Field contestants Amanda Spear and Leon Gillis were among the UCSB athletes providing highlights at Friday’s four-team Challenge Cup at Pauley Track, as the Gauchos hosted Long Beach State, Cal State Fullerton and UC Irvine.
Spear finished first in the women’s hammer throw and discus while placing second in the shot put. She won the discus with a throw of 48.52 meters and secured a PR in the hammer with 54.76 meters.
Gillis won the men’s pole vault with a jump of 6-feet, nine inches — four inches higher than the second-place finisher.
Long Beach State won both the men’s and women’s competitions, while the UCSB finished second and the men third.
Other notable Gauchos performances:
Women
Malia Benson and Kendall Martin finished one-two in the javelin, Benson with a throw of 46.78 meters while Martin followed close behind with a throw of 45.22 meters.
Madeline Franco won in the 1500 meter run with a personal-best time of 4:38.36, a new personal best.
Paige Damron topped the 400 hurdles with a time of 1:01.49.
Ashling Carr won the 3000 meters, finished in 10:29.34, six second ahead of the runner up.
Men
Chase Tarr won the javelin with a throw of 64.35 meters, beating the second-place finisher by six meters.
Eitan Goore topped his own PR in the pole vault that also moved him up to third in the UCSB all-time record book as he hit a mark of 5.06 meters for a second-place finish.
Brandon Cobian won the 3000 run with a PR of 8:37.42.
Tyler Holl helped the Gaucho cause with second place in the 110 hurdles and 400 hurdles. His 110 hurdle time of 14.41 was a PR.
Holl was also a member of the 4×400-meter relay team that locked down first place in that event, running with teammates Deonne McCrary, Justin Fong and Brendan Fong with a time of 3:14.48.
The Gauchos will have a quick turnaround they head to the Mt. SAC Relays in Walnut, while other members of the team compete at the Bryan Clay Invite in Azusa, California. These meets will begin as early as Wednesday.