Track and field shine at national championships
Recently graduated Wildcat Brigetta Barrett won the USA Championship in the high jump with a personal record 6-8.25 (2.04m). Barrett now has the No. 1 in the world for the outdoor season and the jump was the second best in American history.
Another former Wildcat, Georganne Moline, finished second in the 400-meter hurdles, with her second fastest time of her career (53.88). The top three finishers at the U.S. Championships earn a spot at the World Championships in August.
At the Canadian National Championships, senior-to-be Julie Labonté won the discus with a toss of 173-3 (52.81m). She will not compete in the discus at the Worlds. She will focus on the shot put instead, where she also won with a season-best toss of 57-11 (17.65m).
Former Wildcat Zack Lloyd also punched a ticket to Russia to compete in shot put with a third place finish, throwing it 69-2.5 (21.09m). Senior-to-be Alyssa Hasslen earned a spot on Team USA with a season-best toss of 59-4.75 (18.10m), good enough for third.
Volunteer assistant coach Bernard Lagat won the men’s 5,000-meter. The 38-year-old Lagat will be making his fifth World Championships appearance.
Senior-to-be Nick Ross tied for 12th place in the men’s high jump, reaching 7-0.5 (2.15m) and sophomore-to-be Traci-Lynn Hicks finished seventh in the 100-meter hurdles at the Junior USA Championships, with a time of 14.61 (-4.2 wind).
Prince wins Oregon Amateur
Arizona women’s golf junior-to-be Kendall Prince won the 104th Oregon Amateur.
Prince lost in last year’s final, but beat high school junior Gigi Stoll on the 17th hole in the final to win the championship.
“I’d say I enter any tournament with high expectations, and obviously coming in runner-up, I knew I could make the finals,” Prince said to The Oregonian. “I had a lot of confidence coming in, and it was good to play off of that.”
Pac-12 Bowls take shape
While the college postseason is quickly changing with the College Football Playoff on its way, the Pac-12 is staying pat with its top bowls. The opponent, though, is changing to a new, but familiar, foe.
The Holiday Bowl announced it will pit the Pac-12 against the Big Ten for six years starting in 2014. The San Diego-based bowl will get the third pick from the Pac-12 to face a team from the Big Ten to be determined.
Big Ten teams cannot go to the Holiday Bowl more than twice during the six year time span. The Pac-12 is entering its 16th year of sending teams to the Holiday Bowl.
Also, the Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl will feature a Pac-12/Big Ten match-up for six years, starting in 2014. The bowl will move from the AT&T Park, home of the San Francisco Giants, to Levi’s Stadium next year, the future home of the San Francisco 49ers in Santa Clara, Calif.
The Fight Hunger Bowl will get the fourth Pac-12 team and work with the Big Ten to pick teams each year. Bowl officials said they want at least five different Big Ten teams to go to the bowl during the six years.
The Pac-12 will face the Big Ten in three of its top four bowls — the Rose, Holiday and Fight Hunger bowls.
The Hyundai Sun Bowl announced that it signed a six-year contract with the Pac-12 starting in 2014. The El Paso, Texas bowl will get the fifth Pac-12 team. The opponent, however, has still not been announced.
The Sun Bowl, which once got the third Pac-10 team, dropped from fourth this past season and the Fight Hunger Bowl moved up sixth from sixth.
So far the Pac-12’s new bowl order, starting with the 2014-15 season, is Rose Bowl, Alamo Bowl, Holiday Bowl, Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl and Hyundai Sun Bowl.
