Sierra Dasher
Staff Writer
The men’s and women’s track and field teams competed Saturday at the 19th annual Rossi Relays at the Burns Track and Field Complex, hosted by Claremont-Mudd-Scripps.
The women took second in the pole-vaulting event, while the men came in third for the high jump.
“The season so far has been really good,” sophomore jumper Arthur Hinojosa said.
“Over the course of the meets, people have figured out what they have needed to work on, in order to become better in the long run,” he said.
Sophomore pole vaulter Taylor Schulze and senior pole vaulter Taylor Bernhard both tied for second place in the pole vault event.
Both came in with a height of 3.20 meters.
“I am just coming off of an injury and I’m really excited and hoping to do a lot better than I did last year,” Schulze said.
Freshman jumper Catalina Lee Kim came in fourth place out of 32 competitors for the long jump at a height of 4.91 meters.
Junior jumper Angelyn Caldwell placed sixth in the high jump at 1.47 meters.
“I think every season is an opportunity to get better, regardless of where you have been in the past,” Caldwell said.
“It is important to try your best and to compete for yourself and not the people around you,” she said.
Graduate high jumper and sprinter James Francis placed third in the high jump, with 1.83 meters.
Francis also placed ninth in the long jump with 5.99 meters.
“Personally, I can work on little things to improve technique. It really comes down to who has the best technique,” Hinojosa said.
Hinojosa came in 11th place in the long jump, with a jump of 5.82 meters.
In the throwing events, sophomore thrower Jaclyn Castleberry took fourth place in the discus, reaching 34.21 meters.
She also placed sixth in the shot put event, with a distance of 10.09 meters.
Senior thrower Christiana Coughlin came in fourth place in the javelin throw.
She reached a distance of 34.73 meters.
In the shot put event, sophomore thrower Chris Gura reached a distance of 13.09 meters, taking fourth place in the shot put.
Gura also placed fourth in the hammer throw, with a distance of 43.99 meters.
In the running events, sophomore sprinter Tiahna Gillon came in fifth place in the 100-meter dash, with a time of 12.48 seconds.
Sophomore runner Kimberly Kabluyen followed behind her and finished 10th, with a time of 12.89 seconds.
Junior sprinter Nick Gonsalves, who did well last season, came back and took third place out of 40 competitors in the 100-meter dash, with a time of 10.98 seconds.
Gonsalves finished first among other runners from non-Division I schools, also behind USC runners.
The men’s 4×400 meter team placed fourth, with a time of 3:27:03.
“I think we have a pretty strong team, and everyday we are showing more and more talent and practice,” graduate assistant Jared Manke said.
“We are trying some different athletes in different events, and it’s showing a lot of promise and people are putting in a lot of effort,” he said.
The track and field teams will be back in action Saturday as they host the first Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Multi-Dual meet starting at 11 a.m. at Ortmayer Stadium and the Campus West Multipurpose Field.
Sierra Dasher can be reached at sierra.dasher@laverne.edu.
Sierra Dasher
