La Verne, CA – The Occidental track and field team ended their regular season by shocking many with their performances. Day 2 of the SCIAC championships consisted of finals for all of the remaining events. The Tigers rose to the occasion to score as many points as possible to end their 2023 season strong.
The day started off strong with Ainsley Shelsta and Chelsea Groves earning new PRs in discus (22.94m and 31.03m, respectively). Groves' mark was a big PR as it crossed over the 100 foot line. Gabriella Knutsen earned some points for the Tigers by placing 8th overall in discus with a throw of 33.17m. Additionally, Knutsen earned herself a silver medal in shot put with an 11.82m PR. Knutsen furthered her sixth All Time Oxy mark in the shot which she had previously earned while at a meet in Arizona this season. Shelsta and Groves also set new PRs in shot (9.05m and 9.44m, respectively).
In high jump, Bridget Ferguson's 1.47m jump earned her sixth overall to add more points to the Tigers' score. The women's 4x1 team consisting of Wong, Candelieri, Watkins, and Hawley earned a new PR of 49.99, which landed them sixth in the conference. Eliza Hawley gave the 400m her all, earning a new PR (58.00) and a well-deserved silver medal, which also places her in the eighth All Time Oxy spot. Jenna Lenay fought her way into fourth overall in the women's 5K. Emily Dolida qualified for the triple jump finals during her preliminary trials, which landed her eighth in SCIAC with a PR of 10.50m. To end the night on a high note, the women's 4x4 consisting of Akasaki, Candelieri, Poremba, and Hawley, earned themselves a new PR of 4:08.19.
It was an exciting last 100m of the men's 4x1 where the times differed by hundredths of seconds. Oxy's 4x1 team consisting of Haliburton, Goodman, Fong, and Spencer, earned themselves a new PR that placed them fifth overall. In the 110m hurdles, Jacob Torres and Tye Hernandez found themselves smashing the PRs that they had just set the day before (15.39 and 15.56, respectively). In addition to this outstanding performance by the two hurdlers, both, along with their teammate Jonah Magill, also had massive PRs in the 400m hurdles (51.90 for Torres, 54.20 for Hernandez, and 54.36 for Magill), which placed Torres in first and Hernandez in third. Now, not only is Torres SCIAC's 400m hurdles champion, he is also the SCIAC 400m hurdles record-holder and No. 1 400m hurdler in the nation for Division 3. Hernandez was also awarded the 2023 Dixon Farmer award.
In the 100m dash, Chris Haliburton ended his junior season the fifth fastest 100m sprinter in SCIAC with 10.87. Nick Leon earned a new lifetime best in the 400m (49.62), placing him 5th in the conference. Baruch Goodman followed Leon in sixth overall (49.78). Matthew Vickers ran an outstanding 800m race, PR'ing (1:53.02), which placed him fourth overall. Duncan Ellis had a great performance in triple jump which earned him a new PR of 12.21m. In the 5K, Amir Barkan ran 14:51.64 and earned sixth overall. Lastly, the 4x4 team consisting of Magill, Baruch, Torres, and Leon, earned a new PR of 3:20.54, which landed them fifth in SCIAC. Evan Leiber set a new two foot PR in the discus throw (23.88).
Both teams finished in sixth place overall. The men's team earned 61 points and the women's team earned 49.
All Time Oxy Updates:
Ciara Gillen: 3K Steeplechase, 7th All Time Oxy
Eliza Hawley: 400m, 8th All Time Oxy
Gabriella Knutsen: Shot Put, 6th All Time Oxy
Jenna LeNay: 10K, 3rd All Time Oxy
Jacob Torres: 400H, 6th All Time Oxy
The Tigers will be hosting the annual Oxy Invite on Saturday, May 6 at home. This meet begins the Tigers' postseason journey.
