The University of Redlands track & field teams took on Pomona-Pitzer Colleges, Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges, and Caltech in Saturday's final Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) multi-dual meet of the season. With 10 first-place marks on the day, the Bulldog men swept the competition with excellent results that rank among the best in the nation. The No. 20 Redlands women defeated Pomona-Pitzer and Caltech with school-record efforts and many top NCAA Division III marks as well.
For the men, junior Luke Bohlinger (Mercer Island, WA) won two events, as highlighted by the fourth-fastest time in the country in the 200 Meters at 21.49. He also bested the competition in the 100 with the only sub-11-second time of the day, as he crossed the finish line in 10.80.
First-year Tucker Cargile (Denver, CO) continues to find another gear in the 800 by improving upon his season-best time once again. Today, he crossed the finish line in 1:52.75 for first place and the eighth-fastest time in the nation.
First-year Andrew Clark (Palm Springs, CA) produced the only sub-16-second time of the day in the 110 Hurdles when he unleashed a 15.73 to win the event. Sophomore Jordan Washecheck (Tulsa, OK) continued the team's outstanding results by completing the 400 Meters in a blistering time of 48.94 for first place.
The Bulldogs' 4x100 Relay shined at the meet, as the talented quartet of Bohlinger, junior Nick Burchett (Gold River, CA), sophomore Maliq Champion (Beaumont, CA), and first-year MJ Wheeler (St. Louis, MO) fired off a victorious time of 42.09. Amidst the tight competition of the meet, Redlands' 84.50-78.50 win over CMS came down to the final event, the 4x400 Relay. With Burchett, Cargile, Washecheck, and first-year Marvin Perkins Jr. (Las Vegas, NV) ready to step up, the Bulldogs fired off a winning time of 3:19.01 to now rank 11th in the country.
In addition, Champion and senior Afari La-Anyane (Morgan Hill, CA) provided a dominating 1-2 punch in the High Jump, with Champion clearing a first-place height of 6' 2 ¾" and La-Anyane reaching 6' ¾" for second place.
Finally, junior Matthew Hayashi (Hacienda Heights, CA) beat out the Shot Put competition with his sold heave of 46' 3 ¼", while senior Wyatt Pannabecker (Choteau, MT) excelled in the Triple Jump with his winning leap of 46' 8 ¼".
The Bulldog women won seven events, as highlighted by a pair of school-record performances. Sophomore Jessica Fields (Las Vegas, NV) upped the Redlands record with her winning time of 62.63 in the 400 Hurdles, which also ranks her seventh in the country. Senior Mandy Widen (Vail, AZ) bettered the school's standard in the Pole Vault by clearing a first-place height of 12' 4" to move her to eighth in the NCAA Division III this season. In addition, Widen headed up a talented trio in her event, as sophomore Gabriella Gould (Bellingham, WA) finished second at 11' 5 ¾" and first-year Claire Jamison (Louisville, CO) took third with a height of 10' 0".
Furthermore, Fields took first place in the 100 Hurdles by crossing the finish line in 14.83 as the only sub-15-second effort of the day.
Senior Justine Keller (Portland, OR) registered a winning time of 58.86 in the 400 Meters, while sophomore Chyenne Kimble (Big Bear Lake, CA) uncorked the ninth-fastest time in the nation in the 100 Meters at 12.15.
Finally, senior Vanessa Blanchard (Palmdale, CA) won the High Jump with a mark of 5' 5 ¾" to tie her season-best, as senior Reyna Ta'amu (Lakewood, CA) tallied a first-place toss of 44' 7 ½" in the Shot Put to rank fifth in Division III this season. First-year Brenna Dolen (Redlands, CA) added to the Bulldogs' impressive results by posting a triumphant leap of 36' 5 ¾" in the Triple Jump.
Redlands looks forward to hosting the SCIAC Track & Field Championships on Friday, April 27, and Saturday, April 28, on Ashel Cunningham Track in Ted Runner Stadium.
