by Landus Rigsby
Staff Writer
Claremont College was the site of a Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) Dual Meet as the University of La Verne made their presence known against conference rivals Claremont, Occidental and Redlands.
“I’m excited about the team’s performance,” said head coach Pat Widolff. “Everybody did good. With about 50 people, you would think a few would mess up, but everyone was exceptional.”
Junior Stan Marwin started out La Verne’s terrific day by posting first in the men’s 110m high hurdles with a 15.00 time. Junior Katrina Hall and freshman Maria Garcia finished in the top five in the women’s 100m low hurdles. Hall broke through first in 15.50 and Garcia finished in fourth at 17.33.
Senior Rosa Sanchez and sophomore Lynn Merril represented the Leopards well in the women’s 1,500m. Sanchez came in fifth with a 5:02.34 time, and Merril placed sixth at 5:29.48.
The 4x100m relays also went well for the Leopards. The men finished first with a 41.71 time, almost two seconds before Occidental came through at 43.14. The women’s team finished second behind Occidental at 50.55.
Led by sophomore Ordell Williams and junior Stephanie Castillo, La Verne proved that the 400m was its event, as they both posted first place. Williams ran 49.02 for the men while Castillo finished at 58.61 for the women.
La Verne and Claremont battled fiercely against each other in the 100m event.
In the men’s dash, senior Anthony Rice barreled through the finish line, placing first at 10.73, only one-tenth of a second in front of Claremont’s Brett Comfort. Senior Liron Wilson came in third for the Leopards at 10.99.
The women enjoyed just as much success as the men’s team, as senior Stacey Williams led the way for ULV, finishing second in the women’s 100m at 12.89, behind Indira Odamtten of Claremont. Freshman Allison Moore placed fifth at 13.46.
The 800m run was dominated by the Occidental Tigers, but three Leopards stood out in the event. For the men, Henry Hernandez finished eighth at 2:08.26. Freshman Michelle Ballard led the women’s competition, finishing fifth with a 2:27.08 time, and senior teammate Jennifer Zwissler also placed seventh at 2:28.60.
ULV took control of the 400m hurdle races, with Marwin and freshman Maxine Mitchell topping their competition. Marvin blew through the hurdles, finishing first at 58.65, the closest contender was five seconds behind. Mitchell led the women’s team posting first in 1:09.33.
La Verne continued its attack into the 200m dash with Wilson finishing first for the men and Castillo placing first for the women. Wilson’s time was 22.00 and Castillo’s was 26.09. Ordell Williams placed third in the men’s race, and Wallace and Willis nabbed fourth and fifth in the women’s race.
“The team did very good. We’re better at this point in this season than we were at this point last year,” said Wilson.
Claremont also dominated the women’s 3000m, taking first and second place, but Sanchez for the Leopards placed fourth at 11:11.13. In the women’s 4x400m relay, La Verne finished first at 4:06.18.
Leopard sophomore Eboni White had a record setting day in La Verne’s women competition, breaking the discus record with a 40.16m throw. White also placed sixth in the hammer throw event, with a throw of 33.28m.
In the women’s shot put, senior Socorro Gonzalez led all with a 12.25m toss. Freshman Rhiannon Jensen placed second, tossing 11.66m while White placed fifth for the Leopards.
ULV was effective in the jumping events. Senior Carl Caston finished second in the long jump behind Tim Bias of Redlands at 21’04.75″. For the women, Stacey Williams posted first with a 17’11” jump while Hall, Zwissler and Moore held the third, fourth and fifth spots, respectively.
Caston led ULV in the men’s triple jump, placing first with a 43’4.5″ leap while Hall led all women with a 37’6.75″ leap of faith, while Zwissler and Moore placed second and fourth. Stacey Williams and Hall finished first and second in their high jump event.
In the javelin competition, Michael P. Bailey, Caston and Jose Davila held the second to fourth slots, while in women’s competition, Gonzalez placed first, throwing 130’8″. Zwissler placed second.
“We’ve improved. The performances have improved a lot since the start of the year,” said Widolff. “The conference championship is in six weeks and we hope to be the conference champs.”
ULV currently has 11 athletes who have qualified for conference championship. For the men, Wilson, Anthony Hayes, junior Terrell Davis, Bailey and senior Jason Neal will see conference championship competition. The women qualifiers are Hall, Castillo, Zwissler and Stacey Williams.
Look for more ULV qualifiers when the Leopards host the ULV Invitational at Ortmayer Stadium Saturday, March 22, at 11 a.m.
