Track Day 1

Men's Track and Field

Read & Amarasekara Compete in Day 1 of Spring Track Classic

RIVERSIDE, Calif.—Standing to the side of the UC Riverside Track and Field Stadium on Thursday, Julian Read summed up his day competing in the decathlon at the UCR Spring Track Classic.

"It started with me being layered and ended with me feeling like I would get a sunburn," Read said with a smile.

While the rain poured not long after the meet began, the sun was out in full force the last few hours of competition. UCR's first home meet of the season runs through Saturday. On Thursday, Read competed in five events in the decathlon and Didi Amarasekara competed in four events in the heptathlon.  

Even with such unpredictable weather, both student-athletes excelled. Amarasekara finished the day in first place, while Read finished the day in fourth place. Both will finish competition Friday afternoon. They faced competition from Long Beach State, Cal State Fullerton, Williams College, Utah Valley and Oregon State.

Read, a freshman, started the meet off with a bang, winning the 100-meter dash with a time of 11.13 seconds. He then finished fifth in the 400m dash with a personal record of 51.39. In between, he finished fourth in the long jump with a leap of 6.42m, ninth in the shot put with a throw of 10.39m and fourth in the high jump at 1.88m.

"I have never been as calm with a decathlete performing as I have been with Julian," assistant coach Eric Fremd said. "He is so even-keeled. We wants to do well, but if he doesn't, he won't freak out. He just wants to improve on the next one."

Amarasekara, a junior, began the day finishing third in the 100m hurdles with a time of 15.02 seconds. She then finished second in the high jump at 1.65m, fifth in the shot put with a throw of 10.34m and second in the 200m dash with a time of 25.15.

"I'm staying very consistent, which is important," Amarasekara said. "As opposed to years past, I feel like I am keeping my competition up throughout the events and not falling behind."

Due to injury, Amarasekara didn't compete in the heptathlon at last year's meet. This year, she came into the meet with a game plan. For her, it was all about mental preparation.

"I know I've done these things in practice, I know I can do it now," said Amarasekara.

Both will look to finish strong on Friday when Read competes in the 110m hurdles, discus, pole vault, javelin and 1,500m, while Amarasekara will compete in the long jump, javelin and 800m.

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Players Mentioned

Julian Read

Julian Read

Multis
Freshman

Players Mentioned

Julian Read

Julian Read

Freshman
Multis