The Arizona track and field team picked up two victories at the Mt. SAC Relays this weekend in Walnut, Calif., with Brigetta Barrett and Georganne Moline continuing their strong senior campaigns.
Barrett added to her streak of victories by posting a mark of 6-2.25 (1.89m) in the women’s high jump, making it the 22nd-straight competition she’s won against collegiate athletes. This was only her second meet of the outdoor season.
Her mark of 6-4.25 at the Stanford Invitational on March 29 is still the best in the world.
In the 400-meter hurdles invitational section, Moline won her second-straight race at the Mt. SAC Relays with a time of 55.70. Moline also competed in the 200-meter dash and ran a personal-best time of 23.37 ( 1.0), which earned a second place finish, overall.
Her time in the 200-meter tied for 3rd-fastest in UA history.
Although other athletes fell short of victories, they did manage to set school and personal records for the UA’s No. 6 women’s team and No. 22 men’s team.
Senior Jen Bergman snagged a time of 15:52.41 in the 5,000-meter race, placing her No. 2 all-time at the UA, but No. 16 in the Mt. SAC Relays. Freshman Nicci Corbin also ran her first 5K, and set a time of 16.04.26, which was good for No. 4 in Arizona history.
“I’m really excited for [Bergman] and that’s one of the better times in the country,” said head coach Fred Harvey in a press release. “She’s excited about where she’s at, at this time. I’m really excited about one of my favorite athletes, Nicci Corbin. That’s her first time ever running a 5K on the track, that’s huge.”
In the men’s 400-meter hurdles, senior Clifton Leake took third place with a time of 51.29, the second-best time of his career. Junior Shapri Romero also took third place in the 400-meter run with a time of 52.87, which was also the second-best time of her career.
“It felt pretty awful, honestly,” Romero said in a press release. “My 52.3 race at the Jim Click Shootout felt much better. But it’s definitely a learning process and experience for me.”
Harvey said that, most importantly, this meet was designed to evaluate where each athlete was at competitively heading into the dual meet with ASU and the conference championships.
“The biggest thing for me was to see how athletes start responding to big-time, championship situations,” Harvey said in a press release. “The Mt. SAC Relays gives you a lot of indication as to where you’re going as a team, as a program and as individuals.”
The Cats will compete against in-state rivals, ASU and NAU next weekend in Tempe, Ariz.
