Pepperdine University
RCC/UCR/CSF
Three Track Records Fall in Riverside
3/4/2017 12:00:00 AM | Track
RIVERSIDE, California " Three school records, five first-place finishes and a host of personal bests highlighted the Pepperdine men's and women's track teams' participation in a four-team meet hosted by Riverside City College and also including UC Riverside and Cal State Fullerton on Saturday.
"It was a wonderful day with perfect conditions and outstanding performances," Pepperdine Coach Robert Radnoti said. "It was a great day for Pepperdine, probably the best meet we've ever had for our combined men's and women's programs. And the men had 14 competitors to meet the team minimum for the first time ever."
Senior Izzy Connell (Campbell, Calif./The Harker School) lowered her own mark in the women's 100 meters, freshman Talya Holenstein (Portland, Ore./La Salle Catholic College Prep broke Connell's record in the 400 meters and the women's 4x100 posted a record time.
Connell turned in first-place finishes in both the 100 and 200. She already had the school record but broke 12 seconds for the first time and won with a time of 11.95 seconds. She ran 24.67 in the 200.
Senior Gabrielle Ellis (Gilbert, Ariz./Highland HS) also had notable performances with PRs in those two events, 12.22 seconds for third place in the 100 (#2 all-time at Pepperdine) and 25.65 for fifth place in the 200 (#3 all-time at Pepperdine).
Connell set the 400-meter record last year in 57.06 seconds, but Holenstein established a new mark in 56.55 seconds with a second-place finish.
Other top-five finishes on the women's side included: freshman Samantha Maness (Raleigh, N.C./Broughton HS) second in the 3,000 meters, sophomore Catie Barilla (Alta Loma, Calif./Los Osos HS) second in the 400 hurdles, freshman Izabela Garcia-Arce (Bonita, Calif./Bonita Vista HS) third in the 800, freshman Bri Wilson (Murrieta, Calif./Linfield Christian School) fourth in the 800, freshman Cori Persinger (Lee's Summit, Mo./Lee's Summit West HS), fourth in the 1,500, freshman Emma Engelland (Gig Harbor, Wash./Gig Harbor HS) fourth in the 100 hurdles (15.86, #4 on Pepperdine's all-time list), freshman Lupita Perez (Fillmore, Calif./Fillmore HS) fifth in the 1,500 and freshman Tatum Rask (Highlands Ranch, Colo./ThunderRidge HS) fifth in the 3,000.
The 4x100 team of Holenstein, Ellis, Barilla and Connell ran 47.60 seconds to finish in first place (breaking the record of 48.22 seconds set in 2011).
On the men's side, the Waves finished 1-2-3 in the 3,000 meters, led by senior Nick Blanchard (Portland, Conn./Portland HS) and followed by sophomore Nick Heath (Scotts Valley, Calif./Scotts Valley HS) and junior Kevin Maeda (Highland, Calif./Citrus Valley). Blanchard's time of 8:37.48 was a PR that ranks him #3 all-time at Pepperdine.
Freshman Treet Allison (Canyon, Texas/Canyon HS) won the 800 meters in a time of 1:57.24, and finished third in the 1,500 meters. His time of 4:01.44 moves him to #5 on the Waves' all-time list.
Senior Torin Wile (Beverly Hills, Mich./Brother Rice HS) was second in the 800 and senior Aric Crowell (Claremont, Calif./Claremont HS) was fourth.
Pepperdine next competes at the Ben Brown Invitational hosted by Cal State Fullerton on March 10-11.
Players Mentioned
