UCLA
USC
Bruins Win 13 Events But Fall in USC Dual Meet
April 29, 2018 | Track & Field
LOS ANGELES โ Despite winning a combined 13 events, the UCLA track and field teams lost both ends of a dual meet against USC on Sunday at Drake Stadium, falling by a score of 86-77 on the women's side and 103-53 on the men's side in the final regular season contest for both squads.
Junior thrower Justin Stafford got the Bruins off to a good start for the day in the hammer throw, winning the event for the fourth consecutive time with a new lifetime-best of 64.92m (213-0). With the result, the Dana Point, Calif. native has now set a PR in two straight weekends and has recorded five overall event wins in the hammer.
Alyssa Wilson made it two-for-two in the hammer for UCLA, improving on her UCLA freshman record with a launch of 62.60m (205-4) on her sixth and final attempt. The effort resulted in Wilson's third hammer win of the year. Competing in the hammer for the first time this season, redshirt junior Ashlie Blake took third with a lifetime-best throw of 52.11m (170-11). ย
Freshman Alyssa Wilson launches a final round throw of 62.6m (205-4) to win the hammer with a new lifetime best! #GoBruins #BeatSC pic.twitter.com/BF7u3w8TCy
โ UCLA Track & Field (@UCLATrack_Field) April 29, 2018
Freshman Ilaria Casarotto had a 47.40m (155-6) throw in the women's javelin on her first attempt, and that mark held up for the event win, UCLA's third in a row to start the day. The Bruins also had the second and fourth-place finishers in the event, as heptathlete Kendall Gustafson had a season-best 45.76m (150-1) throw and Christina Chenault came in fourth at 36.68m (120-4), setting a new collegiate best.
Four Bruins made up the entrants for the men's javelin, with Simon Litzell taking home first place honors with his 2018-best 68.41m (224-5) throw. Marian Spannowsky came in right behind him at 68.17m (223-8), meaning that the Bruins' top two throws on Sunday now represent the second and third-best javelin tosses all year for UCLA.
Matthew DeRoos and CJ Alumbres took third and fourth place, respectively, in the men's long jump. DeRoos was the third-place finisher, just missing his third seven-meter jump of the year with a result of 6.99m (22-11.25). Alumbres came in just behind him with a mark of 6.89m (22-7.25), a personal 2018-best. Dominique Beltrez was the sole Bruin to compete on the women's side, finishing sixth at 5.50m (18-0.5) which is the second-best long jump by a Bruin this season.
A trio of Bruins competed in the women's pole vault, with junior Greta Wagner finishing on top with a result of 3.86m (12-8), her second best this year. Freshman Sienna Stinson and junior Melissa Maneatis had finishes of 3.41m (11-2.25), which represented a personal collegiate best for Stinson.
Gustafson took home first place in the women's high jump, clearing the 1.76m (5-9.25) jump on her first try to record the top result. Kaelin Davis and Lillianna Hebert each cleared the 1.71m (5-7.25) bar on their third attempt to tie for fourth place. In the men's high jump, DeRoos and Alumbres both took part in the men's high jump for the first time in their career, notching identical marks of 1.21m (3-11.5) to take second and third place behind winner Earnie Sears of USC (2.16m, 7-1). ย
In the women's 3000m steeplechase, sophomore Taylor Taite easily took first place with a 2018-best time of 11:00.08. While nobody came close to matching Taite's time, the race for second place turned out to be one of the closest of the day, with UCLA's Madison Moore and USC's Julia Bounds running practically neck-and-neck for the final two laps. Ultimately, Moore was able to inch out Bounds with a time of 11:32.36, ahead of the 11:32.50 finish of third-place Bounds.
Taylor Taite runs away with the 3000 Steeplechase, winning in a time of 11:00.08, and Madison Moore uses a late kick to claim second in 11:32.36. #GoBruins #BeatSC pic.twitter.com/SvhfATkJPx
โ UCLA Track & Field (@UCLATrack_Field) April 29, 2018
The men's steeplechase was an All-Bruin affair, with junior Cole Smith finishing first at 9:17.80. Sophomore Chris Morzenti came in second at 9:21.60 and freshman Andy Ehrenberg ran the 3000m steeplechase for the first time in his collegiate career with a time of 9:39.57.
UCLA finished second in both of the 4x100m relay races. The women's team โ Jelvon Butler, Ashley Lewis, Pattrianna Perry, and Dominique Beltrez โ came in with a time of 46.55 while the men's quartet โ Alumbres, DeRoose, Darius Smith, and Joe Herrera โ came in at 42.31 in UCLA's first attempt on the men's side this year.
Like the women's steeplechase, the women's 1500m had a clear winner in UCLA's Christina Rice (4:27.50, a personal collegiate-best and the best time by a Bruin this year) and an exciting finish for second place, as freshman Kelly Bernd leaned forward and ultimately ended up on the floor, edging out USC's Amber Gore, 4:29.65 to 4:29.67. Jessica Cushing-murray (4:39.07, fifth) and sophomore Lilly Schmidt (4:42.33) both recorded the best times of their 2018 seasons.
What a finish in the 1500! Christina Rice wins it, and Kelli Bernd lays it all out to take second. #GoBruins #BeatSC pic.twitter.com/oKvid3zKL1
โ UCLA Track & Field (@UCLATrack_Field) April 29, 2018
Bruins dominated the entry list for the men's 1500m, and they ended up taking the top seven spots in the race. Junior George Gleason took top marks with a lifetime best finish of 3:43.91. The other six Bruins to compete โ Carter Blunt (3:44.47), Millen Trujillo (3:46.20), Robert Brandt (3:47.21), Tyler Janes (3:47.74), Colin Burke (3:51.45), and Scott Snow (3:52.71) โ all recorded 2018-bests in the race.
