With dedication, talent, and desire, the University of Redlands track & field program enjoyed a solid campaign that returned the Bulldogs to All-America prestige in multiple events. While achieving new school records, earning numerous awards, and elevating the program's standard once again, the Maroon and Gray put together a pair of top-three team finishes at the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) Championships before qualifying one student-athlete for the NCAA Division III Indoor Championships and later sending eight competitors to the NCAA Outdoor Championships.
The 2015 season began with a bang with senior Maddie Smith's (Hoquiam, WA) impressive performance at the Mountain T's Invitational on January 31. She won the High Jump by clearing a height of 5'7", which placed her second among all NCAA Division III indoor women's competitors and punched her ticket to the national meet as Redlands' first-ever qualifier.
About a month later, the Maroon and Gray competed at the high-caliber Pomona All-Comers Meet and successfully reset a pair of Bulldog records in the 3000 Meters. Seniors Chris Bolt (Reno, NV) reset the school record with his time of 8:48.74, improving upon Jeremy Kalmus' mark from the same meet in 2011. Senior Della Lyle (Buffalo, WY) recorded the fastest time in the team's NCAA Division III history, crossing the finish line in 10:15.22. She was nearly 15 seconds faster than Avery Kelly's standard from 2006.
On March 7, Redlands hosted its first of three home meets for the 2015 season, as the Bulldogs welcomed Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges, Occidental College, and Whittier College to Ashel Cunningham Track for the SCIAC Multi-Dual No. 1. While scoring against CMS and Whittier, both squads split results while defeating the Poets by a solid margin. Highlighting the Bulldogs' overall success of the day, the men and women combined for 18 top-two finishes, which included first-place showings by both men's relays. The 4x100 Relay of freshman Dale Stoller (Santa Cruz, CA), junior Joey Colucci (San Jose, CA), sophomore Myles Speegle (Castro Valley, CA), and senior Taylor Browning (Carbondale, CO) fired off a winning time of 42.17, while the 4x400 Relay of senior Antwain Morgan (Granada Hills, CA), sophomore Auston Tribble (Glenwood Springs, CO), senior Dominic Lopez (Las Vegas, NV), and Browning cruised to a first-place showing in 3:21.75, which was nearly a full second ahead of the second-place quartet from Occidental. The Bulldog women also notched two event-wins, as senior Merritt ten Hope (Phoenix, AZ) won the Pole Vault by clearing 10' 10" and M. Smith remained impressive in the High Jump with her first-place mark of 5' 5".
After a successful outing at the Oxy Distance Carnival, the Bulldogs cheered on M. Smith from afar as she competed in the NCAA Division III Indoor Championships on March 14. While making her first-ever appearance at the indoor nationals, Smith cleared a height of 5' 5", which landed her fifth among a group of eight competitors with the same mark. In order to break the tie where possible, the number of missed attempts was evaluated, allowing Smith to make her way onto the podium in eighth place. With the top-eight finish, she garnered her first All-American accolade in her inaugural indoor performance. She is also the first student-athlete from Redlands to compete at the indoor nationals.
A week later, M. Smith's momentum continued at the Redlands Invitational, where she reset her own school record and tied the SCIAC's standard in the High Jump. But her success was only the tip of the iceberg for the Bulldogs, as multiple competitors registered career-best marks. Lyle fired off her fastest 1500-meter time of 4:46.38 to take second. For the Redlands men, Speegle uncorked a career-best time of 10.79 seconds in the 100 Meters, while posting his fastest time of this season in the 200 at 22.23. Freshman Afari La-Anyane (Morgan Hill, CA) improved upon his fastest mark of his young career by completing the 110 Hurdles in 15.06 for third place.
Redlands' busy slate of meets continued with the SCIAC Multi-Dual No. 2, which included 15 first-place performances and numerous career-best showings en route to wins against Cal Lutheran University, Chapman University and Caltech. For the men, senior Darren Centi (Auburn, CA) won the 400 Meters by uncorking a career-best time of 47.78, which ranked him second in all of NCAA Division III at the time. Lopez also fired off the fastest time of his career in the 1500, crossing the finish line first in 4:01.99. Finally, the 4x100 Relay of Stoller, Colucci, Speegle, and Browning joined forces for the third-fastest time in all of Division III this season to win the race in 41.90. In addition, Morgan, Lopez, Centi, and Browning completed the 4x400 Relay in 3:18.02 to take home the gold while ranking second in the country. For the women, freshman Mandy Widen (Vail, AZ) cleared a winning height of 11' ¼" in the Pole Vault for a new career-best mark, while sophomore Maddie O'Leary (Vernonia, OR) improved upon her personal record with a heave of 37' 4" in the Shot Put to earn first place. Sophomore Jasmine Ramos (Santa Fe Springs, CA) ran a winning time of 12.57 for the fastest 100 Meters of her career at the time, while Lyle continued to impress in the 3000 Steeplechase by improving upon her personal standard with a time of 11:23.41. Furthermore, sophomore Brianna Wilkinson (Lafayette, CA) capped off a solid day of career-bests with her personal record of 119' 9" in the Discus Throw for another win for the Bulldogs.
