TUCSON, Ariz. – Arizona Track & Field continues the outdoor season at home on Friday and Saturday with their longest standing home meet, the Willie Williams Classic. It is the second week in a row that the team will compete at home at Drachman Stadium.
 
The two-day competition will feature both high school and collegiate events on both days. On Friday, the overall meet begins at 8:00 a.m. MST, with collegiate field events beginning at 1:00 p.m. MST and collegiate track events starting at 5:00 p.m. Friday's track portion of the meet is called the Dave Murray Distance Carnival and will feature an array of distance events. On Saturday, the meet gets underway at 8:00 a.m. MST once again. Collegiate field events start at 10:00 a.m. MST and track events begin at 10:00 a.m. MST as well, with high school and collegiate running events evenly dispersed throughout the day. Live results for the meet can be found here.
 
Saturday will also feature the final of the high school's Lezo Urreiztieta 110m Hurdles, named after Arizona's own Lezo Urreiztieta. Right before the race, senior thrower Mackenna Orie will be honored as the recipient of this year's Lezo Urreiztieta Scholarship. Additionally, Saturday will have four adaptive wheelchair events. This weekend's competition also serves as the program's Mental Health Awareness meet.
 
The Wildcats had a hot start to the outdoor season last weekend with the Arizona Spring Break Fiesta. The Wildcats won six events on the day: Tapenisa Havea in the shot put, Cooper Quigley in the 1500m, Antonia Sanchez Nunez in the 400m hurdles, Yan Vazquez in the 400m hurdles, and both the men's 4x100m and 4x400m relay teams. They also totaled 15 top-three finishes on the day along with a multitude of personal bests.
 
Yan Vazquez's win in the men's 400m hurdles earned him Pac-12 Men's Track Athlete of the Week honors, with his time of 51.09 in the event ranking eighth all-time in school history, fourth in the nation currently, and first in the Pac-12 currently. Vazquez wasn't the only Wildcat who saw their name in the record book though. Tapenisa Havea's win in the shot put, which came with a personal best throw of 55-2.75 (16.83m) which ranks second in the nation, moved her up to seventh all-time in school history in the event.
 
Incredibly, Freshman Aislin Martinez-Pompa jumped to fourth all-time in the javelin in what was her first collegiate throw ever. Her throw also ranks as the second-best mark for a freshman in school history. Furthermore, newcomer Tyson Tippett moved into sixth all-time in both the 100m and 200m in his Wildcat debut. Finally, the men's 4x100m relay team entered the all-time rankings with the sixth fastest time in school history.
 
Eight individual Wildcats along with the men's 4x100m team, find themselves currently ranked in the top 10 nationally in their respective events. Havea is second in the shot put, Vazquez is fourth in the 400m hurdles, both Paris Mikinski and Emma Gates are tied for fourth in the high jump, Antonia Sanchez Nunez is fifth in the 400m hurdles, Isaac Davis is sixth in the 400m, Tyson Tippett is sixth in the 200m, the men's 4x100m relay team is sixth in the event, and Cooper Quigley is seventh in the 1500m.
 
A meet recap will be posted here detailing the competition results. Live updates will also be posted to @ArizonaTrack on X.
 
HONORING WILLIE WILLIAMS
Willie Williams was a Wildcat trail blazer who was the first black head coach in major college sports history when he was hired as Arizona's track & field coach in 1969. His coaching experience included Vance Johnson and Meg Ritchie winning NCAA national championships just months after his death in 1982. Throughout his tenure as head coach, Williams guided student-athletes to All-American honors on two dozen different occasions. He spent his decade and a half as head coach elevating the Arizona Track & Field program from humble roots to a program of championships and elite Wildcat student-athletes. He is the namesake of today's meet, the Willie Williams Classic, which began shortly after his passing in 1983 and is the program's longest running home meet.
 
"This competition is very special because it honors a very special man that was a pioneer for the University of Arizona, as well as collegiate athletics," said Head Coach Fred Harvey. "Coach Williams was the first black head coach in any sport at the Division I collegiate level. We are excited for a great competition, and even more excited about honoring his name."
 
Today, and every day, we remember Coach Willie Williams and the incredible positive impact he made on the Arizona Track & Field Program and the people around him. In 2022, Williams was inducted into the Arizona Athletics Sports Hall of Fame. His son, Greg, accepted the award on his father's behalf. Williams was very intentional in his support of his student-athletes. This weekend's meet highlights the importance of mental health awareness. On Saturday, Arizona student-athletes will be wearing their mental health awareness shirts and using mental health awareness rally towels. To learn more about the resources Arizona provides, sports psychology and wellness will have a table set up at the competition.
 
WHO'S COMPETING
MEN
Jesse Avina, Julius Cheek, Isaac Davis, Leo Davis, Zachary Extine, Joseph Green, Sam Hala'ufia, Logan Hasher, Jacob Kauffman, Tanner Kippes, Youssef Koudssi, Pierce LaCoste, Zach Landa, Richard Legarra, Brian Limage, Tyler Michelini, Jared O'Riley, Michael Ogbeiwi, James Onanubosi, Cooper Quigley, Noah Ray, Reinaldo Rodrigues, Cade Russo, Jacob Samford, Ian Sanchez Lopez, Ayden Schilb, Christian Simmons, Evan Simmons, Sir Jonathan Sims, Tyson Tippett, Michael Urbanski, Yan Vazquez, Trayvion White-Austin
 
WOMEN
Malaya Abueg, Camila Aguilar-Perez, Esther Akinlosotu, Jade Brown, Jenica Bosko, Oli Clark, Ava David, Olivia Dillon, Lauryn Ford, Emma Gates, Keilee Hall, Tapenisa Havea, Lauryn Love, Aislin Martinez-Pompa, Kara Mickelson, Paris Mikinski, Dakota Minor, Presley Money, Athena Montgomery, Mackenna Orie, Sage Patzer, Rylee Perkins, Hollan Powers, Emily Psarras, Zana Ryan, Antonia Sanchez Nunez, Sorcha Shiu, Ava Simms, Amelia Stuart, Sydnie Vanek, McKenna Watson, Taylen Wise, Cecelia Woods
 
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