CLAREMONT, Calif. – The day after competing in the Whittier Twilight Meet Friday evening, the University of Redlands Track & Field teams sent a full contingent of athletes to the Pomona-Pitzer Invite Saturday where the Bulldogs combined for 19 top-eight finishes and three event wins.
Men
On the men's side they did not have a ton of sprinting success, but Cristian Megas (Palmdale, CA) was fifth in the 200m with a time of 21.35. He along with Gabriel Meunier (Winslow, AZ), Cooper Malerstein (Huntington Beach, CA), and Markelle Raymond (Fresno, CA) won the 4x100 relay in a time of 40.91.
In the 5000m Enrique Verschoor (Mar del Plata, Argentina), Rogelio Salcido (Beaumont, CA), and David Huggins (Salem, OR) took second, fifth, and seventh, respectively with times of 15:06.14, 15:23.74, and 15:31.99. All three times were new personal bests.
Gael Orozco (Claremont, CA) and Nathan Mestre (Chula Vista, CA) were fifth and sixth with times of 57.83 and 57.88 in the 400m hurdles as they both picked up new personal bests.
Joining the 4x100 relay team was the 4x400 relay team of Jamir Jones (Fairfield, CA), Ronan Byrne (Portola Valley, CA), Hunter Greer (Wildomar, Calif.), and Riley Lathrop (Honolulu, HI) who were fifth with a time of 3:26.24.
The Bulldog men's lone individual event winner was Owen Schmitz (Fremont, CA) in the high jump as he cleared 1.90m, 6' 2.75". Schmitz added a fourth-place finish in the triple jump thanks to a first attempt 13.13m, 43' 1".
The final two top-eight finishers were Corte Peterson (Lafayette, CO) and Jack Gordon (Las Vegas, NV) who came in fifth and seventh in the pole vault, each with marks of 4.55m, 14' 11". Peterson had three fewer failed clearances, so he finished higher. Peterson's mark in a new personal best.
Women
Alexandra Ackerman (Lake Elsinore, CA) posted a time of 12.23 in the 100m as she finished sixth to help lead the women.
Chloe Bullock (Hood River, OR) added another personal best to her fantastic sophomore campaign as took fifth and ran a 2:16.20 800m, 8.06 seconds faster than a week prior at home during the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) No. 2 dual.
The lone event win came courtesy of Elee Faulkner (Blaine, WA) in the 400m hurdles as she posted a personal best time of 1:03.47. Joining Faulkner was Elisabeth Eichinger (Yucaipa, CA) who took seventh with a time of 1:10.18.
After the 4x100 relay team was disqualified, the 4x400 relay team of CeCe Matteson (Seattle, WA), Bullock, Faulkner, and Eichinger finished fifth with a time of 4:09.58.
Adding to Faulkner's fantastic day was an eighth-place finish in the high jump as she cleared her second height of 1.45m, 4' 9".
Ending the jumping success was Ciara Aw (Shoreline, WA) who had a good day at Whittier 24 hours prior as she took home another second-place finish, this time in the triple jump where she posted a second-jump of 10.88m, 35' 8.5", a personal best.
The Bulldogs return to competition this Friday, April 14 when they compete in the Brian Clay Invitational hosted by Azusa Pacific University.