Cal Poly/ShareSLO.com Invitational
Mustangs Win 23 Events at Cal Poly/ShareSLO.com Invitational
3/29/2014 12:00:00 AM | Track and Field
SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. — The Cal Poly track and field team won a combined 23 of the 38 events Saturday afternoon at its own Cal Poly/ShareSLO.com Invitational on campus. The Mustangs outscored three opposing squads each on the men's and women's sides.
The men won 129-32 over Cal State Bakersfield, 131-39 over Fresno State and 135-9 over Pepperdine; meanwhile the women were victorious 119-46 over the Roadrunners, 110-65 versus the Bulldogs and 122-36 against the Waves. (Team scores for UCLA, which also sent a few student-athletes to the meet, weren't kept.)
Cal Poly had two individuals win multiple events, three upperclassmen establish personal records, and four post times or marks ranking in the top 10 in school history.
Jess Rasmussen, a freshman, won the women's long jump with a mark of 19 feet, 0.5 inches, before also running to top honors in the 400 meters, at 56.64 seconds.
Walter Finney won a pair of sprints (pictured at right) in close fashion over senior teammate Jamison Jordan. The junior claimed the 100 at a personal-best 10.51 (edging Jordan's 10.54) and the 200 in 21.65 (ahead of 21.80).
Mustang senior David Williams also continued his impressive start to the season. He won the 110 hurdles at 14.17 — which bettered his PR and now ranks second in school history. (Now all that stands in front of him is Joe Siai Siai's 36-year-standing record, 13.91.)
Cal Poly also secured wins on the women's side from:
- Sophomore Mary Hillis in the 3,000 steeplechase (at 11:08.32, moving to No. 10 in school history);
- Freshman Daijah Joe-Smith in the 100 (11.78, good for fifth-best in the program's all-time records);
- Sophomore Holli Arrieta in the 1,500 (4:31.42);
- Freshman Mallory Patino in the 400 hurdles (1:04.60); and
- Sophomore Kendal Nielsen in the triple jump (39-1.25)
While UCLA senior Alexis Walker won the women's high jump at 5-11.25, Cal Poly sophomore Danielle Bryan had a PR while coming in second place, clearing 5-9.25, which is tied for No. 8 in school history.
In the women's pole vault, Cal Poly senior Clara Davis also set a PR by getting over the bar at 12-2, placing fourth amid a runway loaded with talent. (Melissa Gergel, the 2011 national champion while at Oregon, cleared 13-7.75 to win.)
The men's squad also chalked up wins from:
- Senior Chris Bet in the pole vault (at 16-6.75, a PR);
- Freshman Ivy Adair in the long jump (23-6.5);
- Freshman Danny Shellworth in the high jump (6-4.75);
- Sophomore Alex Ziebart in the javelin throw (180-5.25);
- Sophomore Nick Bultman in the shot put (50-9.75);
- Freshman Ricky Strehlow in the triple jump (49-9);
- Senior Mitch Moriarty in the 5,000 (15:16.04);
- Freshman Matt Culver in the 400 (50.40); and
- Senior John Guerrero in the 800 (1:53.41)
Several notable Mustang alumni also won events. Among the women's results, Maggie Vessey broke her own meet record while winning the 800 (at 2:06.78, ahead of a 2:09.59 from the runner-up, current Cal Poly sophomore Ashley Windsor); Sharon Day-Monroe won the shot put (47-7.5) and 100 hurdles (13.69, just one-hundredth of a second off the meet record); and Stephanie Brown Trafton won the discus throw (170-8.75).
Phillip Reid, a former All-American at Cal Poly, won the men's 1,500 in 3:52.59, edging current sophomore Nick Woolf's 3:53.69.
To view the complete results, click HERE.
On a split-squad basis, the Mustangs will return to competition next weekend at three different meets being held Friday and Saturday: the Stanford Invitational, the Cal/Nevada Championships and the San Francisco State Distance Carnival.
