TUCSON, Ariz. – Arizona Track and Field had split squads competing in the West Coast Classic, co-hosted by Oregon, on Saturday. The jumps and sprints crews competed at Roy P. Drachman Stadium while the throwers and distance runners traveled to Eugene, Ore., including
Kaelyn Shipley who went on to break the all-time school record in the javelin throw.
Highlights - Tucson
The Wildcats swept the men's and women's high jump with Lillian Lowe and Justice Summerset picking up the event wins. Lowe cleared 1.78m (5-10), which matches her outdoor PR. Diana Ramos finished sixth, clearing 1.73m (5-8). Summerset got over the bar at 2.21m (7-3), a season-best.
Shannon Meisberger clocked 57.35 in the women's 400m hurdles to place second. She was followed by Athena Montgomery in fourth with a time of 1:01.55. Also competing in the event was Arizona Track alum and volunteer coach, Sage Watson, who crossed the finish line in 55.93, giving her the fourth-best time in the world so far this season.
Johnnie Blockburger ran another big race, winning the men's 200m dash with a PR time of 20.70 - the 10th best performance in school history. Trevor Volpe (21.41) and Trent Stimac (21.45) followed in seventh and eighth.
Alyssa Blockburger picked up a PR in the 800m, winning the race with a time of 2:10.00. On the men's side, Tanner Hagstrom took second, clocking 1:52.04 and Timothy Kibet finished third with 1:54.18.
Rylee Perkins posted a PR in the long jump with a mark of 5.86m (19-2.75), finishing sixth.
Skylar Sieben clocked 14.00 in the 100m hurdles, good for a PR.
Katie Daily cleared 4.00m (13-1.5) to finish fourth in the pole vault.
The men's 4x100 relay crew of Volpe, Blockburger, Stimac and Everly clocked a time of 39.80.
Highlights - Eugene
Kaelyn Shipley rewrote the Arizona history books, breaking Julie DeMarni's 2002 school record javelin throw with a mark of 51.02m (167-4) to win the event.
Jordan Geist threw for a big PR of 71.19m (233-6) to win the hammer throw contest. His mark currently ranks fifth in the NCAA and second for Arizona. Between Geist and Israel Oloyede, the two best men's hammer throw marks in school history have been recorded this season. The Cats swept the event with Oloyede (66.02m/216-7) and Jakob Chamberlin (61.41m/201-5) taking second and third.
Samantha Noennig won the women's shot put with an outdoor PR of 18.17m (59-7.5), improving her NCAA-leading mark. On the men's side, Geist placed second with a mark of 19.79m (64-11.25).
Noennig took second in the discus with a mark of 54.20m (177-10) and Jordan Spradlin threw 47.92m (157-2), just shy of a PR, to finish sixth. For the men, Chamberlin (55.19m/181-1) and Youssef Koudssi (52.74m/173-0) both posted PRs, finishing third and fourth respectively.
Keelah Barger (16:52.60) and Victor Ortiz-Rivera (13:53.17) were our top finishers in the men's and women's 5000m, both picking up PRs.
Both Alisa Lyesina (4:26.85) and Peyton Heiden (4:30.71) clocked PRs in the women's 1500m.
The Wildcats will be back in action on May 1 as they host the Desert Heat Classic. A complete recap of the meet will be posted to ArizonaWildcats.com. You can also follow @ArizonaTrack on twitter throughout the day for live updates.
FOLLOW THE WILDCATS!
Fans can keep up with the latest in Arizona Track and Field by following us on Facebook (Facebook.com/ArizonaTrack), Twitter (@ArizonaTrack), Instagram (arizonatrack) and YouTube (Youtube.com/arizonawildcatstrack) accounts.
