The UCR track and field team bid adieu to the regular season as student athletes participated in three meets over the weekend, including the CSUN Challenge, the Adidas/Steve Scott Invitational and the Payton Jordan Invitational.
Justin Parker won the men’s 400-meter run at the CSUN Challenge with a time of 46.87, which was the second-best mark for a UCR athlete. In the triple jump, Craig Mauldin hopped his way to first place with a 15.13m performance while teammate Michael Harris won the long jump (6.88m). Former Big West Conference Player of the Week Michael Koger’s time of 52.11 secured a win in the 400 hurdles.
On the women’s side, Breana Jemison (shot put), Amber Wright (400) and Camille Deadwiler (100) all earned first-place finishes for UCR. Weslie Totten’s time of 4:49.31 in the 1500 was good for second place. Asha Giles and Wright recorded personal bests in the 200, finishing in second (24.20) and fourth (24.53) place.
5000 runners Christina Shamirian (18:30.24), Aaron Nguyen (14:59.60) and Nicholas Beechan (15:23.86) were the lone Highlander representatives at the Adidas/Steve Scott Invitational, finishing in 21st, 20th and 30th place, respectively.
Raquel Hefflin led the way for UCR at the Payton Jordan Invitational, finishing in eighth place (4:21.23) in the third section of the 1500 followed by Faith Makau (4:25.07) in 12th. Cody Jordan (3:48.12) and Seth Totten (3:51.09) competed on the men’s side, finishing in ninth and 10th place in their sections, respectively.
UC Riverside will now prepare to host the Big West Championships, which are set to begin May 8.