by Aaron Kiel
Staff Writer
At the Ninth Annual BFI Meet of Champions hosted by Azusa Pacific University this past Saturday, the ULV track and field team found a chance to rehearse before hosting the SCIAC preliminaries on May 3 and finals on May 6 at Ortmayer Stadium.
“Some of our kids did really well,” said Head Coach Pat Widolff about the men’s and women’s teams.
Track teams from Cal State Fullerton, UCLA, Biola, Redlands and San Francisco State participated in the meet, along with many others, including some competitors who went unattached.
“Marc Tyler broke a school record in the 100m. He ran 10.91 and Chris Malone was right behind him,” said Widolff.
Tyler placed first and Malone placed second with a time of 10.96. Jon Speier and Kevin Glaspy of Azusa Pacific were third and fourth, while ULV freshman Mike McClendon placed fifth with a time of 11.36.
McClendon admits that he did not place well because of a lack of practice during spring break and that he still needs a stronger finish.
“I should make the finals,” said McClendon of the upcoming preliminaries.
In the 800m, Freddy Uribe finished with a time of 2:02.58, placing second, just under Marcos Aguilar of Cal State Northridge. Jose Barba came in fourth with a time of 2:04.32.
Junior Tori Bare did well in the women’s 400m and 100m races. She finished fourth in the 400m and third in the 100m with times of 1:01.02 and 12.93, respectively. Widolff pointed out that Bare was exceptional.
The women’s 4x100m relay team, consisting of Bare, freshman Aundraya Ross, junior Kari Trotter and freshman Lakesha Wilson, placed fourth in its heat behind Fullerton, San Francisco State, and Chapman, with a time of 52:38.
Erika Spencer place third in her high jump heat with a jump of 5-3.
Senior Sal Lopez returned to the team about three weeks ago after being out due to injuries.
“He [Lopez] didn’t do quite as well this meet,” said Widolff.
Lopez placed ninth in the hammer throw with a distance of 44.68m while Phil Rudulph finished behind Lopez in 15th place with a throw of 40.00m.
“We’ve improved a lot,” said Widolff. “Gilbert Gomez has improved a lot as a distance runner. Our throwers have done really well all year. Jacqui Zwissler has really improved,” he said.
Zwissler obtained a distance of 4.74m in the long jump, qualifying for 12th place and Gomez placed in the top eight in the 1500m with a time of 4:05.91.
Carl Caston, with the javelin, threw a distance of 45.70m coming in eighth.
According to Widolff, with the championships next week, the track teams are in about fifth place overall in SCIAC.
Aaron Kiel
