There are few weekends off for the UC Riverside track and field team and this past weekend they competed in the Don Kirby Elite Invitational in New Mexico on Friday, Feb. 12 where the men earned two first-place and the Husky Classic in the state of Washington. In the women’s results, thrower Vesta Bell took home first place, 21.76 meters (71-4 3/4) and secured her spot for the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championship. The women’s field team was also highlighted by Deja Watkins who placed sixth, Breana Jemison, 13th, and Rachel Tice, 18th in the weight throw competition.
Women’s long jump placed 17th, 22nd and 24th. On the track for the 60m hurdles, Tayler Fleming placed 29th and Jazmine Harper was 41st. For the 60m, the Highlanders placed 29th and 78th. During the 600m, Keisha May placed 9th, for the 200m, the women’s team took home 37th, 52nd, 72nd and 75th.
For the men’s results, Ethan Van Setten took home first place for the Highlanders overall in the 600m, with a time of 1:20.06. For the weight throw competition, Silviu Bocancea placed eighth, with a 16.68m (54-8 3/4) throw. In the 60m, the best UCR could manage was 41st place with the 3,000m ending at a much better 13th place. As for the 600m, Van Setten ended up taking first place while Michael Kojin (21.47) managed to take 11th in the 200m.
During the second half of the Don Kirby Elite Invitational on Saturday, Feb. 13, Breana Jemison, 16.42 meters (53-10 1/2) finished fourth in the women’s shot put competition, with Rachel Tice following behind her in 10th place. Rachel Wiggins placed 76th for the 400m and the women’s 4x400m relay took 14th place.
For the men’s track and field events, Michael Harris placed 15th in the triple jump competition and Wesley Braddock placed 17th for shot put. The men took home 35th and 37th place for the 400m and seventh place for the 4x400m relay. UCR had two students placed in the Husky Classic with Faith Makau coming in 59th for the women’s 3,000m and Cody Jordan placing 38th for the men’s 3,000m. The Highlanders’ next competition will take place on Friday, Feb. 19 at 3 p.m. in Flagstaff, Ariz. as part of the Northern Arizona University Last Chance.