The UCLA men dominate the 1500m, taking places 1-7. George Gleason is the winner in 3:34.91. #GoBruins #BeatSC pic.twitter.com/g52oe3ibsU
โ UCLA Track & Field (@UCLATrack_Field) April 29, 2018
USC took the top three spots and all nine points in the women's 100-meter hurdles. Pattriana Perry was the Bruins top finisher, in fourth, at 14.36. Beltrez was right behind her, in fifth, at 14.80.
Continuing their strong performance in the field events, UCLA took the top two spots in the women's shot put, with Blake taking the top spot with a 17.09m (56-1) throw, her second time finishing over 17 meters this season. Wilson was the second-place finisher at 16.97m (55-8.25), which represented a new collegiate-best in that event. Chenault had a 12.29m throw, her first attempt of the season, for a fourth-place finish. On the men's side, junior Kai Wong had his second 16-meter toss of the season, throwing 16.03m (57-7.25) for a third-place finish. Competing in the shot put for the first time this year, Stafford had a top throw of 12.87m (42-2.75).
Ashlie Blake goes over 17 meters for the second time this season, taking first in the women's shot put (17.09m, 56-1) for another UCLA event win! #GoBruins #BeatSC pic.twitter.com/Sua3QXMShz
โ UCLA Track & Field (@UCLATrack_Field) April 29, 2018
Herrera, in his last regular season college meet, saved his best 400m performance for last, recording a lifetime-best time of 46.64 and finishing third. Ratanya Washington was the lone Bruin to race on the women's side, taking fourth with a time of 58.91.
USC took the top four spots in the 100m dash in both the men's and women's races. Ashley Lewis was the Bruins' top finisher on the women's side at 11.92, a lifetime best, which was a split second ahead of Butler's 11.93 time, her second-best finish this season. Darius Smith, the lone UCLA runner to compete on the men's side, had a 10.91 finish, just .02 seconds behind his season-best.
Freshman Jacquelyn Hill gave UCLA its second track win of the day, taking first in the women's 800m run with a new college-best time of 2:10.51. She was followed by third-place finisher Cassandra Durgy (2:12.35 in her first 800m attempt this year) and sixth-place finisher Paige Carter (2:21.98).
Jacquelyn Hill takes first in the women's 800m run with a new collegiate-best time of 2:10.51! #GoBruins #BeatSC pic.twitter.com/Lvyz2E5q29
โ UCLA Track & Field (@UCLATrack_Field) April 29, 2018
Sophomore sprinter Riley Kelly notched a second-place finish on the men's side in the 800m at 1:50.33. Carter Blunt (1:57.26) and Scott Snow (2:02.01) were fourth and sixth, respectively, in their first 800m runs of the year.
In the women's discus,ย Wilson had a new lifetime-best launch of 55.11m (180-9) to take first and give her the third multi-win meet of her freshman campaign. Blake came in second at 51.87m (170-2), topping her previous PR by almost two meters (49.80m, 163-4.5). Junior Lana Frazier competed in the discus for just the second time this year, registering a top launch of 39.67m (130-02). On the men's side, Stafford took third place with a 2018-best throw of 47.56m (156-0), just his second effort in the discus this year. Making his debut in the discus, Spannowsky notched a fourth-place finish with a launch of 40.50m (132-10).
Jessie Maduka gave UCLA its last event win of the day in the triple jump โ despite competing in that event for the first time this outdoor season โ with a mark of 13.62m (44-8.25). Efe Agege (12.15m, 39-10.5, third) and Hebert (11.78m, 38-7) took third and fourth, respectively. In the men's triple jump, Alumbres was the lone Bruin to compete, finishing third with a mark of 14.77m (48-5.50).
Butler narrowly missed out on a new season-best in the women's 200m, racing to a 23.91 which was good for third place. Lewis was the fifth-place finisher at 24.58. On the men's side, Darius Smith set a new collegiate-best at 22.10, ending up in fourth.
The women's 3000m had a three-headed race for first down the final stretch between UCLA's Rice and Jackie Garner and USC's Chloe Berry, but ultimately Berry pulled away for a first place finish at 10:17.89. Rice was the second-place finisher at 10:19.35 and Garner came in third at 10:21.00 despite it being the first 3000m race for either of those two this season. Kennedy Meyer (10:31.63) established a new collegiate best in a fifth-place finish, while Bernd (10:47.90), Roni Yamane (10:55.15), and Lilly Schmidt (10:55.33) also competed for the first time in that event this year.
The Bruins finished 1-2-3 in the men's 3000m, with all three competitors โ making their 2018 debut in the event โ coming in at the 8:41 mark. Myles Smith took the top spot at 8:41.49, followed directly by Robert Brandt (8:41.54) and Colin Burke (8:41.69).
In the last events of the day, USC took first in both of the 4X400m relays. The men's ended with the Trojans besting the Bruins 3:06.86 to 3:24.96, while the women's race went in USC's favor 3:37.18 to 4:04.18.
Next up, UCLA will compete in the Pac-12 Multi-Events Championships next weekend at Stanford, followed by the Pac-12 Championships the following weekend.
Thank you to all our seniors, who have been exemplary student-athletes in the classroom and in competition! #GoBruins pic.twitter.com/PPGgNLDZXj
โ UCLA Track & Field (@UCLATrack_Field) April 29, 2018
Players Mentioned
