University of California, Los Angeles, Athletics
UCLA
Mt. SAC Relays
Jumpers, Sprinters Stand Out on Mt. SAC/Bryan Clay Weekend
April 18, 2026 | Track & Field
SAN GABRIEL VALLEY, Calif. โ The UCLA track and field team had a number of standout performances across two meets this weekend, as the team was in action at both the Mt. SAC Relays hosted by Mt. SAC in Walnut, Calif. as well as the Bryan Clay Invitational hosted by Azusa Pacific University in Azusa, Calif.
Sprinter Taylor Snaer and high jumper Valentina Fakrogha stood out in particular at Mt. SAC and Bryan Clay, respectively.
Competing in a field that included professionals and some of the top sprinters in the country, Snaer was able to post season-best times and finish top-five in both the 100m (11.30) and 200 (22.75) dashes at Mt. SAC.
Over at Bryan Clay, Fakrogha not only won the invitational section of the high jump but took over the No. 1 NCAA ranking in that event with a PB mark of 1.90m (6-2.75). It also moved her into sole possession of the No. 2 spot on UCLA's outdoor all-time top-10.
In total, UCLA had four event wins on the weekend, all in jump events at Bryan Clay. In addition to Fakrogha's gold, other Bruin winners included Hamdi Ali (men's high jump), Nicolas Alexis (men's triple jump), and Sydney Johnson (women's long jump).
UCLA got an additional win from thrower Jake Stafford, who picked up a win in the collegiate section of the men's hammer throw at Mt. SAC.
Both meets were massive, with entry numbers in the thousands at each site.
UCLA is off next week, and returns to action with its annual dual meet against USC on May 2-3. This year's meet will take place at USC.
Mt. SAC Relays Recap
Though Mt. SAC ran from Wednesday through Saturday, UCLA only competed on the final two days of the meet.
Kapiolani Coleman was the first Bruin at Mt. SAC with a notable finish, as she recorded a PB in the women's 400m hurdles at 58.22 to place fourth in the collegiate division on Friday afternoon.
UCLA's other Friday standout at Mt. SAC was freshman pole vaulter Avery Boyse, who cleared the four-meter mark for the first time to place runner-up in the collegiate A division of the PV.
Stafford was the first Bruin in action at Mt. SAC on Saturday, and he got the Bruins off to a strong start with a win in the collegiate division of the men's hammer. He finished with a mark of 61.79m (202-8), the second time this year he's cleared over 200 feet in that event.
Over on the track side, senior sprinter Naomi Johnson jump-started UCLA's day with a strong effort in the women's 400m. She clocked in at 51.91, setting a new PB and cracking the UCLA all-time top-10 list at the final spot. She was ninth overall in that race.
Shortly thereafter, Celeste Polzonetti posted a season-best time of 13.23 in the elite section of the women's 100m hurdles. She placed fifth overall but second among collegiate runners.
Paige Sommers continued her strong debut season with UCLA after clearing 4.45m (14-7.25) in the elite section of the women's pole vault. It was the third time this year that Sommers, a grad transfer via Duke, established a new PB. It also put her into a tie for the No. 2 mark in UCLA outdoor history.
Snaer made her mark in the later afternoon portion of the meets, finishing fifth in the elite section of the 100m dash and then fourth in the elite 200m dash. Both her times were wind-aided.
UCLA closed out the meet with strong performances in the namesake relays, with the women posting top-three finishes in both the 4x100 and 4x100 races.
First in the 4x100, the quartet of Kayla McBride, Naomi Johnson, Polzonetti, and Snaer marginally improved on her their-season best time at 43.67. That time was good for runner-up, and improved their standing at No. 8 in the program's all-time top-10 list. The Bruins went on to finish third in the women's 4x400, as the foursome of Ava Simms, McBride, Snaer, and Naomi Johnson posted a time of 3:31.74.
Bryan Clay Invitational Recap
The Bruins competed on all three days of the Bryan Clay Invite, though the squad had less than a handful of entries on the meet's first night. With the rest of the squad at Mt. SAC, the Bryan Clay Invite saw UCLA's distance runners and jumpers compete.
The jumpers were the clear standouts as the Bruins got into action in earnest on Friday, with the Bruins notching three events wins that afternoon. That included a sweep in the high jumps and a 1-2-3 finish in the men's triple jump.
Fakrogha was the first to secure gold with her high jump of 1.90m (6-2.75), and she was followed shortly after by Hamdi Ali who hit a season-best height of 2.15m (7-0.5) in the men's high jump.
Later that afternoon, Nicolas Alexis led a 1-2-3 finish for the Bruins after hitting a mark of 15.13m (49-7.75), his longest thus far during this outdoor season. He was followed by teammates Gavin Champ (15.01m / 49-3) and Terrence Sweetman (14.93m / 48-11.75).
The long jump was the Bruins' best event on Saturday, with Sydney Johnson grabbing a win in the women's invitational section with a wind-aided mark of 6.46m (21-2.5). That represented the second-best all-conditions mark of her career.
Michael Haugo also had a strong outing on the men's side, placing second in the open section with a mark of 7.47m (24-6.25). That was his longest jump of the year to date.
Players Mentioned
