Track and field’s strong weekend includes national-best scores
Sophomore Alyssa Wilson recorded another event win in the shot put at the Beach Invitational. Wilson logged a personal record of 18.02 meters and is now tied for No. 1 nationally. (Andy Bao/Daily Bruin)
By Peter Frederick
April 21, 2019 9:38 p.m.
UCLA track and field brought home over 10 top-five finishes across three meets this weekend.
The Bruins competed in the Bryan Clay Invitational & Multi Events in Azusa, California, the Beach Invitational in Long Beach, California, and the Mt. SAC Relays in Torrance, California, from Wednesday through Saturday.
Bryan Clay Invitational & Multi Events
As the Bruins’ only competitor in Azusa, redshirt junior Christina Chenault made her season debut in the heptathlon and recorded 5,585 points to take the No. 10 spot on UCLA’s outdoor’s all-time list.
The mark is Chenault’s career-best and was her first heptathlon competition since the 2018 Pac-12 championships, at which she finished eighth. Chenault was in first place at the end of Wednesday’s competitions and never relinquished her lead en route to her win Thursday.
Mt. SAC Relays
Senior thrower Justin Stafford recorded a personal record of 67.74 meters to win the men’s hammer throw and move into the No. 4 spot on UCLA outdoor’s all-time top-10 list. Sophomore thrower Alyssa Wilson earned third place in the women’s hammer throw with a throw 68.29 meters. Senior distance runner Taylor Taite finished third in the women’s 3,000-meter steeple to record the ninth-fastest time in UCLA history.
Senior distance runner Robert Brandt recorded a career-best mark in the men’s 5K with a time of 13 minutes, 36.18 seconds to post the No. 3 mark in UCLA history Friday. Sophomore long jumper Matthew DeRoos placed third with a mark of 7.24 meters.
Freshman distance runner DJ Lawson ran his first collegiate 1,500-meter and finished fifth with a time of 3:50.58. Sophomore distance runner Lilly Schmidt finished fifth in the women’s 1,500-meter with a time of 4:35.88.
On Saturday, the men’s 4×100 relay finished fourth with a combined time of 39.85. Junior long jumper Harrison Schrage finished fourth with a leap of 7.53 meters.
Beach Invitational
In Thursday’s action, redshirt senior thrower Dotun Ogundeji finished fourth in the men’s discus with a mark of 55.33 meters, while senior pole vaulter Michael Fancey finished fifth with a career-best mark of 5.21 meters.
The finish elevated Fancey to the 38th-ranked spot nationally. The top 48 marks will earn berths to the national championships.
Stafford recorded a career-best mark 68.57 meters in the men’s hammer throw to move into the No. 3 all-time spot in UCLA’s history Friday. Stafford is now ranked 14th in the nation. Wilson recorded her fourth event win of the season in the women’s hammer throw with a mark of 68.56 meters.
On Saturday, Wilson recorded another event win in the shot put with a personal record of 18.02 meters. Wilson and Iowa’s Laulauga Tausaga tied for first in Long Beach and the two are now tied for the No. 1 spot nationally.
The Bruins’ next meet is against USC on Sunday.
