FREEPORT, BAHAMAS – Arizona Track and Field finished day two of the Island Relays on Saturday in an impressive manner. The day was filled with a flurry of top-three individual finishes and performances, capped off by the men's team placing second overall and the women's team finishing third.
"We came here for an experience but also to be able to get some performances in," said Head Coach
Fred Harvey. "We had some really super performances. That day one we had yesterday in the throws was really, really exciting. I'm so proud of what we were able to do here as a group. We came together and performed at a super high level and that was really nice to see. We want to continue to grow from that."
FIELD HIGHLIGHTS
The Wildcats swept the podium in the women's high jump.
Alexa Porpaczy and
Talie Bonds tied for first place after they both cleared 1.79m (5-10.5). Additionally, freshman
Emma Gates finished third with a clearance of 1.70m (5-7).
Reinaldo Rodrigues had a big day for the Wildcats, winning the men's long jump. His best leap of the day was 7.56m (24-9.75).
In the men's shot put,
Youssef Koudssi finished runner-up with an outdoor PR throw of 18.89m (61-11.75).
Zach Landa also placed fourth for the Wildcats with an outdoor PR heave of 18.17m (59-7.25). Then in the men's discus, the two finished first and second with big personal best throws. Koudssi won the event with a heave of 55.18m (181-0), and Landa placed second with a toss of 52.56m (172-5).
In the first field event of the day, the women's shot put,
Mackenna Orie placed third overall and
Tapenisa Havea finished fourth. Orie's best throw on the day was 16.08m (52-9), and Havea's best was 16.01m (52-6.25). Later on in the women's discus throw, Orie had a toss of 47.66m (156-4) to place fourth, and Havea had a heave of 46.69m (153-2) to finish fifth.
In the women's long jump,
Jenica Bosko finished second overall with a near personal best leap of 6.09m (19-11.75). Additionally,
Lauryn Ford placed fourth with a PR jump of 5.90m (19-4.25) and
Neysia Howard finished fifth with a mark of 5.85m (19-2.25).
Hollan Powers posted a new outdoor personal best in the event as well.
Taylen Wise finished the highest for the Wildcats in the women's triple jump, placing fourth overall with a leap of 12.30m (40-4.25). Additionally,
Rylee Perkins and
Esther Akinlosotu placed fifth and sixth.
TRACK HIGHLIGHTS
Talie Bonds placed second overall in the women's 100m hurdles, clocking a time of 13.80. Additionally,
Hollan Powers and
Taylen Wise finished sixth and seventh overall in the event as well. In the men's 110m hurdles,
Zachary Extine ran a time of 14.77 and placed third overall.
Neysia Howard finished runner-up in the women's 100m, clocking a time of 11.96 in the event.
Esther Akinlosotu also placed seventh overall in today's final. In the men's 100m,
Trayvion White-Austin ran a time of 10.67 to finish second overall. Additionally,
James Onanubosi ended in sixth place for the Wildcats in the event.
In the women's 1500m,
Sailor Hutton finished second overall, running a time of 4:36.81. Additionally,
Johnnie Mitchell ended in fourth place with a time of 4:40.60. The Wildcats had a pair of top-three finishers in the men's 1500m with
Iker Sanchez Lopez and
Cooper Quigley. Sanchez Lopez finished runner-up with a time of 3:55.14, and Quigley placed third with a time of 3:56.97.
Freshman
Noah Jodon started the day for the Wildcats bright and early, finishing seventh in the men's 3000m with a time of 8:52.43.
In the women's 4x100m relay, Arizona's team of
Neysia Howard,
Jenica Bosko,
Lauryn Ford, and
Taylen Wise finished third overall with a time of 44.85. Additionally, the men's team of
Trayvion White-Austin,
Brian Limage,
Carl Hicks, and
James Onanubosi ended in second place after clocking a time of 39.81 in the men's 4x100m relay.
To finish out the meet, the men's 4x400m team of
Carl Hicks,
Isaac Davis,
Trayvion White-Austin, and
Lyricc Lopez placed third overall in the relay.
The Arizona men placed second overall with a total team score of 140, and the women finished third with a score of 152 against a competitive field.
TEAM SCORES
MEN
1. Texas A&M – 198
2. Arizona – 140
3. Oklahoma – 132
4. South Carolina – 125
5. University of The Bahamas – 19
WOMEN
1. Oklahoma – 193
2. Texas A&M – 157
3. Arizona – 152
4. South Carolina – 99
5. Vanderbilt – 54
6. UNAT-Texas A&M – 10
7. University of The Bahamas - 1
UP NEXT
The Wildcats will head back to Tucson for their home opener at Drachman Stadium, the Willie Williams Classic, on Friday, March 24 and Saturday, March 25.
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