UC Riverside’s Track and Field team had their work cut out for them this weekend, as they travelled to Seattle, Washington to participate in the MPSF (Mountain Pacific Sports Federation) Championships to face some of the best competition they’ve had all season.
Junior Kenady Jackson set the tone for the Highlanders, finishing the 200m race in 24.72 seconds — good for second-best in school history and also good for her new personal record. The time Jackson set in MPSF topped her previous personal record of 24.80 seconds.
Freshman Alonna Johnson put up an impressive time in the women’s 400 meter, finishing the competition in just 56.33 seconds, good for 13th out of 46 runners.
First-time indoor runner Julian Read also contributed to a successful weekend, finishing Friday at eighth place in the Heptathlon. Read also won his respective heat in the 60m, and logged two personal records of 6.71m and 1.89m in the high jump and long jump, respectively.
Senior Emily Sanchez also had a successful day in the 5,000 meter, coming in 12th place out of 23 runners with a time of 17:21.08.
On Saturday, junior throwers Jordan Davis and Natalie Mitchell set a new personal record in the shot put event. Davis’ throw of 16.5 meters marked the fourth-longest men’s throw in school history. Mitchell’s throw travelled a distance of 13.53 meters, good for the seventh-best women’s throw in school history.
The women’s Track and Field team showed much improvement in a star-studded event, and look to continue the success as they move to outdoor competition at the Riverside Community College Invitational Friday, March 1.
