The Gauchos kicked off the long weekend with strong performances in the multis and the distance carnival down at Azusa Pacific’s Bryan Clay Invitational. The biggest highlight of the night came down to the final race as senior Brian Schulz once again made school history, running the school’s second fastest 5K with a time of 13:55.19.
Freshman Jessica Swalve got north of the 5k-points mark in the heptathlon, scoring 5,024 points and taking eighth place in Section A. She used an excellent run of 2:19.33 in the 800m and a shot put of 12.35m to do it.
Sophomore Sofia Bailey would begin the invite with a leading mark in the shot put with a distance of 10.70m to earn fifth place overall and second in her flight. Her skill would carry over into the highly competitive 200m dash, where she would earn sixth place with a finishing time of 26.40. Bailey would take fourth place in Section C accumulating 4,465 points.
Freshman Brad Thomas had a remarkable feat in the long jump. A 6.69m mark would give him the first place standing on the podium. His performance in the shot put by his final attempt of 12.07m would secure second place for Section C. Thomas also had the third-place title in both the high jump and 400m dash with a finishing mark of 1.88m and a time of 50.31.
Seniors Schulz and Nick Randazzo ran their 5Ks in two different invitational sections. Randazzo went first, placing 12th with a 14:01.05, and Schulz capped off the night with the historic run that saw him break his PR of 13:59, which is now the fourth fastest time in the Gaucho record books.
Sierra Ransweiler finished 18th and hit a personal record Wednesday night with a 10:39.94 mark in the 3000m steeplechase, as did a pair of Gauchos on the men’s side. Matt Richardson came in with a time of 9:08.49 and Zane Golpariani crossed the line at 9:21.97.
Running the 5000m race in a time of 14.29.80, sophomore Gus Marshall would challenge his other competitors as he crossed the finish line for fourth place in a photo finish.
Sarah Chaves finished 7th in the same event with a time of 17:38.80 and Lauren Lum took fifth in a different race with a time of 17:02.21.
The Bryan Clay Invitational continues with single events tomorrow, and a group of Gauchos will also be set to compete the next two days at the Mt. SAC Relays in Walnut.
Daniel Moebus-Bowles writes about sports for UCSB.
email: sports@newspress.com
