by Bonnie H. Chuen
Staff Writer
The University of La Verne sent six representatives of the track team to the California/Nevada State meet held at the University of California at Davis last weekend.
The six participants included juniors, Anthony Rice, Liron Wilson, and Jacqui Zwissler, freshman Ordell Williams and seniors Tori Bare and Erika Spencer.
“Competition was tough, we were competing against Division I schools with athletes on scholarships,” said head coach Pat Widolff.
Despite the tough competition, the University of La Verne did fairly well. Rice, who ran the 100m, placed fourth overall with a time of 10.94. Wilson and Rice, who both ran the 200m, did not place, but ended up with times of 22.55 and 22.06, respectively. Williams, who ran the 400m, finished with a time of 51.0, but did not place either.
“We’re using this [tournament] in preparation for the national meet,” said Widolff.
Out of the final results for the women, Spencer jumped 5’2″ in the high jump, but did not place. Bare, who ran the 200m, finished with a time of 22.62 and placed seventh overall in her heat. She also ran the 400m with a time of 61.0.
Zwissler, with a performance in the javelin with a throw of 104′, placed 12th overall in the event. Zwissler also jumped 16’2″ in the long jump, which is close to her best of 16’4″ for the year, according to Widolff. Zwissler also qualified in the provisional for nationals for her distance of 36’11 1/2″ in the triple jump.
“[The participants] flew up, and stayed over night. It was a good experience for them in the preparation of nationals,” said Widolff.
He said there are two ways for participants to qualify for nationals. The first is that they make certain time or distance standards which instantly qualifies them for the event at nationals. The second way is for participants to qualify for provisional, which may give them a chance to go to nationals.
So far, the University of La Verne has provisionally qualified for nationals in several events—Zwissler in the triple jump, Spencer in the high jump, Rice in the 200m and the men’s 4x100m relay team which consists of juniors Anthony Hayes, Jason Neal, Wilson and Rice.
