UCLA
MPSF Indoor Championships
Track and Field Teams Earn Top 5 MPSF Finishes
February 24, 2018 | Track & Field
Seattle, Wash. โ The UCLA track and field team closed out the MPSF Championships on Saturday with another individual title โ by Jessie Maduka in the triple jump โ and nine additional Top-5 finishes on the day to finish in the Top 5 overall in both the men's and women's team competition.
The UCLA men placed fourth with 62 points, while the Bruin women took fifth place with 55 points. USC won both the men's and women's titles, with 107 and 122 points, respectively. The Bruins finished the two-day championships with two event victories each on the men's and women's sides: Isaiah Holmes (long jump); Scott Snow, Darnell Roberson, Riley Kelly, and Carter Blunt (DMR); Kendall Gustafson (pentathlon); and Maduka (triple jump).
In her first meet since breaking the UCLA indoor school record in the triple jump, Maduka captured the MSPF triple jump title with a mark of 13.26m (43-06.00). Maduka's first jump was never surpassed, and she took home the victory after a runner-up showing at the 2017 MPSF Championships. Fellow senior Efe Agege finished 15th overall with a leap of 11.60m (38-00.75).
The men's triple jump saw sophomore CJ Alumbres and senior Idrees Bernard go 4-5 for nine total points. Alumbres cleared 15.13m (49-07.75), and Bernard posted a mark of 14.82m (48-07.50).
Holmes followed his long jump victory on Day 1 with a runner-up finish in the high jump. He cleared 2.16m (7-01.00) for an indoor-best mark, good for a tie for third on the UCLA indoor Top 10. Sophomore Mikella Lefevbre-Oatis led the way for the Bruins in the high jump, finishing second overall with an indoor-best jump of 1.79m (5-10.50). The clearance was good for eight points and a tie for fifth in UCLA indoor history. Junior Lillianna Hebert earned a point with her eighth-place jump of 1.71m (5-07.25), and senior Kaelin Davis finished 13th with a clearance of 1.66m (5-05.25).
The women's shot put competition saw junior Ashlie Blake and freshman Alyssa Wilson going 3-4 for a total of 11 points for the Bruins, with both women posting throws of 16.79m (55-01.00); Blake edged out third place on attempts. Blake and Wilson have now both finished in the Top-5 in the shot put in every meet in which they have competed this season. On the men's side, Dotun Ogundeji and Nate Esparza finished 4-6 to contribute a total of eight points to the team score. Ogundeji threw 19.16m (62-10.5), and Esparza threw for 19.07m (62-06.75).
Junior Meleni Rodney posted a strong performance in the women's 400m, earning five points for UCLA with a fourth-place finish. Her time of 53.80 is the fastest time of the season for the Bruins and puts her third all-time in UCLA indoor history.
Kelly continued his strong sophomore campaign in the 800m, taking second place and eight points with a lifetime-best time of 1:50.69. Freshman Jacquelyn Hill was the Bruins' top finisher in the women's 800m, clocking a time of 2:14.63 for 11th place. Sophomore Madison Moore (2:18.38) and freshman Paige Carter (2:22.22) finished 21st and 27th, respectively.
Blunt earned two points for UCLA in the men's mile, finishing seventh overall with a time of 4:05.83. Millen Trujillo (4:10.20), Snow (4:10.23), Chris Morzenti (4:10.31), and George Gleason (4:10.73) went 15-18, respectively. Sophomore Cassandra Durgy finished 22nd in the women's competition with a time of 4:55.50. Redshirt freshman Kelly Bernd went 5:01.22 for 28th place.
The 3,000m saw freshman Christina Rice finish ninth overall with a lifetime-best time of 9:47.97. Redshirt freshman Claire Markey finished 36th with a time of 9:58.77. Senior Emily Scharmann (10:00.64) and redshirt sophomore Jackie Garner finished 38th and 41st, respectively. Trujillo (8:21.24) and Morzenti (8:28.84) finished 29th and 35th, respectively in the men's field.
UCLA will be back in action for the conclusion of the 2018 indoor season at the NCAA Indoor Championships at Texas A&M on Friday, Mar. 9. The Bruins will await confirmation of NCAA Championship qualification.
Players Mentioned
