In a scene that more closely resembled a scene of an Ernest Hemingway novel than typical Southern California weather, the UCSB women’s track and field team crushed opponents Westmont College and Claremont-Mudd-Scripps.

Despite being plagued by rainy and windy conditions, the Gauchos amassed 199 points compared to CMS’s 102 points, and local rival Westmont finished third with 66 points. UCSB endured the less-than-desirable conditions to dominate the majority of the events. The Gaucho women emerged victorious in 16 of the days’ 18 events.

“It was windy, cold and rainy, but it really didn’t effect us that much. We just had to warm up a little bit longer. The track was still in good condition,” UCSB Head Coach Pete Dolan said.

The most impressive individual performance came from sophomore Amy Haapanen. Haapanen shattered two school records and eclipsed her own mark in the shot put with a career best of 48′ 2.75″. Immediately following the toss, Haapanen had no clue that she had entered the record books.

“At first I thought I should have done so much better,” Haapanen said. “My form was off. It didn’t feel good, but when I found out I broke the record, it was exciting that I could do that on a bad day. So on a good day I could do even better.”

Additionally, Haapanen surpassed the hammer throw record by posting an impressive 173’7″. The record previously belonged to Jenna Endres, who accomplished that feat in 1998 at 188′ 8″. Haapanen also had the best discus mark of the day at 144′ 3″.

Senior sprinter Jasmine Washington won the 100-meter and 200-meter events with impressive times of 12.39 and 25.57 seconds, respectively. The San Francisco native also ran the second leg on the winning 400-meter relay team. Sophomore Lauren Christman continued the winning trend by winning both the 800-meter and 1,500-meter. She ran the 800 in 2:21.28 seconds and the 1500 in 4:54.35 seconds.

“It was great to start the year, especially with a win. Most of the girls had been training since September, so we were really chomping at the bit for competition, rain or no rain,” Dolan said.

Sophomore Kylie McCuen surpassed her personal best at the 400-meter by winning the race with a 58.01 mark. McCuen also competed in both relays.

Other Gaucho winners included Katie Kramer in the long jump, Kim Christiansen in the triple jump, Kayla Petitt in the high jump, Rebecca Richey in the javelin, Desiree DeJesus in the 3,000-meter and Stellamarie Hall in the 400-meter hurdles. Freshman Charlene Heaston enjoyed an impressive debut as she finished second in the shot put at 42′ 6.75″, which is the fifth best mark in Gaucho history. Heaston also made her way into the UCSB record book with the seventh best hammer throw in history at 136′ 8″.

“It was a good day for everyone. We have to appreciate the wins, regardless of the opponent. We don’t have the same scholarships as other conference schools,” Dolan said.