UCLA track and field secures 3 school records at New Mexico Classic
Graduate student Katerina Adamiec clears a jump in Drake Stadium. (Daily Bruin file photo)
By Olivia Lopez
Feb. 10, 2025 4:37 p.m.
Albuquerque, New Mexico sits more than 5,000 feet above sea level.
And like the altitude, the Bruins reached new heights.
UCLA track and field set three new school records and claimed eight podium finishes at the New Mexico Collegiate Classic on Friday and Saturday.
Sophomore sprinter Taylor Snaer nabbed two of those program bests, setting top marks in the 200-meter dash and the 4×400-meter relay. Junior Naomi Johnson set a program record with a 23.02 mark in the first heat, but it was soon broken by Snaer’s 22.92 time in the second.
“Watching her run made me run great,” Snaer said. “She broke it right before me, and I didn’t realize until she came up to me. She was like, ‘I had the record for 30 seconds.’”
Senior Aly Conyers, junior Kaylen Fletcher and Johnson joined Snaer in the UCLA record books with their 4×400-meter relay. The quartet’s time of 3:28.60 is the nation’s third-best mark this year and breaks the previous school record by nearly two seconds.
On Friday, senior Sydney Johnson set a new standard for the women’s indoor pentathlon with a school-record score of 4,090 – surpassing the previous high by six points and becoming only the fifth Bruin to exceed 4,000 points. She posted an 8.66 mark in the 60-meter hurdles, 2:26 in the 800-meter run, cleared 1.73 meters in the high jump and 5.99 meters in the long jump, but finished second in the event.
“It’s really been a four-year effort,” Johnson said. “I’m pretty happy to have gotten to this point so early in the season.”
Senior Sonia Virk posted the second-best time in school history and a personal best 1:31.12 mark in the women’s 600-meter dash, placing third overall.
“The school records were big,” said coach Joanna Hayes. “I think all the personal bests were a big deal for me.”
Junior Tamaal Myers achieved his second-fastest time this year in the men’s 600-meter dash, finishing fifth with a 1:20.88 mark. Senior Bella Witt placed herself at No. 6 in UCLA history with a personal-best 8.14 seconds in the semifinal round of the 60-meter hurdle.
At 7.88 meters, junior Camryn O’Bannon’s leap landed him in third place in the men’s long jump but second in program history. Graduate student Ka’Leila Abrille cleared 4.27 meters to place second in the women’s pole vault.
UCLA will return to action Friday as the team splits between the Husky Classic in Seattle and the Tiger Paw Classic in Clemson, South Carolina.
