Track & Field at the Big Ten Championships: Day 2
May 17, 2025 | Track & Field
Day 1 Recap
EUGENE, Ore. โ A trio of UCLA women scored โ including a pair of top-three finishes from Sydney Johnson โ over four events and several more booked finals spots during prelims as the Bruins continued action on day two of the 2025 Big Ten Championships on Saturday at Hayward Field on the campus of Oregon.
The performances from the Bruin women moved UCLA up to No. 5 in the team standings with 20 points through six of 21 events. The majority of events will hold finals on Sunday.
Johnson was the clear standout for the Bruins on Saturday, finishing runner-up in the women's long jump and third in the women's heptathlon to become the first UCLA student-athlete so far this weekend to score in multiple events.
Thrower Lyvante Su'emai and distance runner Mia Kane also put points on the boards for the Bruins, finishing fifth in the women's discus and seventh in the women's 3,000m steeplechase, respectively.
Johnson was the first Bruin in action on Saturday, finishing off the final three events of the heptathlon after getting off to a strong start on Friday. Johnson went on to win the heptathlon long jump, then hit a PR in the javelin to arrive at a final score of 5,820 points, a personal best and No. 3 in UCLA school history.
Over the course of the heptathlon, Johnson set PRs in four events (100m hurdles, 200m dash, long jump, javelin) and was either first or second in three events (100mH, 200m, LJ).
Su'emai was the next Bruin to get on the board, hitting a mark of 54.38m (178-5) to finish in fifth place. That mark was her fifth-best of the year. It was Su'emai's second final and first time scoring at Big Tens.
Shortly thereafter, Johnson made it a two-medal day after placing second in the long jump. Her top mark in that competition was 6.28m (20-7.25). Paired with her 6.38m (20-11.25) jump in the heptathlon, Johnson recorded the two-longest wind-legal jumps of her career on Saturday.
Kane closed out the evening for the Bruins with a seventh-place result in the steeplechase with a time of 10:08.95. It was her best time of the year in that event. Though she missed out on scoring by just over one-tenth of a second, Ailish Hawkins did improve to No. 3 all-time in UCLA school history with a time of 10:10.63.
The Bruins wrap up at the three-day Big Ten Championships on Sunday starting at 10 a.m. PT. Big Ten Network will cover the final day of competition starting at 12:30 p.m. PT.
Other results from Saturday are detailed below.
TRACK EVENTS RECAP
In the first track events of the day, UCLA was able to land the ninth and final qualifying spot from prelims in both the men's and women's 400m. Gabriel Clement started it off with a 46.77 for the men, followed by Kayla McBride clinching a spot with a 53.42 in the women's race.
Taylor Snaer led UCLA in the 100m dash, racing to a fifth-place result in the women's prelim with a time of 11.42. Ameen Tokhi was the lone entry for the men, finishing 24th at 10.79.
The Bruins were able to land three qualifiers in the high hurdles. Di'Niko Bates got it started with a 13.73 in the men's 110m hurdles, his second-best time of the year. UCLA then had two get through in the women's 100m hurdles, as Yanla Ndjip-Nyemeck won her heat and was second overall in the field at 13.02 while Celeste Polzonetti's 13.29 was good enough for fifth overall.
No Bruins were able to qualify in the 800m run. Bennett Booth-Genthe (1:50.32) and Rose Pittman (2:08.37) paced the UCLA men and women, respectively.
FIELD EVENTS RECAP
Allan Hunter was the first male field athlete to compete for UCLA on Saturday, and he just missed out on a finals spot in the long jump after recording a mark of 7.34m (24-1) on his opening attempt, which ended up three-tenths of a meter short.
Derek Smith was the lone Bruin to compete in the men's shot put, and had a top mark of 16.39m (53-9.25). That represented his third-longest throw of the year.
Players Mentioned
