Track and Field Complete UW Husky Classic and Don Kirby Invitational

Friday, February 9

Seattle, WA

10:00 AM

UC Riverside

UW Husky Classic

Photo by: Christine French

Track and Field Complete UW Husky Classic and Don Kirby Invitational

2/12/2018 11:53:00 AM | Men's Track and Field, Women's Track and Field

Seattle, WA - This past weekend, the UC Riverside Men's and Women's Track and Field Teams competed in two separate meets as three athletes participated in the UW Husky Classic, and a team of Highlanders set out for the Don Kirby Invitational hosted by the University of New Mexico.

UW HUSKY CLASSIC
On Friday night, both junior Emily Sanchez and senior Weslie Pearce (nee Totten) competed in the women's 5000m run.
Sanchez finished 6th in heat 3 of the women's 5000m and 43rd overall with a lifetime personal best mark of 16:55.8. Her time ranks 2^nd all-time on UCR's indoor top-10 list. Sanchez's race unfolded a bit differently, as she opened up her first mile in 5:21, and was able to stay a bit more consistent throughout the race.

"Emily has been training at a very high level and I've seen her confidence growing and this weekend is just the tip of the iceberg on what's to come from her," Assistant Coach Rob Hansen said. "I am really proud of her focus and her willingness to push forward when things got difficult with a few laps to go, today."

Heat 2 was off to a fast start as Pearce opened her first mile of this 3.1 mile race in 5:10; her fastest ever opening mile. Unfortunately, the quick early pace caught up with her and she was only able to muster a finishing time of 17:15. That time earned her 21st in her heat and 52nd overall.

On Saturday afternoon, it was Faith Makau's turn at the Husky Classic, where she had the opportunity to compete in both the 1-mile and the 800m. In her first event, Makau led most of the 4^th section of the women's 1-mile, and clocked a finishing time of 4:50.03, a shade under 1 second slower than her lifetime best from 2 weeks ago.

Just two hours later, Makau was back the oval in the seeded section of the women's 800m run. Although her finishing time of 2:14.69 moves her to 7^th all-time on the UCR indoor list, the mark is a few seconds shy of her outdoor lifetime best.

"Overall, we're happy with the way the ladies competed this weekend," Hansen said. "This weekend was a mixed bag of successes and shortcoming; indoors is a lot about gaining experience and learning from each opportunity. I know this group will be even more prepared to compete at the MPSF Championships in less than 2 weeks!"

DON KIRBY INVITATIONAL
Competition got going early on Saturday for the Highlanders as they saw senior Peter Manu grab 3rd place in the first semi-final heat of the 60m Hurdles. Manu's time of 8.14 seconds qualified him for the final heat where he put in a repeat performance of 8.14 to take 7th place in the event.

Junior Ethan Van-Setten followed just a few events later making the final heat of the 600m run. With a finals time of 1:20.93, Van-Setten was the first Highlander of the day to reach the podium earning 2nd place in the event.

For a full list of results, click HERE.