TUCSON, Ariz. – Arizona Track and Field will host the Desert Heat Classic on Saturday at Drachman Stadium. The meet will include a senior awards presentation, as well as the Fastest Kid in Tucson competition. While the Wildcats will be competing at home, the NCAA leader in the shot put and hammer throw, Jordan Geist, will be travelling back to his home state of Pennsylvania to compete at the Penn Relays.

"The Desert Heat Classic has developed into one of the world's premier competitions," said Head Coach Fred Harvey.  "We will honor one of the all-time Arizona Track & Field senior classes on senior night with a top 50 ranked IAAF competition in 2022. The 2023 entries should provide to be as great of a competition. This will be a great way to honor our seniors."
 
The Desert Heat Classic will get started at noon MST on Saturday, with the women's hammer throw being the first field event of the day. The senior awards presentation will begin at 4:30 p.m. MST, with the running events following the ceremony starting at 5:00 p.m. with the men's 110m hurdles. The Fastest Kid in Tucson competition will take place at 6:35 p.m. MST. Live results for all the events can be found here.
 
Jordan Geist will get the opportunity to compete in his home state one last time at the illustrious Penn Relays, which officially begin on Wednesday in Philadelphia, Penn. Geist will be competing in the men's hammer throw championship on Thursday at 12:30 p.m. MST and the men's shot put championship on Saturday at 11:30 a.m. MST. Live results for both of those events can be found here.
 
The men's team enters the weekend ranked 24th in the USTFCCCA Track & Field Rating Index. Additionally, the Wildcats have multiple event groups ranked in the top ten of the USTFCCCA Event Squad Rankings. These rankings are based on the team's top four competitors in the event. For Arizona, the women's high jump squad ranks second, women's long jump ranks seventh, women's 100m hurdles ranks eighth, women's shot put ranks ninth, and women's triple jump ranks ninth.
 
After a week of rest and recovery, the Wildcats will be back in action for the first time since the Mt. SAC Relays. Talie Bonds and Jordan Geist led the way for the Wildcats in a competitive field at the California meet. Bonds won the women's invitational 100m hurdles, breaking her own school record in the event with a time of 12.65. That time is currently third in the nation and fourth in the world. Geist won the men's invitational shot put, posting a season best throw of 21.25m (69-8.75). His mark currently leads the nation, as he was the first collegiate thrower to surpass 21m this year.
 
Tapenisa Havea also added to the Wildcat highlights at the meet. She finished first in the women's collegiate shot put and third in the women's collegiate discus, posting personal best marks in each event. Additionally, Youssef Koudssi placed third in the men's collegiate discus and fifth in the men's invitational shot put. Koudssi's personal best mark in the shot put at Mt. SAC ranks eighth all-time in school history. Other top finishers for the Wildcats included Jenica Bosko finishing second in the women's collegiate long jump, Noah Jodon placing runner-up in the men's collegiate 5000m, and Reinaldo Rodrigues ending in third place in the men's collegiate long jump.
 
The Wildcats have multiple athletes with top-25 marks in the nation. Geist leads the NCAA in both the shot put and the hammer throw. He is the only athlete in the nation leading in two events. Additionally for the men, Youssef Koudssi ranks 15th in the shot put, Kristjan Sigfinnson ranks 20th in the high jump, and Jared O'Riley ranks 20th in the javelin. Bonds leads the women's team, ranking third in the nation in the 100m hurdles. Jenica Bosko ranks seventh in the long jump, and Alexa Porpaczy and Bonds are tied for 22nd in the nation in the high jump. The men's 4x100m relay team also ranks ninth, while the women's 4x100m team ranks 25th.
 
The Desert Heat Classic will involve a number of top teams in the nation, although the event will not be scored as a team competition. Some of the teams who will be competing include Texas A&M, Iowa, BYU, Oregon, Colorado, and Washington among others.
 
A meet recap will be posted to ArizonaWildcats.com detailing the competition results. Live updates will also be posted to @ArizonaTrack on Twitter.
 
SENIOR SPOTLIGHTS
The Wildcats will have 17 seniors honored at senior night this weekend.
 
