Collins Kibet
Courtesy: Arizona Athletics
Des Moines, Iowa – The University of Arizona Wildcat men’s and women’s track and field team wrapped up competition at the Drake Relays and the Triton Invitational on Saturday. The Drake Relays took place in Des Moines, Iowa while the Triton Invitational was in San Diego, Calif. The former Wildcats competing on Saturday stole the show, including two top-five marks in the world.
“I thought we did really well out here, In terms of all the relays,” Harvey said. “It’s a different experience for them to be part of a huge relay carnival like the Drake Relays. Their experience here was invaluable for their development. Getting to the final for both 4x400-meter relay teams was huge. Dealing with the elements like the rain and cold weather was also good. Yes, we had expectations for the 4x400-meter relay teams to run faster but I think getting the to the final and the experience they had will be big for the future.”
Former Wildcat All-American and current volunteer assistant coach Georganne Moline competed at the Drake Relays in one of the premier events. Moline, representing Nike, earned a runner-up finish in the “Beijing World Championships Preview” with a time of 55.74. Moline had the lead after the final hurdle but Cassandra Tate edged her out at the end to clock a winning time of 55.68. Her time ranks fifth in the world on the year and it was her first time competing in the event this season. That also meets the IAAF 2015 World Championships “A” Standard.
“I really was happy,” head coach Fred Harvey, Moline’s personal coach as well, said. “She’s really fit right now and she just needed to get a good opening race in. To be able to do that at the Drake Relays is really awesome for her. I’m greedy but for it to be the opening race and knowing Georganne, for her first race, she just wanted to get a good race in. She wanted to finish the race and do some things well, which she did. Now that she’s got one under her belt and with how fit she is, don’t be surprised if the next race she drops her time significantly.”
Fellow volunteer assistant coach Jill Camarena-Williams (Woodland HS; Stanford) also made her season debut at the Triton Invitational on Saturday. Camarena-Williams earned a runner-up finish in the women’s shot put with a toss of 60-8.5 (18.50m). That mark is fifth in the world on the year and meets the IAAF 2015 World Championships “A” Standard. For the men’s shot put invitational section, sophomore Aaron Castle took 10th place with a toss of 60-4.5 (18.40m). Sophomore Gerhard de Beer had a toss of 182-1 (55.50m) in the discus.
UA alumna Shapri Romero, now a volunteer assistant coach, competed at the Penn Relays for Team USA in the women’s 4x400-meter relays. The team earned a runner-up finish with a time of 3:28.42, finishing behind Jamaica at 3:26.58. Romero, the second leg, clocked the fastest split among the four athletes, running 400 meters in a time of 50.8.
In the final of the men’s 4x400-meter relay, the Wildcats took eighth place overall. Junior Blake Eichler, senior Pete Lauderdale II, sophomore Bryce Houston and sophomore Miles Parish clocked a time of 3:10.32. For the women’s side, the quartet of freshman Tatum Waggoner, junior Gia Trevisan, freshman Diana Gajda and junior Nnenya Hailey took seventh place in the final of the women’s 4x400-meter relay with a time of 3:42.51.
The UA men in the sprint medley relay clocked a time of 3:20.02. Eichler, Lauderdale, Parish and sophomore Collins Kibet took first place in heat one and third place overall. For Arizona’s sprint medley relay team on the women's side, sophomore Jasper Gray, Waggoner, Trevisan and freshman Katelin Warren take 17th place with a time of 4:01.34. The legs in the sprint medley were 200 meters, 200 meters, 400 meters and then 800 meters.
“I thought the sprint medley teams did a great job,” Harvey said. “Those are some very positive things for us going forward.”
Senior Sam Macaluso clocked a time of 3:46.37 in the 1,500-meter race, good for fourth place overall and the No. 3 time of his career. The women’s distance medley relay posted a time of 11:36.39 and took 10th place overall. Junior Hanna Peterson (1,200 meters), junior Morgan Struble (400 meters), freshman Claire Green (800 meters) & junior Kate Penney (mile) represented the Wildcats.
“Sam Macaluso was really competitive and looked strong the whole way,” Harvey said.”
For continued coverage of Arizona track and field, visit ArizonaWildcats.com and follow @ArizonaTrack on Twitter.
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