The trend of career-best marks continued at the Pomona-Pitzer Invite, with freshman Kaylee Jorgensen (Claremont, CA) firing off the fastest time of her young career in the 800 Meters, clocking in at 2:19.44 to finish 19th overall. Junior Lauren Roberts (Portland, OR) also improved upon her personal standard in the 5000 Meters by crossing the finish line in 18:09.65, which was more than 30 seconds faster than her previous best. She finished seventh overall among the competitive race.
Redlands wrapped up its SCIAC multi-dual schedule on April 11, with the women defeating two of the three opponents and the men earning one victory overall. The Bulldog women pushed past Pomona-Pitzer Colleges by a score of 85-78 and took down Occidental College, 127-20, but came up short against the University of La Verne, 72.50-89.50. For the men, Redlands defeated Pomona-Pitzer, 95-66, but narrowly lost to La Verne (80-82) and Occidental (64-98). Headlining the exciting meet, Redlands' men's quartet of Morgan, Tribble, Browning, and Centi uncorked a remarkable time of 3:14.38 to win the final race of the night while surpassing then nation's standard for this event in Division III. In addition, this time improved upon the relay's fastest mark from a year ago. Centi also impressed in the 400 Meters by taking first with a blistering time of 47.32, which improved upon his position as the second-fastest runner in the country and lands him fourth among the Bulldogs' top-10 list. On the women's side, Roberts completed the 1500 Meters in 4:50.42 for the fastest of her career by nearly seven seconds while taking third place overall. She also lapped all other competitors in the 5000 Meters to take first in that event with a time of 18:10.89.
The Bulldogs remained hungry by squaring off against talented competitors at the Mt. SAC Relays and the Triton Invitational to close out the month of April. During the Triton Invitational, Lyle shined with a career-best time of 10:11.62 in the 3000 Meters for sixth place overall. She improved by nearly four seconds in just her second-ever outing in this event. Furthermore, La-Anyane eclipsed the 15-second barrier for the first time in the 110 Hurdles by crossing the finish line in 14.95.
This propelled the Bulldogs into the SCIAC Championships, which took place at Occidental College in Eagle Rock. Redlands put up solid results, registering six event titles, various All-Conference efforts, and multiple career-best marks. While utilizing their depth, the Bulldog women finished in second place with 117 points, and the Redlands men jumped to third place with 128 points in the meet standings. For the women, M. Smith shined by capturing her fourth high-jump championship to head up a top-three sweep for the Bulldogs. Sophomore Alison Smith (McKinleyville, CA) repeated as the 100 Hurdles champion, this time winning the event with a time of 15.11. On the men's side, Centi collected two individual titles in his final SCIAC Championship meet, winning the 400 Meters in 47.16 and breaking the tape in the 200 Meters in 21.50. At this point in the season, his 400-time ranked first in all of NCAA Division III as a career-best effort. Furthermore, he completed the shorter sprint for the first time this season to win the SCIAC title. Speegle uncorked a first-place time of 10.64 in the 100 Meters, which ranked him among the top 10 in the nation for this season. Colucci closely followed in fourth place with a time of 10.72. Juniors Ian Lee (Las Vegas, NV) and Nathan Meier (Riverside, CA) posted solid results in the 3000 Steeplechase, as each fired off a career-best time. Lee came in fourth by completing the race in 9:33.61, which was almost 15 seconds faster than ever before, while Meier clocked in at 9:45.95 for a slightly improved mark. The men's 4x100 Relay of Stoller, Colucci, Speegle, and Browning lived up to the expectations by winning the race in 41.14 to improve upon its seed time. With this impressive showing, the quartet became ranked among the top five in all of NCAA Division III for 2015.
Following the SCIAC Championships, Centi and Browning were recognized with significant conference awards, as voted upon by the head track & field coaches. Centi received the SCIAC Men's Track Athlete of the Year for his success in the sprinting events, while Browning was named a co-recipient of the Dixon Farmer Character Award, which honors a senior student-athlete based on ability, personal characteristics, and sincerity of purpose in academics.
