LOS ANGELES – Emma Tavella made the most of her first-ever appearance in the steeplechase, as the Bruins shined across the board in the Bob Larsen Distance Invitational and Rafer Johnson/Jackie Joyner-Kersee Invite, both contested at Drake Stadium on Friday. UCLA picked up seven event victories and a pair of program top-10 performances on the day.
Friday's distance events filled the meet program for the Bob Larsen Distance Invite. The field events contested were the opening events for the Rafer/JJK Invite; the full meet will be completed on Saturday.
Tavella led the Bruin charge in the grueling steeplechase event with a win and time of 10:12.65, the second-fastest performance in program history. She was just over a second away from Emily Scharmann's school-record mark of 10:11.30, set back in 2016.
The men's steeple saw Munir Kabbara put together an excellent race, taking the win with a lifetime-best time of 8:46.67, the 10th-fastest time in program history.
Peter Herold picked up the win in the men's mile, crossing with a time of 4:02.13, the fastest time at Drake Stadium since Arturo Sotomayor went 4:03.07 in 2019. Freshman Ajani Salcido was close behind in third at 4:03.51 while Jake Parker notched a fifth-place finish (4:05.33).
Gwyn George earned a convincing win in the women's 1500m, clocking a lifetime-best time of 4:23.12. Ashley Johnson took fifth and unleashed a massive PR of 4:30.73, an improvement of almost 21 seconds from her previous lifetime-best.
William Frankenfeld and Darius Riley went 1-2 in the men's 5000m, with the pair going 14:15.19 and 14:17.01, respectively. Patrick Curulla made his outdoor debut for the Bruins and finished sixth overall, clocking a time of 14:29.34.
Freshman Jillian Stafford continued her strong start to the season with a victory in the women's hammer, going 58.63m (192-4) for the win. Fellow first-year Lyvante Su'emai took second with a toss of 58.05m (190-5). The men's competition saw Jacob Wilson (63.02m, 206-90 and Kris Emig (62.06m, 203-7) finish second and third, respectively.
Lauren McFall picked up her second-straight javelin victory of the season, posting a throw of 46.96m (154-1) for the win. Anoop Khatra was second overall in the men's field, throwing 61.93m (203-2).
UC Riverside Multis
The Bruins' heptathletes were also in action on Friday. Freshman Sydney Johnson earned a win in the event in Riverside, finishing with 4747 points. Her day was highlighted by a second-place finish in the long jump, going 5.70m (18-08.50) for 759 points. Fellow first-year Amber Jackson followed with 3981 points, capping her day with a third-place finish in the 800m (2:38.37, 592 pts). Senior Isa Videler was fifth overall with 3809 points despite not contesting the long jump and 800m.
Day Two – Rafer Johnson/Jackie Joyner-Kersee
The Bruins are back on Saturday for the second day of competition at the Rafer/JJK Invite. The open sections of the men's and women's discus competitions will open the day at 10 a.m. PT.
Friday's distance events filled the meet program for the Bob Larsen Distance Invite. The field events contested were the opening events for the Rafer/JJK Invite; the full meet will be completed on Saturday.
Tavella led the Bruin charge in the grueling steeplechase event with a win and time of 10:12.65, the second-fastest performance in program history. She was just over a second away from Emily Scharmann's school-record mark of 10:11.30, set back in 2016.
The men's steeple saw Munir Kabbara put together an excellent race, taking the win with a lifetime-best time of 8:46.67, the 10th-fastest time in program history.
Peter Herold picked up the win in the men's mile, crossing with a time of 4:02.13, the fastest time at Drake Stadium since Arturo Sotomayor went 4:03.07 in 2019. Freshman Ajani Salcido was close behind in third at 4:03.51 while Jake Parker notched a fifth-place finish (4:05.33).
Gwyn George earned a convincing win in the women's 1500m, clocking a lifetime-best time of 4:23.12. Ashley Johnson took fifth and unleashed a massive PR of 4:30.73, an improvement of almost 21 seconds from her previous lifetime-best.
William Frankenfeld and Darius Riley went 1-2 in the men's 5000m, with the pair going 14:15.19 and 14:17.01, respectively. Patrick Curulla made his outdoor debut for the Bruins and finished sixth overall, clocking a time of 14:29.34.
Freshman Jillian Stafford continued her strong start to the season with a victory in the women's hammer, going 58.63m (192-4) for the win. Fellow first-year Lyvante Su'emai took second with a toss of 58.05m (190-5). The men's competition saw Jacob Wilson (63.02m, 206-90 and Kris Emig (62.06m, 203-7) finish second and third, respectively.
Lauren McFall picked up her second-straight javelin victory of the season, posting a throw of 46.96m (154-1) for the win. Anoop Khatra was second overall in the men's field, throwing 61.93m (203-2).
UC Riverside Multis
The Bruins' heptathletes were also in action on Friday. Freshman Sydney Johnson earned a win in the event in Riverside, finishing with 4747 points. Her day was highlighted by a second-place finish in the long jump, going 5.70m (18-08.50) for 759 points. Fellow first-year Amber Jackson followed with 3981 points, capping her day with a third-place finish in the 800m (2:38.37, 592 pts). Senior Isa Videler was fifth overall with 3809 points despite not contesting the long jump and 800m.
Day Two – Rafer Johnson/Jackie Joyner-Kersee
The Bruins are back on Saturday for the second day of competition at the Rafer/JJK Invite. The open sections of the men's and women's discus competitions will open the day at 10 a.m. PT.