The University of Redlands track & field teams competed in the final Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) multi-dual meet of the season at Occidental College on Saturday. Under pristine conditions in Eagle Rock, the No. 18 Bulldog women topped Cal Lutheran University (112.50-49.50) and Occidental College (85-78) while narrowly falling to Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges (75-86). The Maroon and Gray men prevailed over CLU by an 111-51 margin but came up short in a pair of tight defeats to CMS (80-83) and Oxy (75-88).
For the women, Redlands recorded multiple top-three finishes at the impressive meet. The 4x100 Relay of sophomore Kara Romani (Sacramento, CA), freshman Chyenne Kimble (Big Bear Lake, CA), senior Jasmine Ramos (Santa Fe Springs, CA), and senior Alison Smith (McKinleyville, CA) joined forces for a winning time of 48.17.
Smith also registered first-place marks in the 100 Hurdles (14.27) and Long Jump (17' 2 ¾"), to go along with a second-place showing in the Javelin Throw (112' 2") in an incredible effort.
Freshman Jessica Fields (Las Vegas, NV) joined Smith on the podium in the 100 Hurdles with a second-place time of 15.29 while also winning the 400 Hurdles by crossing the finish line 1:04.86.
Junior Kaylee Jorgensen (Claremont, CA) contributed a pair of top-three performances as well. She took second in the 1500 Meters with a time of 4:49.98 and completed the 800 in 2:22.13 for third place.
Senior Jessika Snincsak (Rancho Cucamonga, CA) revealed her tenacity by running the 5K and the 3000 Steeplechase while also producing top-three finishes. She finished second in the Steeple with a time of 11:46.14 and posted a time of 18:42.92 in the 5K.
Junior Vanessa Blanchard (Palmdale, CA) posted a career-best mark of 5' 7" in the High Jump to win that event and now rank third in all of NCAA Division III for 2017.
Freshman Gabi Gould (Bellingham, WA) and junior Mandy Widen (Vail, AZ) provided a solid combination in the Pole Vault by taking second and third, respectively. Gould registered the best height of her young career at 12' 0", as Widen cleared a solid height of 11' 6 ¼".
Kimble also added a second-place leap of 35' 1 ¼" in the Triple Jump to cap off the solid day for the Bulldogs.
For the men, senior Myles Speegle (Castro Valley, CA) fired off quality marks in the sprints by winning the 100 in 10.86 before finishing third in the 200 with a time of 21.75 to now rank 18th in Division III.
Sophomore Nick Burchett (Gold River, CA) made solid contributions throughout the day, beginning with a third-place time of 49.51 in the 400. He went on to win the 400 Hurdles with a time of 54.74 while running the lead leg of the second-place 4x100 Relay. He combined efforts with sophomore Luke Bohlinger (Mercer Island, WA), Speegle, and freshman Maliq Champion (Beaumont, CA) for an impressive time of 41.83.
Freshman Alieu Corr (Banjul, Gambia) put together a solid outing in the throwing events by winning the Discus with a career-best toss of 131' 3" before recording a first-place mark for another personal best in the Hammer at 143' 7".
Sophomore Matthew Hayashi (Hacienda Heights, CA) added a second-place heave in the Shot Put at 45' 3".
Finally, junior Wyatt Pannabecker (Choteau, MT) continues to impress in the Triple Jump, with Saturday's leap of 46' 3 ¼" placing him second.
Redlands track & field looks forward to competing in the SCIAC Championships on Friday, April 28, and Saturday, April 29, at Pomona-Pitzer Colleges.
