechase, taking on the field in one of the invitational sections Friday evening. Rausa ran with the pack the whole way, placing fourth in his heat, just 5 seconds off the winner. He was the second collegiate runner to come across the line, finishing in a time of 8:53.96.
Jessica Johnson placed third overall in the collegiate 400m, running a season best 53.86. This is the third time in her career she has dropped under the 54 second standard and twice this season. She is ranked third in the Big West with her time.
Dani Moreno ran the 5,000m, her first track 5k of the season. Moreno came in at 16:40.40, which is the top Big West time of the year. Moreno averaged 5:22 miles for the 3.1 mile distance.
Albert Hughes was the lone field event entrant for the Gauchos, throwing in the collegiate/open section of the hammer. Hughes managed a throw of 185’5.
Bryan Clay Recap
Tori Tsolis lit up the track in the 1,500m, winning her heat in a sizzling 4:25.47. This was a season’s best for last year’s Big West runner-up in the event and only .65 off her lifetime best. Running under the APU lights, Tsolis out sprinted the field, placing 12th overall in a field of 167 runners.
The pole vaulters provided plenty of highlights on a day where three athletes broke into the UCSB top-ten.
Parker Curry jumped a new lifetime best of 16’1.25 to move to #9 on the UCSB All-Time list. Curry capitalized on the signature tailwinds piping through the San Gabriel Valley, moving through his pole selection like clockwork. Curry finished in a tie for sixth in a field of 55 vaulters. He moves to #5 in the Big West on the yearly list.
UCSB sophomore Clint Gallivan jumped a personal best of 15’7.25 in the adjacent pit. Gallivan had all first attempt clearances until bowing out at 16’1.25.
Freshman Lauren Larson and Brooke Pestano also broke onto the UCSB All-Time list with their PR clearances of 11’10. They both now take over the #6 spot in UCSB history.
Tommy Poston ran a great 1,500m race and was rewarded with the #10 time in UCSB history. Poston broke the tape in 3:48.75, the first time dropping under 3:50 in his career. Poston was last year’s fourth place Big West finisher in the event.
Other Bryan Clay Results:
Jenna Hinkle, 1,500m, 4:36.52
Betsy Armitage, 400m, 56.85
Hallie Brauner, 400m Hurdles, 63.34
Sophie Smith, 5,000m, 17:27.77
Emily Lopez, 5,000m, 17:29.26
Bailey Miller, 5,000m, 17:34.91
Kelsey O’Connell, 17:37.21
Kayla Thayer, 41’8 Shot Put, 130’4 Discus
Ashley Alama, 139’3 Discus
Kayla O’Brine, 135’3 Discus
Lara Lewis 133’6 Discus
Bradford Littooy, 1,500m, 3:50.04
Andrew Verdin, 1,500m, 3:51.81
Joseph Rivera, 1,500m, 3:53.92
Karlon Johnson, 400m, 48.85
Andrew Farkas, 800m, 1:52.28
George Baier, 800m, 1:52.47
Connor Rafferty, 800m, 1:54.45
Pierce Miller, 800m, 1:54.85
Myles McDonald, 400m Hurdles, 53.32
Rufus Wollo, 200m, 22.06
Andrew Salinas, 5,000m, 14:47.60
Spencer Neste, Javelin, 189’3
Jerrick Zhang, Javelin, 182’7
Denley Rodriguez, Shot Put, 49’8.5
Stephen Leach, Shot Put, 49’6.25
Jeremy Franklin, Shot Put 48’3.5
Cody Ramage, Discus, 149’10
Clark Nelson, Long Jump, 22’5
Christopher Cook, Long Jump, 22’1
California Invitational Decathlon Recap
Four Gauchos competed in the CA Invitational decathlon. Williams paced the crew with a new PR score of 6578. Using an 11.40 personal best in the 100m, a 14.97 PR in the 110HH and a new pole vault best of 13’1.5, Williams added over 300 points to his 2014 score.
Zach Tombol scored 6,411, setting a new lifetime best in the event by 84 points. Tombol used big field event marks of 21’1.25 in the long jump, 43’9.25 in the shot put, 143’7 in the discus, 13’3.25 in the pole vault and 177’4 in the javelin to boost his score.
Jeff Oechsli broke the 6k barrier for the first time in his young career, finishing with 6071 points. Oechsli won the 100m with a time of 11.29.
Ike Okpara scored 5531 but suffered a pole vault NH on day two. His first day total of 3465 was a day one lifetime best. He had a best mark of 6’5 in the high jump.
Williams and Tombol move up the UCSB All-Time list to #4 and #7 respectively.
Coach Annett update
Annett Fleming placed second in the prestigious Mt. Sac Heptathlon, with a score of 6,002. Competing in her second heptathlon in 11 days, Fleming jumped out to a day one best with a score of 3530. She opened day two with a 19’2.5 long jump and followed with a 155’2 javelin mark holding the lead into the final event. Sami Spenner made up just enough ground in the 800m to edge out the win from Fleming, with 6019 points, a mere two second difference in the 800m.
Fleming scored 6,051 points at the Sam Adams, making this her second time over 6k this season.
Annett’s marks: 13.99, 5’9.25, 45’4.25, 25.52, 19’2.5, 155’2, 2:17.33
Fleming now has the #5 and #8 best scores in the world so far this year. She is also ranked #5 in Germany in the javelin with her 169’2 toss at the Sam Adams Invite.
Next Up:
The Gauchos will send a small group of throwers down to UC San Diego next weekend for the Triton Invite. The team will reassemble next for the Cal Poly Dual, held at Westmont College on Saturday, May 2nd. Check back with ucsbgauchos.com for meet previews and a full recap.
