The University of Redlands men's and women's track & field teams hosted the Redlands Final Qualifier on Wednesday and Thursday as a last-chance opportunity to secure postseason spots. The Bulldogs impressed with multiple career-best and nationally-ranked showings on Ashel Cunningham Track in Ted Runner Stadium.
For the women, junior Chyenne Kimble (Big Bear Lake, CA) unleashed the fastest 200-time in school history by crossing the finish line 24.57. She earned fourth place at the high-caliber meet and now ranks seventh in NCAA Division III for the current season.
Junior Jessica Fields (Las Vegas, NV) uncorked a career-best time of 13.97 in the 100 Hurdles to now rank second in NCAA Division III.
Senior Kara Romani (Sacramento, CA) put together the best score of her four years at Redlands to win the Heptathlon and move up to 14th in the country. She won four events, including the 200 (26.02), 800 (2:32.64), Long Jump (17' 4 ¾"), and Shot Put (33' ½"), to earn 4,595 points.
First-year Courtney O'Neal (Atlanta, GA) and sophomore Desiree Cadena (San Jose, CA) also posted the best marks of their respective careers. O'Neal fired off a time of 12.36 in the 100 Meters, while Cadena won the 1500 Meters in 4:47.96.
In addition, the 4x100 Relay of O'Neal, sophomore Hannah Albrecht (Cottage Grove, OR), first-year Annick Bangou (Redlands, CA), and Kimble orchestrated a winning time of 47.16.
Among the field events, sophomore Brenna Dolen (Redlands, CA) recorded a leap of 17' 9 ½" in the Long Jump to reset her personal standard, as sophomore Bryanna Neagle (Las Vegas, NV) cleared a height of 5' 2 ½" in the High Jump for another career-best effort.
Furthermore, graduate student Reyna Ta'amu (Lakewood, CA) won the Shot Put (47' 5 ¾") and junior Katie Gonzalez (San Gabriel, CA) launched a winning mark of 128' 7" in the Discus Throw.
For the men, the highlight of the meet came off the first-place 4x100 Relay of sophomore Domanick Murray (Palm Springs, CA), sophomore Cooper Malerstein (Huntington Beach, CA), senior Luke Bohlinger (Mercer Island, WA), and junior Maliq Champion (Beaumont, CA), which accelerated to the ninth-best time in the nation at 41.00.
Furthermore, Bohlinger ran a career-best in the 100 Meters with a time of 10.50 for fifth place, while Murray closely followed in 10.93 for his fastest ever. First-year Dylan Fernholz-Hartman ran the 110 Hurdles in a career-best time of 15.57.
Junior Tyler Lufkin (Yucaipa, CA) won the Decathlon in impressive fashion by taking first in eight of the 10 events for a total score of 5,601 points.
Finally, sophomore MJ Wheeler (St. Louis, MO) and senior Matthew Hayashi (Hacienda Heights, CA) each posted a second-place mark in their respective events. Wheeler reached a distance of 21' 8 ¼", as Hayashi hit 48' 4 ¾" in the Shot Put.
Redlands now awaits official word about qualifiers for the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships, which take place in Geneva, Ohio, on Thursday, May 23, through Saturday, May 25. The selection announcement is expected on NCAA.com on Saturday, May 18, at 9 a.m. EDT.