Talie Bonds: Broke the Arizona school records in both the outdoor 100m hurdles (12.65) and indoor 60m hurdles (8.01). Won the 2022 outdoor high jump at the Pac-12 Championships. Finished seventh in the 60m hurdles at the NCAA Indoor Championships this year. Named a 2023 Indoor First Team All-American and 2022 Outdoor Second Team All-American. Ranks fifth all-time in Pac-12 history and 21st all-time in NCAA history in the 100m hurdles. Currently has the third fastest 100m hurdles time in the nation. From Las Vegas, Nevada.
 
Katie Daily: Cleared an all-time personal best height of 4.30m (14-1.25) and finished second in the pole vault at the Ken Shannon Invitational this indoor season. Ranks fifth all-time in Arizona school history in the outdoor pole vault. Won the pole vault at the 2022 indoor Pac-12 Invitational. Has had 13 top-three finishes in the event throughout her collegiate career. Finished sixth in the pole vault at the outdoor Pac-12 Track and Field Championships. From Tucson, Arizona.
 
Dominic Gehr: Ranks 10th all-time in Arizona school history in the decathlon with a score of 7,325. Has finishes of sixth, seventh, and eighth in the decathlon at the Pac-12 Outdoor Track and Field Championships. Placed third in the indoor heptathlon at the 2022 Pac-12 Invitational with a personal best score of 5,279. From Marana, Arizona.
 
Jordan Geist: 2023 NCAA Indoor Shot Put National Champion; first Wildcat to win a national championship since 2014. Holds the Arizona school records in the outdoor shot put (21.59m, 70-10), outdoor hammer throw (74.14m, 243-3), and indoor shot put (21.48m, 70-5.75). Ranks fifth all-time in Pac-12 history in the shot put and sixth all-time in the hammer throw. Ranks 10th all-time in NCAA history in both the outdoor and indoor shot put and 24th all-time in the hammer throw Holds the NCAA Indoor Shot Put Freshman Record. Named 2018 Pac-12 Freshman of the Year. Won the shot put at the 2021 outdoor Pac-12 Track and Field Championships. 2x Pac-12 Men's Field Athlete of the Year in 2021 and 2019. Has earned All-America honors nine times. Named the USTFCCCA's 2023 West Region Men's Indoor Field Athlete of the Year. From Saxonburg, Pennsylvania.
 
Grace Hala'ufia: Posted a personal best throw of 46.49m (152-6) in the discus and 12.24m (40-2) in the shot put during her collegiate career. Competed at the 2022 Outdoor Pac-12 Track and Field Championships. Named the 2023 class valedictorian for Arizona Athletics at the CATSYS. From Tucson, Arizona.
 
Brigid Hanley: Clocked a 6k PR time of 21:07.80 at the NCAA Western Regional Championships this cross country season. Finished second in the 3000m (PR 9:37.88) and was a member of the DMR team that won the event at the WSU Open during the indoor season. Competed in three Pac-12 Cross Country Championships during her collegiate career. From Portland, Oregon.
 
Peyton Heiden: Ran a season best time in the 6k at the NCAA Western Regional Championships this cross country season. Clocked a 6k personal best time of 20:59.10 over her collegiate career. Has competed in three Pac-12 Cross Country Championships and one Pac-12 Outdoor Track and Field Championships. From Redondo Beach, California.
 
Neysia Howard: Ranks fourth all-time in Arizona school history in the 100m (11.51), 200m (23.43), and was a member of the women's 4x100m team that clocked the second fastest time in school history this year at the Jim Click Shootout (44.43). Placed fourth at the indoor 2022 Pac-12 Invitational in the 60m with a personal best time of 7.40. Has competed at three outdoor Pac-12 Track and Field Championships and two NCAA West Preliminary Round competitions. Has amassed 11 first-place finishes among her different events throughout her collegiate career. From Tucson, Arizona.
 
Sailor Hutton: Has clocked personal best times in the 800m (2:15.68), indoor mile (4:50.90), and indoor 3000m (9:37.42) during this season. Ran a new PR of 20:32.7 in the 6k during the cross country season. Won the 3000m and placed third in the 1500m at the Jim Click Shootout. Was a member of the DMR team that won the event at the WSU Open this year. From Bandon, Oregon.
 
Jacorey Jones: Posted a personal best leap of 7.22m (23-8.25) in the long jump over his collegiate career. Competed in two Pac-12 Outdoor Track and Field Championships and one Pac-12 Indoor Invitational. Clocked personal best times in the indoor 60m (7.05) and outdoor 100m (11.07) this season. From Gardena, California.
 
