Run down Men's 1,500-meter: Michael Wickman, first place, 3:49.61 Women's 1,500 meter: Kayla Silva, third place, 4:38.43 Women's 5,000-meter: Sarah Montez, first place, 17:11.67
In a relatively quiet weekend for the men's and women's track and field teams, three team members looked to improve their national marks by competing in the Oregon Relays on Friday in Eugene, Ore.
Michael Wickman, Sarah Montez and Kayla Silva swept through the competition to lock in notable marks in their distance events.
Wickman, running unattached in the men's 1,500-meter run, finished first of eight runners with a time of 3 minutes, 49.61 seconds, just 10 milliseconds faster than the second-place finisher from Arizona State. Silva finished third of 19 in the women's 1,500-meter race with a time of 4:38.43 and Montez won the women's 5,000-meter run, beating 26 runners with a time of 17:11.67.
The Wildcats sent only runners who needed to improve their national provisional marks in order to better seed them at the NCAA National Championships on May 22. The team originally planned on attending the Brutus Hamilton Invitational in Berkeley.
"We had initially intended to go the Brutus, but we felt that it was not a necessity and it was also a fairly expensive meet to register for," said men's head coach Kirk Freitas. "The Brutus was there to provide an opportunity for athletes who were on the bubble of qualifying for nationals."
Looking ahead to the California Collegiate Athletic Association Championships from Thursday to Saturday, Freitas said he's confident in the Wildcats' talent but admits anything could happen with the final results.
"This is a much different sport than others," he said. "I expect that we are going to perform to the best of our capabilities, and that is all I can ask."
Freitas also knows the championships are the most pivotal weekend for the team and hopes the regular season has prepared his runners for the event, he said.
"Our next meet as a team is a championship," Freitas said. "We are going to see Cal State L.A. and find out who is going to be the best team in the conference. You train for the championships so that everybody on the team can have an impact on the results."
Senior Aisha Kamala understands the importance of the CCAA Championships, especially for the women's team, she said.
"The CCAA meet next weekend is really important because the women have not won since 2004 and we believe we are good enough to win it this year."
Kamala will be racing in the 10-kilometer run Friday and possibly the 5,000-meter race Saturday.
"I injured my (thigh) about a month ago so my season most likely won't turn out the way I hoped," Kamala said. "But I raced the (5,000-meter run) last weekend for the first time under 18 minutes, and it felt pretty good."
The men's team suffered a major blow last week as All-American Tim Tollefson came down with mononucleosis, which may keep him out for two to three weeks, he said.
"It looks like I probably won't run in the CCAAs," Tollefson said. "It hit me pretty hard, and I'm really fatigued."
As if mononucleosis was not bad enough, he also came down with strep throat, he said. The combination of both viruses has affected his health.
"Mono requires me to get a lot of sleep, but pain, along with the medicine I am taking for strep throat, is keeping me awake," he said.
The 'Cats travel to Los Angeles for the CCAA Championships on Thursday and compete through Saturday.
Jay Hite can be reached at jhite@theorion.com
Related links Oregon Relay results Track team's Web site
Be the first to comment on this article!