This weekend, the UCSB track and field team took a trip down to Irvine to compete in the Big West Cup Challenge. As a team, the girls placed third while the boys took the second spot on the podium against other Big West schools.

With the Big West Championships just around the corner, both teams looked to improve on their performances to prepare for next month.

Long Beach State took home first place for both the men’s and women’s team in this weekend’s events, scoring an almost identical 194.5 and 194.0 points respectively. The Gauchos fell just shortly behind with 186.5 points in the men’s and 160 points in the women’s competition.

The women’s team made its living on the track side this weekend with some outstanding performances and many runners placing toward the top in several events.

Sophomore Tori Tsolis had a solid day in her two different sprints. In the 800m race, her performance landed her in third place with a time just 0.21 seconds behind the leader. In addition, Tsolis turned in a first place effort in the 1500m with a time of 4:31.50. Sophomore Jessy Hansen finished just a few seconds behind her, coming in third.

The junior duo of Bailey Miller and Ali Palmer turned in a strong sprint in the 3000 meter event. Miller took second place with a time 10:08.55, and Palmer finished in fourth at 10:11.79.

The 3000m steeplechase was dominated by the Gauchos as well with sophomore Maxine Goyette finishing first at 11:16.20. Freshmen Brooke Evans and Kelsey O’Connell stayed right behind Goyette, notching the third and fourth spots in the race.

Santa Barbara turned in some strong field performances as well with sophomore Jessica Emde finishing first in the high jump. Sophomore Tori Usgaard took fourth in that contest while also grabbing second place in the long jump.

The men dominated on all circuits in this Big West Cup. Senior Tyler Brady and junior Bryce Rausa came in first and second place in the 1500m race with Brady’s time (3:48.40) coming just behind the all-time meet record.

Junior Shyan Vaziri turned in another first place effort in the 800m with a time of 1:50.08.

The Gauchos showed their team speed in the 3000m with five Gauchos finishing in the top six spots. Sophomore Bryan Guijarro led the way with a time of 8:31.16.

Santa Barbara trampled the 3000m steeplechase as well with senior Austin Goodheart and sophomore Adam Avila finishing in first and second, respectively.

Junior Oscar Pearson had the performance of the meet by placing in second in the triple jump as well as the long jump to help his team land themselves with the silver medal for the meet.

The Gauchos will continue their season this Friday in the Mt. Sac Invitational.

 

This article is an online exclusive and did not appear in the print edition of the Daily Nexus.

Photo courtesy of UCSB PrestoSports.

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