Freshmen Alison Sharp and Isaac Hayes each earned two wins in the retro-themed track and field meet between Westmont and visiting George Fox (Ore.) on Wednesday. Sharp picked up wins in the women’s shot put (36-11) and the discus (114-2) and placed second in the hammer throw (101-06). Hayes won the men’s 100-yard dash (10.2) and the 220-yard dash (23.1).
Westmont men won the dual meet, 87-76, while Westmont women fell to George Fox, 90.5-75.5.
The event marked the final meet on Westmont’s crushed brick and clay track and was celebrated by both teams with clothes and music from the 1960s and ‘70s. Long, bright-colored socks, afros and pony tails added to the festive occasion as well as a collection of vintage uniforms. Nearly all events were conducted in inches, feet and yards as they were “back in The Day.”
Westmont will be installing a new all-weather track later this year as part of its new track and field/soccer complex. The current track was built in the early 1960s by former Westmont coach Jim Klein. In an e-mail to supporters, current head coach Russell Smelley acknowledged some sentimentality about the transition to a new track.
“May I confess that I enjoy working on the track,” Smelley wrote. “There will be work to be done on our future all-weather facility, but there is some romance in working the crushed brick and clay surface, with a dose of silt and sand, to the right consistency, trying to keep the surface level and laying down the lane lines.
“It is an old craft that has passed its days but it still feels good to get dusty and dirty in the process. What a pleasure it is to have such an enduring facility with decades of good memories of competitions past. The world’s most beautiful classroom, the Westmont track, was dressed up nicely for competition today and my heart was glad to be a part of the history. Both teams honored its venerable history with an outstanding track & field meet.”
Among those who paid tribute to the track with her performance was freshman Katie Friztke, who won the mile in a time of 5:30.4. She also placed third in the 880 yards with a time of 2:33.5. Sophomore Christa Juell won the two-mile race, posting a time of 12:41.4. Sophomore Kasey Kearin jumped 16-feet-7.25-inches to win the long jump competition. In the only event conducted in meters, senior Lorin Millota placed first in the 100-meter hurdles with a time of 15.8.
On the men’s side, junior Andrew Dixon won the mile race in 4:27.3 with senior Robby Cherry finishing second in 4:28.6 and Jacob Goodin taking third in 4:29.5. The two-mile run was won by sophomore Sean Adams in 10:09.7. Senior Ryan Kraft ran the 440 yards in 53.6 to place first for the Warriors while Goodin earned a first-place finish in the 880 yards with a time of 2:04.4.
In field events, freshman Anthony Campbell posted a mark of 38-feet-5-inches in the triple jump to claim first place and Chris Targoni, a junior from Carpinteria High, won the shot put with a throw of 43-feet-11-inches.
After the meet, both teams ate together in the Kerr Student Center, watched a slide show of former track meets and heard stories from former Warrior stars John DeBois and Dennis Savage.
Ron Smith is Westmont College‘s sports information director.