Bulldog Men Take Two as Redlands Track & Field Competes at SCIAC Multi-Dual No. 2

Photo credit:  Ellis Hazard
Photo credit: Ellis Hazard

The University of Redlands men's and women's track & field teams traveled to the University of La Verne on Saturday for the second Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) Multi-Dual Meet of the season, taking on Cal Lutheran University and the host school in important showdowns.  The Bulldog men notched a pair of victories, defeating the Leopards in a tight 83-80 decision while cruising to a 104-58 win over the Kingsmen.  Unfortunately, the Redlands women lost both match-ups, falling to La Verne by a score of 42-111 and coming up short against the Regals, 42-117.

Redlands gained the fastest time in NCAA Division III this season when the 4x400 Relay of junior Taylor Browning (Carbondale, CO, junior Darren Centi (Auburn, CA), freshman Auston Tribble (Glenwood Springs, CO), and junior Antwain Morgan (Granada Hills, CA) recorded a first-place effort at 3:17.18.

Individually, senior Darron Usher (Rialto, CA) shined for the Maroon and Gray men, winning both horizontal jumps and taking second in three other events.  He registered a career-best mark of 46' 5 ½" in just his second attempt in the Triple Jump for first place to now rank fourth among all of NCAA Division III this season.  He also unleashed a solid distance of 22' 11 ¾" in the Long Jump to out-perform all competitors.  In addition, Usher recorded a pair of season-best marks for second place, going 6' 2 ¾" in the High Jump and 56.36 in the 400 Hurdles.  Finally, he capped off a stellar day by firing off a time of 15.72 in the 110 Hurdles to finish second overall.

Furthermore, Usher contributed to the 4x100 Relay's second-place effort of 41.82, joining the talents of Browning, sophomore Joey Colucci (San Jose, CA), and freshman Myles Speegle (Castro Valley, CA).

Senior Jorge Cervantes (Indio, CA) captured a first-place finish in the Discus Throw with his toss of 144' 10" while also taking second in the Hammer Throw by unleashing a heave of 146' 9" in his final attempt.

Browning made his season-debut in the 200 one to remember with a second-place time of 22.05 for the 11th-fastest time in all of Division III in 2014. 

While impressing with a new career-best performance, Centi completed the 400 in 48.35 for the fourth-best time in Division III this year. He also finished second at the meet.

Colucci represented Redlands well in the 100 by uncorking a time of 11.08 to finish just two one-hundredths behind the leader.

Tribble and sophomore Pekthra Chhor (Loma Linda, CA) joined forces with Usher in the 400 Hurdles for a dominating performance by the Bulldogs.  Tribble rattled off a career-best time of 56.37, just one one-hundredths behind Usher, for third place, while Chhor closely followed in fourth at 57.81.

Junior Dominic Lopez (Las Vegas, NV) and senior Derik Harrison (Centennial, CO) put together a 2-3 showing in the 800 with respective times of 1:58.77 and 1:59.04.

Redlands continued to impress with three finishers among the top four in the 3000 Steeplechase, leading off with sophomore Jarron Helbock's (San Diego, CA) time of 10:14.66.  Sophomore Nathan Meier (Riverside, CA) provided a career-best mark of 10:19.12, while sophomore Ian Lee (Las Vegas, NV) completed the stellar showing with a time of 10:21.12.

For the Bulldog women, the Smith cousins supplied the team's only first-place showings.  Freshman Alison Smith (McKinleyville, CA) won the 100 Hurdles with the only sub-16-second time of the meet, completing the sprint in 15.52.  Junior Maddie Smith (Hoquiam, WA) won the High Jump for the third meet in a row, this time clearing a height of 5' 3". 

A. Smith also shined in the 200 with her career-best time of 26.35, which ranks her among the top 50 in the NCAA Division III.

Senior Vanessa Anchondo (Oceanside, CA) continued to provide solid marks for Redlands when she completed the 3000 Steeplechase with the fastest time of her career at 12:14.37.

In the field events, the Bulldogs posted a trio of third-place marks, highlighted by senior Jazzmin Altamira's (Winnetka, CA) season-best toss of 133' 5" in the Hammer Throw.  Junior Merritt ten Hope (Phoenix, AZ) tied for third in the Pole Vault after clearing a height of 10' 8", while junior Lauren Tritz (Orange, CA) fired off a mark of 34' 3" on her final try in the Triple Jump.

Redlands looks forward to competing in the high-caliber Pomona-Pitzer Invitational on Sat., April 12, beginning at 10 a.m. in Claremont.