Mark Acosta
Sports Editor
The men’s and women’s track and field teams wrapped up league competition at the Southern Collegiate Intercollegiate Athletic Conference championships over the weekend, finishing with multiple All-SCIAC performances.
For the men’s team competition, La Verne earned fifth place while Pomona-Pitzer won the team title.
La Verne tied for fourth place with Pomona-Pitzer in the women’s competition, with Claremont-Mudd-Scripps taking first.
On the men’s side, junior thrower T.J. Randall made the podium three times.
Randall placed first in the hammer throw with a distance of 163 feet 10 inches which was a personal record. In the discus, Randall came in second with a throw of 144 feet 6 inches, another personal record by over five feet. Randall was tops in the shot put for the second year in a row with a throw of 48 feet 9 and-a-half inches.
“I wanted to sweep the championships, I lost the discus by three inches,” Randall said. “I’m grateful for the weekend I had, I had some big marks and it was cool to end my season like that.”
Senior jumper Kyle Ambat turned in another strong performance for the Leopards. Ambat was able to find his way to the podium twice over the weekend.
Ambat took third in the long jump on Saturday. On Sunday, he also placed third in the triple jump, with a 46 feet 7 and-a-half inches.
Ambat also said that staying healthy and working on his strength in the offseason helped him get to where he is.
“Right now, I’m currently in thirtieth in the national ranks so the top 20 move on to nationals,” Ambat said. “I have two weeks of training before the next meet.”
Freshman Anthony Hamilton set a personal record in the high jump on his way to a second-place finish. Hamilton was in a tight contest with Occidental jumper Austin DeWitz. Both jumpers were able to clear 6 feet 7 and-a-half inches but scratched while trying to clear 6 feet 9 inches.
With both jumpers being tied, DeWitz earned first place because he cleared it in less attempts, giving Hamilton second.
With his performance, Hamilton has moved into fourth place all-time in the Leopards’ record book.
Hamilton was never a track athlete until this year. He came to La Verne as a basketball player but has found a home on the track team, too.
“I didn’t even know about that rule, but it is what it is,” Hamilton said. “I’m just so competitive. If I’m not winning, I’m not happy.”
La Verne women’s track added six All-SCIAC performances over the weekend.
Senior Catalina Lee Kim broke her own school record in the 110 meter hurdles with a time of 14.34, earning her second place.
Lee Kim also took third place in the triple jump.
Sophomore Jade Griffin earned second place in the 400 meter, finishing with a personal record and the seventh-best time in program history at 58.56.
Junior Melissa Cerrillos finished third in the 800 meter and second in the steeplechase.
Junior Ebony Turner took second place in the high jump.
Like Hamilton, Turner earned second after tying with Redlands’ Vanessa Blanchard with a jump of 5 feet 3 and three-quarters of an inch. Blanchard was able to clear in less attempts and took first.
In the javelin, La Verne was led by junior Cambria Serrano took home third place with a throw of 110-08.
Mark Acosta can be reached at mark.acosta@laverne.edu.
