Flagstaff, Ariz. – The University of Arizona Wildcat men's and women's track and field teams competed on Friday in Flagstaff, Ariz. The first meet of the 2015 indoor season was held at the Lumberjack's J.L. Walkup Skydome.
“I thought overall, we performed really well,” head coach Fred Harvey said. “I'm excited because we have a young team and young talent. It's a bridge year to make sure the quality of the program continues in the right direction, a top-25 team nationally and a top-five team in the conference. How high we'll be ranked at the conference meets or the NCAA Championships is obviously yet to be decided, but what we saw today gives us a lot of hope for a program with the young kids we have.”
Sophomore pentathlete Alyssa Thompson, a Tucson native (Salpointe Catholic High School graduate) and transfer from Wake Forest, began her first competition as a Wildcat with the shot put. She posted a personal-best mark of 35-0.5 (10.68m) in the event. Thompson's mark of 19-11.75 (6.09m) in the long jump was good for first place overall. It is the second-best jump of her career and just off her personal best 6.16m. Thompson posted yet another personal-best mark in the high jump, clearing 5-5 (1.65m) and finishing in third place overall. Her final event of the day was the 60-meter hurdles where she clocked a time of 8.99, just off her personal-best mark of 8.95.
“Things are off to a really good start,” Thompson said. “I'm really excited for this season. I think it's a really good confidence booster. It feels good to get the first one under your belt, you never really know what to expect. I think I did better than what I expected of myself so I'm excited to see what the next meet brings.”
Junior Nnenya Hailey won the women's 400-meter sprint with a time of 54.87. In the 60-meter hurdles, freshman Tiana Bonds won with a time of 8.46 in her first collegiate race.
Sophomore Lisanne Hagens won the women's high jump competition with a personal-best mark of 5-8.75 (1.75m). Senior Shakayla McEaddy earned a second-place finish with a mark of 5-7 (1.70m).
In the women's shot put competition, senior Baillie Gibson had a toss of 48-5.5 (14.77m) and finished in third place overall. On the men's side, sophomore Aaron Castle took second place overall with a toss of 59-1.5 (18.02m).
Sophomore pentathlete Aleah Hurst posted the second-best mark of her career in the long jump at 18-7.25 (5.67m), taking third place overall. Freshman heptathlete Myles Hawkins won the men's long jump competition with a mark of 22-8.50 (6.92m). Hawkins bested the second-place finisher by over a foot. Junior heptathlete Harrison Ivie had a mark of 21-3.25 (6.48m) in the long jump competition and finished in fifth place overall. Ivie returned to action for the 60-meter hurdles and clocked a big personal-best of 8.45, good for first place in heat one. Ivie's previous best was 8.80.
In the men's 400-meter sprint, senior Pete Lauderdale II earned a third-place finish overall with a time of 48.28. On the women's side, freshman Tatum Waggoner had a time of 56.87, the best time in heat four and third place overall. In the men's 200-meter sprint, junior Blake Eichler's time of 21.97 was good for fourth place. Senior Mohammad Alhasan posted a time of 6.84 in the 60-meter dash, good for third place overall. He also competed in the 200-meter sprint and posted a time of 22.17 for sixth place.
The men's 4x400-meter relay consisted of Lauderdale II, sophomore Bryce Houston, freshman Joshua Cummings and Eichler. They clocked a time of 3:18.28 and took second place overall. On the women's side, team 'A' consisted of freshman Diana Gajda, Thompson, Hicks and Hailey, they took second place overall with a time of 3:51.21. Team 'B' was third overall at 3:55.80 and it was run by junior Morgan Struble, Bonds, freshman Katelin Warren and Waggoner.
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