During the final few weeks of the season, the Bulldogs continued to shine as they remained hopeful for qualification to the NCAA Division III Outdoor Championships. In early May, A. Smith competed in just her second-career heptathlon and took fifth as the highest finisher from Division III with 4,365 points. She improved upon her inaugural showing from a year ago by five slots in the standings and 192 points overall. This year, she placed among the top 10 in all but one event, with her best finish coming in the 100 Hurdles during which she fired off a time of 14.72 for third place. She also took fifth in the Javelin with a mark of 103' 6" and seventh in the 200 Meters with a time of 26.02, highlighting her solid effort in the heptathlon to become ranked 20th in all of NCAA Division III.
Amidst the thrill of unseasonably cold and wet weather on May 14-15, Redlands took advantage of one last opportunity during its own Final Qualifying Meet at Ashel Cunningham Track. Among the highlights, the Bulldogs notched a pair of national contending times to accompany multiple career-best showings. Colucci fired off a time of 10.67 in the 100 Meters to move into 16th on the national list. He joined Speegle, who already sat among the fastest in Division III with his time of 10.64 from the SCIAC Championship meet. In addition, the men's 4x100 Relay of Stoller, Colucci, Speegle, and Browning bettered its ranking in Division III with a time of 41.11 to sit seventh among the nation's best. Furthermore, Stoller unleashed a 10.82 in the 100 Meters to place him among the fastest in Redlands' history, while senior Peirce Clark (La Canada, CA) registered a career-best mark in the High Jump by clearing a height of 6' 7 ½" for second place at the meet. Ramos bested her career-best mark in the 100 Meters as well, cranking out a time of 12.53 to add to the stellar Bulldog outing.
Two days later, the Maroon and Gray learned that eight competitors qualified for the NCAA Outdoor Championships in Canton, NY. Individually, Centi moved on in the 400 and 200, while Colucci and Speegle made the cut for the 100 Meters. Furthermore, Stoller and Browning joined Colucci and Speegle as a formidable quartet for the sixth-fastest 4x100 Relay in the country. For the women, M. Smith headed to the national meet as the fourth-ranked high-jumper, while Blanchard edged her way into the event as the final qualifier. Finally, A. Smith advanced to the national meet for the first time in the Heptathlon.
Prior to the start of the NCAA Championships, Centi was recognized as the U.S. Track & Field Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Division III Men's Outdoor Track Athlete of the Year for the West Region.
Overall, the Bulldogs excelled at the NCAA Championship, notching new records, multiple All-America nods, and two top-two national finishes. The 4x100 Relay got things started for the Bulldog men, as Stoller, Speegle, Colucci, and Browning unleashed a second-place showing to collect All-America honors. While improving upon their already-fast seed-time from the preliminaries, they crossed the finish line in 40.55, which was one of two stadium record-breaking efforts for the day and ranks first among Redlands' Division III history in this event. Centi kept up the Bulldogs' momentum by uncorking a time of 47.57 in the 400 Meters for third place and All-America recognition. Finally, Colucci returned to the track to fire off a SCIAC-record time of 10.37 in the 100 Meters, earning seventh place amidst a very fast race. As a team, the Redlands men tied for 15th in the team standings due to their solid finishes in all three events.
For the women, Blanchard placed 12th in the High Jump by clearing 5' 4 ¼" in her national debut and Smith tied for 20th with a mark of 5' 2 ½" in her final NCAA meet of her illustrious career. A. Smith finished 19th overall with 4,318 points in the Heptathlon during her first-ever NCAA appearance. Her best showing came in the 100 Hurdles, as she collected 858 points with a fourth-place time of 14.88. She also performed well in the 200 Meters (26.07) by finishing among the top 10 to earn 791 points in that event.
Following the 2015 track & field season, Redlands gained multiple academic honors, including recognition from the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA), the SCIAC, and the USTFCCCA. Lyle and Roberts each represented the Bulldogs on the Capital One® CoSIDA Academic All-District Women's Track & Field/Cross Country Teams for athletic and scholarly success. M. Smith, Blanchard, A. Smith, Roberts, Browning, and Tribble all earned USTFCCCA All-Academic selection, while the men's and women's programs each garnered the distinction as an All-Academic Team. Finally, 22 individuals were honored as members of the SCIAC All-Academic Team for Track & Field for scholarly success.
With career-best marks, All-America accolades, and many additional achievements throughout the year, the Bulldog track & field program continued to raise its game for the forever-expanding expectations of the high-quality Division III program. Although the graduation of a talented senior class creates obvious challenge, Redlands looks forward to the return of a talented core of competitors to set the tone for future success, both at the conference and national levels.