Photo by samsphotoservices.com
Pomona, CA – The other half of the Occidental track and field team that did not compete at the Whittier Twilight traveled to Pomona, CA on Saturday for their competition. The Tigers came out ready to go head to head against other exceptional athletes from all over the west coast.
Eliza Hawley continues to make massive strides in her performance, especially when a free T-shirt is involved. Hawley sped past both of her times in the 100m (12.76) and 200m (26.34) for new PRs, winning her heat in the 200m. Emmamarie Watkins was the next fastest Tiger in the 100m, earning a time of 13.12. The 100m also saw Rylee Cockett (14.01) and Alexa Poremba (14.32) improve their times. Poremba continued her success in the 200m (29.61) with a second PR for the day. Paige Villanueva pushed her limits in the 400m, which resulted in a two second PR (1:11.04). Nell O'Hara came out strong in her 800m and finished with a powerful kick, beating her old PR by three seconds (2:27.03). The 800m also saw Mia Ness and Grace Opetekar earn new PRs. Ness finished in 2:29.67. Grace Optekar, like Hawley, secured a free T-shirt by winning her heat of the 800m (2:30.75). In the 1500m, Mengan Cover (5:01.11), Olivia Correia (5:23.81), Maeve Mascarenhas (5:32.96), and Jillian Rosset (5:38.55) set new PRs for themselves.
On the field, Mai Lihn Wong set a new PR (4'11"), which placed her fourth overall in the women's high jump. Gabriella Knutsen finished in seventh in the discus throw with 110'1". Michelle Lagunas-Monroy took ninth in the javelin with 102'11".
On the men's side, Tobias Searcy-Jorgensen PR'd in the 400m by pushing himself to the finish line and finishing in 52.46. In the 800m, Chase Miller (2:05.14) and Josh Abeyta (2:08.4) finished in the top half of their sections, as well as set new PRs for themselves. Jacob Torres PR'd with 54.03 in the 400m hurdles, finishing in first in his heat and overall second in the competition.
Renn Stearns continues to amaze everyone in the 3K steeple. Stearns found himself in first place overall with a nine second PR (9:30.03). In the long jump, Duncan Ellis finished in eighth place with 20'1", just over a foot shy of his PR. Nico Morales has been consistent in the javelin and had a seventh place finish with a throw of 134'.
On Saturday, April 15, the Tigers will compete in their final multi-dual of the 2023 season and will be scoring against the remaining four SCIAC schools: Pomona-Pitzer, Chapman, Cal Lutheran, and Redlands.
