UCLA
Pac-12 Championships
Bruins in Top-5 After Day One of Pac-12 Championships
May 12, 2018 | Track & Field
PALO ALTO, Calif. โ The UCLA track & field teams both secured top-five finishes after the first day of the Pac-12 Championships hosted by Stanford at Cobb Track & Angell Field, with the women placing third and the men fifth. ย
UCLA made the most noise in the men's javelin, as Simon Litzell and Marian Spannowsky both delivered standout performances en route to a 1-3 finish. Litzell in particular was on top of his game, recording a monster 74.46m (244-03) mark which easily topped the field, obliterated his previous PR (69.14m, 226-10), and let him debut on UCLA's all-time top-10 list at No. 5.
Litzell's mark beat the No. 2 finisher by almost eight meters, and he had a pair of 70-meter throws in his six attempts. The rest of the field combined for none.
Here is video of Simon's winning throw! #GoBruins #Pac12TF pic.twitter.com/rnr4GfGwKX
โ UCLA Track & Field (@UCLATrack_Field) May 13, 2018
Spannowsky was in second for most of the competition after a 66.11m (216-11) mark on his second throw, but was jumped by Stanford's Trevor Danielson on his last attempt. Still, Spannowsky's effort allowed UCLA to send two to the podium for the only time on Saturday.ย AK Turner (59.36m, 194-09, 11th) and Connor Deverian (collegiate-best 57.79m, 189-07, 12th) also had solid showings for UCLA.
In the women's hammer throw, freshman Alyssa Wilson shattered her previous PR by almost four meters and recorded the No. 3 mark in UCLA's outdoor all-time top-10, leading the field after the first round with a mark of 66.53m (218-03), but she ultimately finished in second as Arizona State's Maggie Ewen set a Pac-12 Championships record with a 74.38m launch on her fourth attempt.
Alyssa Wilson PR'd in the hammer throw at the Pac-12 Championships with a mark of 66.53m (218-03), good for second place. #GoBruins pic.twitter.com/I7EioJynjX
โ UCLA Track & Field (@UCLATrack_Field) May 12, 2018
UCLA had four of the top-nine finishers in the women's high jump, led by Kendall Gustafson's mark of 1.76m (5-9.25). Fresh off last week's Pac-12 Multis in which she finished second including an event win in the high jump, Gustafson led the pack until USC's Lyndsey Lopes cleared the 1.79m (5-10.5) bar on her third and final attempt. Gustafson still has the Pac-12's top high jump performance this season at 1.80m (5-10.75).
After Gustafson, junior Lillianna Hebert finished just under her PR at 1.73m (5-8) for a fifth-place finish. Kaelin Davis was eighth at 1.68m (5-6) while Christina Chenault, who also competed in last week's Pac-12 Multis en route to an eighth place finish, had the ninth-place jump on Saturday at 1.63m (5-4.25).
UCLA had four of the top nine finishers in the women's high jump, led by Kendall Gustafson's mark of 1.76m (5-9.25). #GoBruins pic.twitter.com/GgO2j6PHsN
โ UCLA Track & Field (@UCLATrack_Field) May 12, 2018
Both Bruins who competed in the 100-meter dash set new collegiate bests. First, sophomore sprinter Darius Smith set a new PR, coming in at 10.73, .16 seconds better than his previous top time. That time was good for a sixth-place finish in the second heat and 18th place overall. Ashley Lewis was the 11th overall finisher on the women's side, with a new collegiate-best time of 11.74.
It was déjà vu for Smith in the 200m, as he was once again the lone Bruin to compete and once again set a new collegiate best at 21.85, good for 18th place. Jelvon Butler helped the Bruins land a top-10 finish on the women's side, finishing the race in a collegiate-best 23.67. Lewis came in 15th at 24:02.
Joe Herrera qualified for Sunday's 400m final with a time of 47.15 in the prelims, the second-best outdoor time in that event in his career. He was the number five finisher in his heat and had the seventh-best time overall.
Riley Kelly narrowly missed out on a qualifying time in the men's 800m, crossing the line in 1:51.90, 13th place. Jacquelyn Hill was the Bruins' top performer in the women's 800m, coming in 20th at 2:11.95. Cassandra Durgy (2:14.19, 24th) and Maddi Moore (2:16.36, 28th) also competed.
Four Bruins competed in the men's 1500m run, with George Gleason's 10th place time of 3:47.55 serving as the top finish. Tyler Janes was not far behind him at 3:48.01 (12th) while Carter Blunt (3:49.88, 15th) and Millen Trujillo (3:52.53, 19th) also notched top-20 finishes. Gleason and Janes both qualified for Sunday's 1500m final. Kelly Bernd, the lone Bruin to compete on the women's side, finished ninth in her heat and 18th overall with a time of 4:38.16. She started off well enough, as she was in second place after the first lap with a time of 57.621.
Robert Brandt entered the weekend with the best 10,000m time in the Pac-12, and he looked like he would couple that with a Pac-12 title in that event on Saturday as he led after 23ย laps (out of 25). However, he was passed on the penultimate lap and ended up finishing fourth with a time of 29:42.99. His 29:02.14 finish at the Bob Larsen Distance Carnival remains the best time by a Pac-12 runner in the 10,000m this year.
Colin Burke was UCLA's next finisher in the 10,000m, coming in 10th at 30:03.07. Myles Smith came in 10th, giving the Bruins a trio of top-10 finishers, at 30:12.70.
Three Bruins competed in the women's 10,000m, led by Christina Rice's new collegiate-best 34:41.06 time, which gave her a 14th place finish. Sophomore Claire Markey also set a new PR in the event, just beating out her previous record by less than a half-second at 35:26.50, good for 15th place. Jackie Garner was the 16th place finisher, coming in at 36:22.76.
Pattriana Perry edged out her previous collegiate-best in the 100m hurdles, finishing with a time of 13.65 that resulted in a ninth place finish, good enough to propel her into the final on Sunday.
In the men's 3000m steeplechase, Cole Smith was the top Bruin finisher, coming in 10th at 9:14.26. Scott Snow came in two places behind him with a 9:16.37 finish โ improving on his only official previous attempt in the event by over 40 seconds โ while Chris Morzenti came in 16th at 9:22.03.
A pair of Bruins competed in the women's pole vault, with junior Greta Wagner (cleared 3.67m on first attempt, 12-0.5, 12th) securing the best result. Junior Melissa Maneatis cleared the 3.67m bar on her third attempt to take 14th place.
Freshman Matthew DeRoos placed 14th in the men's long jump, with his best result (6.84m, 22-5.25) coming on his second attempt.
The Bruins finished 4-5 in the women's shot put, with Ashlie Blake grabbing fourth with a 16.71m (54-10) throw and Wilson coming in one spot behind her at 16.17m (53-0.75). On the men's side, Kai Wong recorded a 15.01m (49-3) throw to land 10th place.
Freshman javelin thrower Ilaria Casarotto had a 15th place finish in her event with a 41.41m (135-10) throw.
The Bruins conclude Pac-12 Championships competition tomorrow, with field events starting at 10:30 a.m. and track events starting at 2:50 p.m. The Pac-12 Network will have live television coverage of the meet starting at 3:00 p.m.ย
Players Mentioned
