It may have been a chilly night on Saturday at Drachman Stadium, but the track was on fire from the heated competition, as Arizona hosted a double dual meet against in-state rivals ASU and NAU.
Arizona’s women’s team had not beaten ASU in nine years, but on Saturday, Arizona put an end to that, beating the Sun Devils 107-93 and NAU 129-56.
Junior LaTisha Holden set a new personal record of 13.34 in the women’s 100-meter hurdles and helped the women’s 4x100m set a personal record of 45.35.
“”I finally got a PR, I got out of my stump. I’m finally back to where I need to be,”” Holden said. “”I’m going to run faster, but as of now, I feel good.””
Freshman Julie Labonte continued her streak in the women’s shot put by winning with a throw of 55 feet, 1/4 inches.
Labonte led the four-person sweep of the women’s shot put, with Alyssa Hasslen coming in second with 48 feet, 4 inches, Omotayo Talabi in third with a new personal best of 47 feet 1/4 inches and Kelsey Jessup taking fourth with 46 feet, 6 inches.
Hasslen and Labonte also took first and second, respectively, in the women’s discus.
The most suspenseful race of the day was the women’s 4×400-meter. Christina Rodgers, Echos Blevins, Deanna Sullivan and Georganne Moline may have come in second to ASU, but they made ASU fight for the win. They ended up finishing five hundredths of a second behind ASU with a time of 3:36.52.
Moline had posted a personal record earlier in the women’s 400-meter hurdles with a time of 58.19.
“”I felt amazing, I really prepared my body well for it,”” Moline said. “”I’m really happy about my race, especially since I beat ASU.””
Rogers also had an 800m race that she dominated earlier. She finished with a time of 2:08.54 and a 50-meter lead on her competitors.
“”I thought I was running faster than I was, until I heard the split times,”” Rodgers said. “”I felt strong, but I have to get better at running when I’m not getting pressed.””
Some other top performers for the women’s team was Taylor Bush, who won the women’s hammer throw with a throw of 180 feet 2 inches.
Asia Easley and Leigh Bernstein took first and second in the women’s javelin with throws of 153 feet, 8 inches and 144 feet, 1 inch, respectively.
Men fall to ASU, top Lumberjacks
The men’s team had a little bit more of a challenge with ASU. They ended up losing to ASU 115-85 and beating NAU 115-86.
Brian MacArthur posted the first win of the night for Arizona in the men’s 3000m steeplechase with a time of 9:27.19.
The men’s 4×100-meter then followed suit with a time of 41.33. On the relay team was junior Travis Cobb. This was his first home meet and only his second meet.
“”We had some good hand-offs, but today was only our second time running it (4x100m).”” Cobb said. “”We did good today, but I know we can do better.””
Cobb also ran the 100-meter and came in fourth with a time of 10.83.
Other top runners for the men were redshirt sophomore Abdi Hassan, who won the men’s 1500m with a time of 3:48.47.
Freshman Jake Harris won the men’s 110-meter hurdles with a time of 15.14, and his teammate, Chris McGovern, came in second with a time of 15.48.
Mohamud Ige won the men’s 3000-meter with a time of 8:34.54
At the end of the day, 24 Wildcats — 11 men and 13 women — had set new personal records.
“”It was a great meet for us,”” said head coach Fred Harvey. “”We had a tough time beating ASU on the men’s side, but the women showed that they’re much improved. We had a good opportunity to beat them (ASU) and the ladies really stepped up.””
