The University of Redlands track & field teams traveled to nearby Pomona-Pitzer Colleges for day one of the 2017 Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) Championships on Friday. With seven events completed, the Bulldog women sit in third with 38 points, while the Redlands men have 26 points for fifth place. Overall, the Maroon and Gray gained one individual champion, three additional All-SCIAC performances, and multiple career-best marks in a strong first day.
Highlighting today's results, junior Vanessa Blanchard (Palmdale, CA) took home the conference title in the High Jump with a first-place height of 5' 3 ¾". In addition, junior Mandy Widen (Vail, AZ) landed on the podium for All-SCIAC honors in the Pole Vault with a second-place mark of 11' 6 ½".
Sophomore Kara Romani (Sacramento, CA) took fourth in the Long jump with a leap of 17' 9", while senior Alison Smith (McKinleyville, CA) closely followed with a career-best mark at 17' 5 ¼" for fifth place.
Junior Reyna Ta'amu (Lakewood, CA) earned a fourth-place mark of 114' 0" in the Discus Throw to go along with a career-best heave in the Hammer Throw for seventh place at 127' 10".
On the track, senior Jessika Snincsak (Rancho Cucamonga, CA) fired off the fastest time of her career in the 3000 Steeplechase to finish fourth in 11:26.87. She shaved off nearly eight seconds from her seed time in a stellar showing.
For the men, freshman Maliq Champion (Beaumont, CA) notched an All-SCIAC height in the High Jump by clearing 6' 3 ½" for third place. Junior Afari La-Anyane (Morgan Hills, CA) took fifth in this event with a mark of 6' 1 ½".
Junior Wyatt Pannabecker (Choteau, MT) impressed in his first track & field championships by recording a third-place leap of 22' 11" in the Long Jump for an All-Conference nod. Freshman Cooper Adamo (Bakersfield, CA) tallied a distance of 21' 11 ½" for seventh place.
Sophomore Matthew Hayashi (Hacienda Heights, CA) added a fifth-place toss of 132' 2" in the Discus Throw, while freshman Alieu Corr (Banjul, Gambia) registered a mark of 127' 5" for eighth.
On the track, senior Abhinav Nagpal (Cypress, CA) came in sixth in the 3000 Steeplechase as the final sub-10-minute competitor at 9:52.15.
Redlands continues with the SCIAC Track & Field Championships on Saturday, April 29, at Pomona-Pitzer. Field events begin at 2 p.m., with the first running event taking place at 3:30 p.m.
