UCSB women’s track competes at UW Invite

By KRISTEN KELLER UCSB SPORTS

The UCSB women’s indoor track and field team competed in their first meet of the season as they traveled north to Seattle for the UW Invite hosted by the University of Washington over the last two days. One of the biggest highlights for the Gauchos was Sarah Chaves, a redshirt sophomore from Sacramento. She tied the UCSB record for the 3,000-meter run, earning a time of 9:46.38 in the first meet of the season. The Gauchos saw much success in jumps. Both Shay Hawkes and Jessica Swalve made the finals in the high jump as they each jumped a height of 1.55 meters. In the long jump, Emma Barthel and Kennedy Johnson each had great performances, going 5.40 and 5.39 meters, respectively. This gave Barthel an eighthplace finish while Johnson ended in ninth. Along with that, Johnson continued her success in the triple jump. The freshman finished fourth in this event, registering a distance of 11.86 meters. Jiana Boston also finished highly in eighth place with a 10.96-meter performance. Not only were the Gauchos successful in the jumps, but the throws also resulted in success for the team. Amanda Spear competed in the weight throw, finishing fifth with a throw of 15.59 meters, a new PR. Swalve also competed in the shot put during this meet as she grabbed a seventh-place finish with a 12.85-meter throw. UCSB will continue with their season next weekend as the Gauchos compete in the New Mexico Collegiate Classic hosted by the University of New Mexico. This will be the site of the NCAA Indoor Championships, giving them the chance to compete in the facility before the championships. Kristen Keller is the associate athletic director for communications and digital strategy at UCSB. email: sports@newspress.com email: sports@newspress.com

The run continued after the intermission, with Westmont scoring the first eight points of the third quarter to go up 35-22. Laila Saenz (12 points, 3 steals) knocked down back-to-back threes before Fong scored on a layup, assisted by Berberabe. Hernandez ended Westmont’s 14-point run with a triple, but Saenz struck again from beyond the arc to make it a 40-25 Warrior advantage. Westmont led by double-digits throughout the rest of the third quarter and until the final minute of the final frame. As has become their custom, the Warriors outrebounded their opponent 40-30, including 23-9 on the offensive glass. That resulted in 20 secondchance points. Westmont tallied 14 steals in the game, which led to a 20-11 turnover advantage.

The Warriors’ season continues next week with a pair of home games. On Thursday, Westmont will host the Hawks of San Diego Christian (6-16, 2-11) at 5:30 p.m. Then on Saturday, the Warriors will welcome the Royals of Hope International (17-5, 103) to Murchison Gymnasium. Tip-off is scheduled for 12 p.m.

Ron Smith is the sports information director at Westmont College.