Over the weekend, Arizona track and field sent its distance and throwing teams to Walnut, Calif., to compete in the Mt. SAC Relays, and its sprint team to Louisiana State University for the LSU Alumni Gold Classic.
In California, Collins Kibet placed in fourth in the “A” section of the 800-meter run at the Mt. SAC Relays, running the second best time of his career with a time of 1:47.23.
Collins Kibet, who also competed in the 1500-meter run, said he thought his 800-meter race went pretty well, but also said he still thinks he improved and can do better in events going forward.
In the 5K run, Collins Kibet’s sister, Elvin Kibet, set a new school record and a new personal record, finishing in 15:36.08. She finished fourth overall in the event and had the best time amongst all the collegiate competitors. Her time was also the fourth fastest in the country this year.
In the discus throw competition, Gerhard de Beer tossed a mark of 58.95 meters, a personal record and the 10th best mark in the country this year. Molly Callahan ran the 3000-meter steeplechase for the first time in over two years, and she was able to clock a mark of 10:49.87, the eighth-best time in the UA’s history.
When evaluating his team’s performance at LSU on Saturday, Arizona coach Fred Harvey said he felt his team could have done better.
“I thought we had an average meet with some standout performances,” Harvey said in an Arizona Athletics video.
Of the standout performances, Harvey said Tatum Waggoner stood out the most. In the “B” section of the 400-meter dash, Waggoner placed in third with a time of 54.09, beating her previous time by a second-and-a-half, Harvey said in a press release.
Waggoner had already set personal records in the 200-meter race, Harvey said, but she was struggling in the 400-meter dash until her breakout performance on Saturday.
“She’s the most complex athlete I’ve ever had the chance to be around,” Harvey said.
Other standout performances included the men’s 4×400 relay team consisting of Blake Eichler, Bryce Houston, Pete Lauderdale II and Miles Parish. They placed in second with a 3:07.04 time, and they set the second-best 4×400 time in UA history.
The women’s 4×400 relay team took sixth and featured Waggoner, Jasper Gray, Katelin Warren and Gia Trevisan, running a time of 3:44.08.
In the women’s long jump, Aleah Hurst finished in third place and set a personal best mark of 6.02 meters, and Harvey said he believes she can improve on that mark even more if she gains more confidence in herself.
Parish ran a time of 52.10 in the 400-meter hurdles and finished in third, and Harvey said he was very satisfied with his performance in that event.
This coming weekend, the Wildcats will again split up their squad, with some athletes going to the Drake Relays in Des Moines, Iowa, and others competing in the Triton Invitational in La Jolla, Calif.
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