The University of Redlands track & field teams competed at the Redlands Invitational Friday at Ted Runner Stadium and on the Ashel Cunningham Track. There was no team scoring.
The Bulldog women's 4x400m Relay capped off a solid all-around day for both squads, as the contingent of freshman Samantha Rivera (Thousand Oaks, CA), junior Heather Mayer (Spring Valley, CA), freshman Vainayaki Sivaji (North Hollywood, CA) and senior Onesa Bowman (Pomona, CA) combined to clock an NCAA Division III provisional qualifying and program-record time of 3:55.14. The former record of 3:55.80 was set back in 1976. The Maroon and Gray edged the second-place relay from Fresno Pacific University by more than four seconds.
Seven Redlands women captured individual events.
Freshman Ashley Lomax (Hillsboro, OR) cruised through the 100m Hurdles in 15.25, besting Fresno Pacific's Jessica Alanis, the second-place finisher, by .35 seconds.
In the 400m Dash, Sivaji paced the four-person field with a first-place 58.67.
No one could match Bowman's speed in the 100m Dash, as she darted through the event in 12.64.
Senior Kelly Luck (Boulder, CO) covered the grueling 5000m Run in 18:58.94, which stood more than 10 seconds quicker than the second-place competitor.
With a hurl of 42.72m in the Hammer Throw, sophomore Katie Lebel (Dawsonville, GA) took first.
Junior Kortney Watring (Riverside, CA) leaped 11.10m in the Triple Jump to best a nine-person field.
Finally, junior Kelsey Bermudez (La Verne, CA) cleared the top height in the Pole Vault at 3.35m.
The Bulldogs also took first in the 4x100m Relay. Lomax, Rivera, Sivaji and Bowman partnered up and clocked a time of 49.21.
Second-place finishers on the women's side included: freshman Madison Smith (Redlands, CA) in the 1500m Run (5:06.80), Mayer in the 800m Run (2:21.42), Bowman in the 200m Dash (25.70), junior Katie Ostrinski (Riverside, CA) in the 5000m Run (19:10.23), Rivera in the Long Jump (5.12m), junior Mackenzie Smith (Hoquiam, WA) in the Javelin Throw (36.60m) and freshman Ashley Lively (Las Vegas, NV) in the Pole Vault (3.05m).
Five Bulldog men produced the top standards in their respective events.
Junior Ross Blanchard (Novato, CA) just missed the NCAA provisional mark of 14.88 in the 110m Hurdles with a time of 14.93 but won the event nonetheless.
Continuing to carve out a name for himself among the conference's best middle-distance runners, freshman Tommy Marshall (Hillsboro, OR) led a pack of five runners that dipped under the two-minute barrier in the 800m Dash. Marshall stopped the clock at an event-best 1:57.53.
Sophomore Cameron Clark (Bellevue, WA) headed a 1-2 Redlands finish in the 400m Hurdles with a time of 56.10.
With an impressive mark of 15:28.69, junior Jeremy Kalmus (New Orleans, LA) won the 5000m Run.
Senior Richard Valenti (Palm Desert, CA) heaved the discus 43.99m, which proved good enough for first overall.
Both Redlands men's relays also took first. The team of sophomore Richard Nakaoka (Redondo Beach, CA), junior Andy Green (Bellevue, WA), freshman Ryan Shorey (Hollister, CA) and Blanchard clocked the gold standard in the 4x100m Relay (43.52), while the quartet of Shorey, sophomore Duncan Ashby (Goleta, CA), freshman Daniel Wallengren (Calabasas, CA) and Green placed first in the 4x400m Relay (3:20.23).
Runner-up performances on the men's side came from: Clark in the 110m Hurdles (15.13), Green in the 400m Dash (48.92), Blanchard in the 100m Dash (11.10), Ashby in the 800m Run (1:57.87), junior Tim Hoesterey (La Quinta, CA) in the 400m Hurdles (56.68), Valenti in the Hammer Throw (51.44m) and the Shot Put (13.38m) and sophomore Ricardo Anzar (Chula Vista, CA) in the Discus Throw (43.02m).
Redlands continues action on Friday (March 26) and Saturday (March 27) at the Cal-Nevada Championships in Los Angeles. The first events are scheduled to begin at 2 p.m. on Friday, while Saturday's meet is slated to commence at 10 a.m.
