Feb. 14, 2012
TUCSON - After a big weekend of competition across the country, the University of Arizona Wildcat men's track and field team remained fifth in the nation and the women's team dropped to the 15th spot in the current U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches' Association Top-25 Poll, it was announced on Tuesday.
In this week's rankings, the Wildcat men remain at No.5. The Wildcat women are No. 15 after a ranking of 10th last week. Among the Pac-12 schools, the men are joined by No. 7 Arizona State, No. 12 Stanford and No. 20 Oregon. On the women's side, Oregon is No. 1, Stanford is No. 17, California is 19th and Washington is No. 22.
Since the start of the 2012 season, Arizona track and field has broken two American records, one collegiate record and five school records while qualifying six individuals to the NCAA Indoor Championships.
At the Millrose Games in New York on Saturday, volunteer assistant coach Bernard Lagat set the American record in the 5,000 meters and sophomore Lawi Lalang set the 5K collegiate and UA school record. Lagat had a winning time of 13:07.15 and Lalang came in second, clocking a time of 13:08.28. Senior Stephen Sambu came in third and clocked the No. 2 collegiate time ever (13:13.74). Lalang and Sambu both automatically qualified for the NCAA Indoor Championships in the event, as they currently rank No. 1 and No. 2, respectively, in the NCAA.
At the USA Track and Field Classic in Fayetteville, Ark., volunteer assistant coach Jill Camarena-Williams set the American record in the shot put, throwing 65-3.25 (19.89m). Her mark is a personal best, a meet record and a Randal Tyson Track Center facility record.
At the Boise State Team Challenge, junior Edgar Rivera-Morales punched his ticket to the NCAA Indoor Championships, automatically qualifying in the high jump after clearing 7-4.25 (2.24m). His mark is a personal-best clearance, ties the best mark in the MPSF and is currently tied for the fourth-best mark in the country.
The squad will compete next on Feb. 24-25 at the Mount Pacific Sports Federation Indoor Championships, held at Washington's Dempsey Indoor Facility. For continued coverage of Arizona Wildcat men's and women's track and field, visit ArizonaWildcats.com.
