UCSB’s track and field team had several successful performances over the weekend while on the road at the UCSD Triton Invitational. Several schools competed in the events, including familiar foes Cal Poly and Long Beach State as well as teams from Wisconsin and Tennessee.

[media-credit name=”Daily Nexus File Photo” align=”alignleft” width=”182″][/media-credit]On Saturday, the men’s 4x400m relay team won first place with sophomore André Piñon, senior Alvin Go, freshman Jordan Scott and sophomore James Martin finishing over two seconds ahead of Central Arizona’s second place team at 3:12.37. Piñon and Go also posted individual marks of 52.75 and 54.84 in the 400m hurdles respectively — good for second and ninth place.

In the men’s 100m dash, junior Beidi Beer ran a 11.22, earning ninth place behind a trio of runners from Great Britain. Freshman Jordan Scott placed fifth in the men’s 400m with a time of 48.76, while senior Sheneice Vargas earned 13th place on the women’s side by running a 58.07.

For the men’s 800m race, junior Ryan Martin placed first with a time of 1:50.82, with freshman Greg Dotson finishing right behind him in second at 1:52.13. Junior Sarah Vitug ran a 2:12.36 in the women’s 800m, good for third place.

Junior Rusty Parker finished fifth in the men’s 1500m by running a 3:55.13, ahead of junior Baxter Frick’s ninth-place pace of 3:57.17. For the women’s 1500m, sophomore Cassie Brooker placed second and set a personal record with a time of 4:32.02, right ahead of senior Andrea Jacobs’s third place time of 4:33.33.

During Friday’s portion of the events, senior Jean Lightfoot finished second in the women’s discuss throw with a distance of 49.43m, setting a personal record. Freshman Kathleen Guzman also set a personal record with a distance of 42.6m, good for 14th place. Guzman competed in the hammer throw as well and posted a distance of 39.63m.

Sophomore Max Villaba tied for first in the men’s high jump, clearing a height of 2.06m, with sophomore Mitchell Haag’s behind him at 2.01m in third place. UCSB also placed two in the top ten for men’s shot put: sophomore Chad Seymour at seventh and junior Derek Masterson at 10th, with distances of 14.41m and 13.81m respectively.

This week, the Gauchos are preparing for their annual showdown with Cal Poly.

“[Cal Poly] is always a fun meet. I’m excited because it’s here,” senior distance runner Amanda Moreno said.

Several Gauchos, including Martin, Parker and Guzman, posted successful marks at the Cal Poly Invitational on April 1 and 2, but this will be one of the more unique meets of the season.

“It’s big because it’s us and Cal Poly only,” Vitug said. “This is the meet where the team really comes together spirit-wise. They’re our rival and they’re really good, and we measure up really well with them. Every event is going to be close.”

The Cal Poly Dual is set for all day this Saturday at Westmont College in Santa Barbara.

Print