UCSB Track and Field hosts Challenge Cup

By KRISTEN KELLER UCSB SPORTS

The UCSB track and field teams hosted their final home meet of the season in the Challenge Cup, welcoming Long Beach State, Cal State Fullerton and UC Irvine to Pauley Track. This is one of the few meets with team scoring this season as the Gauchos had multiple athletes win their events to help the women finish second in the Challenge Cup while the men earned third.

On the women’s side, Amanda Spear had one of the best outings for the Gauchos as she finished in first place in the hammer and discus while making it to the finals in the shot put, competing in this event for the first time as a Gaucho. She threw a distance of 48.52 meters in the discus while hitting a mark of 54.76 meters in the hammer, securing a new PR in the hammer. Also finding success in the throws were Malia Benson and Kendall Martin, who ended up with the top two spots in the javelin as Benson took the firstplace spot with a throw of 46.78 meters while Martin followed close behind with a throw of 45.22 meters. Melodie Quiroz rounded out the top performances in the women’s field events as she placed second in the pole vault with a mark of 3.70 meters.

The women also found success on the track as Madeline Franco was the first track athlete to win an event today for the Gauchos. She brought home the win in the 1500 with a time of 4:38.36, a new personal best. Paige Damron was another Gaucho to earn first place in her event, securing the top spot in the 400 hurdles with a time of 1:01.49. Ashling Carr rounded out the women’s top performances on the track as she finished with a time of 10:29.34 in the 3000, beating the second-place runner by six seconds.

In the field events for the men, Leon Gillis was just shy of hitting 7 feet, but still won the event with a jump of 6-feet-9-inches, which is four inches higher than the second-place finisher. Joining him with a win in their event was Chase Tarr, who threw a distance of 64.35 meters in the javelin to beat the second-place finisher by six meters. Eitan Goore topped his own PR in the pole vault that also moved him up to third in the UCSB All-Time Record Book as he hit a mark of 5.06 meters for a second-place finish.

The men’s team also raced well on the track. Brandon Cobian grabbed a first-place finish in the 3000 as he ran a time of 8:37.42, a new PR for him in this event. Tyler Holl also was a huge asset for the Gauchos, earning a secondplace finish in both of his events. He ended up with a new PR on his way to second in the 110meter hurdles with a time of 14.41 while registering a time of 54.49 in the 400 hurdles. He was also a member of the 4x400-meter relay team that locked down first place in that event. Holl ran alongside Deonne McCrary, Justin Fong and Brendan Fong with a time of 3:14.48.

The Gauchos will have a quick turnaround following the Challenge Cup as they head to the Mt. SAC Relays in Walnut while other members of the team compete at the Bryan Clay Invite in Azusa. These meets will begin as early as Wednesday.

Kristen Keller is the associate athletic director for communications and digital strategy at UCSB. email: sports@newspress.com