Meggie Karp: Has clocked personal best times in the 1500m (4:50.12) and 5000m (17:19.45) during this outdoor season. Has competed in two Pac-12 Cross Country Championships and two Pac-12 Outdoor Track and Field Championships. Clocked a 6k PR time of 21:43.7 during her collegiate career. From Hillsboro, Oregon.

Ajaysha Lewis: Clocked a personal best time of 13.99 in the 100m hurdles at the Jim Click Shootout this year. Improved her 60m hurdles PR time during this indoor season to 8.64. Competed in two
outdoor Pac-12 Track and Field Championships in the 200m and 100m hurdles. From Tucson, Arizona.

Alexa Porpaczy: Two-time Indoor All-American in the high jump. 2020 MPSF High Jump Champion. Cleared an all-time personal best height in the event of 1.85m (6-0.75) at the Don Kirby Invitational this indoor season. Has finished third, fourth, and ninth at the outdoor Pac-12 Track and Field Championships during her collegiate career. Has competed in two NCAA West Preliminary Round competitions. Has amassed eight high jump victories throughout her career, among a flurry of top-three finishes as well. Finished 14th at the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships in the high jump this year. From White Rock, British Columbia, Canada.
 
Diana Ramos: Venezuelan National Indoor High Jump Record Holder. Posted a PR clearance of 1.77m (5-9.75) during her collegiate career. Finished fourth in the outdoor high jump at the 2022 Pac-12 Championships. From Guatire Miran, Venezuela.
 
Xahria Santiago: Has ran personal bests in the outdoor 400m hurdles (1:01.24) and indoor 400m (54.88) this season. Won the indoor 400m at the Windy City Invitational in 2022. From Ajax, Ontario, Canada.
 
Skylar Sieben: Ranks fifth all-time in school history in the heptathlon with a score of 5,635 and ninth all-time in the new javelin (39.20m, 128-7). Was a 2021 Outdoor Honorable Mention All-American in the heptathlon. Won the pentathlon at the 2022 Indoor Pac-12 Invitational. Finished third in the heptathlon at the 2022 Outdoor Pac-12 Championships. From Calgary, Canada.
 
Jeffrey Sillers: Clocked personal best times in both the 3000m (8:40.66) and 5000m (15:07.99) this outdoor season. Ran personal best times in the 8k (25:03.0), 10k (32:05.9), and 4.5-mile (24:42.7) during this cross country season as well. Competed in four Pac-12 Cross Country Championships throughout his collegiate career. From Plano, Texas.
 
WHO'S COMPETING
MEN
Brandon Bounds, Julius Cheek, Isaac Davis, Brennan Foody, Jordan Geist, Joseph Green, Sam Hala'ufia, Brayden Hasher, Logan Hasher, Carl Hicks, Noah Jodon, Jacorey Jones, Jacob Kauffman, Tanner Kippes, Youssef Koudssi, Zach Landa, Parker Lehmann, Brian Limage, Lyricc Lopez, Logan Marek, Jared O'Riley, Michael Ogbeiwi, James Onanubosi, Cooper Quigley, Jake Reed, Reinaldo Rodrigues, Cade Russo, Ian Sanchez Lopez, Iker Sanchez Lopez, Kristjan Sigfinnsson, Jeffrey Sillers, Evan Simmons, Sir Jonathan Sims, Josh Wade, Trayvion White-Austin
 
WOMEN
Malaya Abueg, Camila Aguilar-Perez, Esther Akinlosotu, Sophia Atchison, Talie Bonds, Jenica Bosko, Mia Chavez, Ava David, Makenzie Dilworth, Isa Evans, Lauryn Ford, Emma Gates, Grace Hala'ufia, Tapenisa Havea, Beatrice Honebrink, Neysia Howard, Sailor Hutton, Meggie Karp, Ajaysha Lewis, Lauryn Love, Alisa Lyesina, Kara Mickelson, Paris Mikinski, Johnnie Mitchell, Presley Money, Athena Montgomery, Mackenna Orie, Rylee Perkins, Alexa Porpaczy, Hollan Powers, Morgan Rhett, Antonia Sanchez Nunez, Xahria Santiago, Megan Schulhof, Avery Segura, Skylar Sieben, Emarie Sooter, Erin Tack, Taylen Wise
 
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