The University of Redlands track & field teams took full advantage of their own Final Qualifier Meet on Wednesday and Thursday in Ashel Cunningham in Ted Runner Stadium. With records falling and improved marks, the Bulldogs put on a fantastic last effort to improve their position for the upcoming NCAA Division III Outdoor Championships.
Senior Alison Smith (McKinleyville, CA) fired off the fastest 100 Hurdle time of her career to now rank first in all of NCAA Division III by crossing the finish line in 13.86. Freshman Jessica Fields (Las Vegas, NV) joined her in the blistering race with a career-best mark of 14.55 to sit 20th in the nation.
Junior Reyna Ta'amu (Lakewood, CA) climbed up the national rankings in the Shot Put with her much-improved heave of 48' 1 ¼" to not only win the event but to reset the school and stadium records. In addition, she now sits fourth in the nation for the current season.
In addition, junior Vanessa Blanchard (Palmdale, CA) won the High Jump with a height of 5' 4 ½", while freshman Chyenne Kimble (Big Bear Lake, CA) uncorked a season-best time of 25.31 in the 200 Meters. Junior Kaylee Jorgensen (Claremont, CA) added a quality mark in the 800 by completing the race in 2:19.11.
The men's 4x100 Relay of sophomore Luke Bohlinger (Mercer Island, WA), sophomore Nick Burchett (Gold River, CA), senior Myles Speegle (Castro Valley, CA), and freshman Maliq Champion (Beaumont, CA) started off Thursday's competition with a bang by winning the race in a season-best time of 41.07 to significantly rise in the national rankings to sixth.
Bohlinger added to the excitement by unleashing the fastest Bulldog time of the season in the 100 Meters at 10.64, which places him 16th in Division III.
Champion also stepped up with a first-place height of 6' 4 ¾" in the High Jump. Junior Wyatt Pannabecker (Choteau, MT) recorded a season-best leap of 46' 11 ½" in the Triple Jump to break into the Redlands Top-10 List. Freshman Cooper Adamo (Bakersfield, CA) provided a quality showing in the Long Jump with his mark of 22' 6 ¼".
The Bulldogs now await the official announcement about the NCAA qualifiers, which will be available on Saturday morning on NCAA.com.