The University of Redlands track & field teams competed at the high-caliber Pomona-Pitzer Invitational on Saturday in Claremont. With multiple career-bests, the Bulldogs put together a solid showing in preparation for the final Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) multi-dual meet.
For the women, junior Vanessa Blanchard (Palmdale, CA) registered the highest Bulldog finish with her second-place performance in the High Jump. She cleared a height of 5' 3" in a quality outing. In addition, junior Mandy Widen (Vail, AZ) made her way onto the podium with a third-place result in the Pole Vault by registering a season-best height of 11' 7 ¾".
Senior Jessika Snincsak (Rancho Cucamonga, CA) shaved off 24 seconds from her previous career-best time in the 3000 Steeplechase while taking sixth at 11:34.75. Freshman Maria Ramirez (Orange, CA) also impressed in the 5000 Meters by crossing the finish line in 18:48.11.
Juniors Justine Keller (Portland, OR) and Kaylee Jorgensen (Claremont, CA) each notched the fastest times of their respective careers in the middle-distance events. Keller completed the 800 in 2:22.06, as Jorgensen ran the 1500 in 4:44.54.
For the Bulldog men, freshman Maliq Champion (Beaumont, CA) captured the highest finish with his second-place effort in the High Jump that came at a career-best height of 6' 6 ¾".
Freshman Cooper Adamo (Bakersfield, CA) also shined in the Long Jump by registering the best leap of his young career at 22' 3 ¾" before uncorking a time of 11.26 in the 100 Meters. Junior Wyatt Pannabecker (Choteau, MT) impressed in the Triple Jump by improving upon his personal standard with a mark of 46' 5 ¼".
Freshman Carlos Ruiz (Taos, NM) ran the fastest 200 of this young career by crossing the finish line in 22.50, which was just ahead of teammate senior Myles Speegle (Castro Valley, CA) at 22.58.
Freshman Nolan Ridgeway (Long Beach, CA) and sophomore Benjamin Casey (Highland Park, IL) provided excellent efforts in the 800 and 1500, respectively. Ridgeway ran a career-best 1:54.89 in the shorter race, while Casey uncorked a time of 4:00.20 in the 1500.
Junior David Galindo (East Los Angeles, CA) added to the team's achievements for the day with his season-best time of 15:58.27 in the 5K.
Sophomore Matthew Hayashi (Hacienda Heights, CA) highlighted the throwing events with solid results in the Shot Put (43' 9") and Discus Throw (123' 7"). Senior Sam Yaeger (Mission Viejo, CA) also added a quality showing of 134' 3" in the Hammer Throw, while junior Nate Battisti (Seattle, WA) improved upon his previous standard by 20 feet with a heave of 132' 4" in the Javelin Throw.
Redlands takes on Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges, Occidental College, and Cal Lutheran University in the final SCIAC Multi-Dual of the season on Saturday, April 15, in Eagle Rock, beginning at 10 a.m.