UC Riverside
RCC/CSUF Tri Meet
Highlander Track & Field Makes Strong Impression in 2020 Outdoor Debut
3/7/2020 6:34:00 PM | Men's Track and Field, Women's Track and Field
RIVERSIDE, Calif – The UC Riverside men's and women's track and field teams started their 2020 outdoor campaign on Friday night, March 6, just down the road at Riverside Community College(RCC).  Both squads were led by the jumps event groups to a 3rd place team finish. Â
"This meet serves as our traditional outdoor season opener," said Director of Track & Field, Nate Browne. "There is good competition, good energy and it is a fine opportunity for everyone who didn't compete indoors to shake the cobwebs off." Â
And shake the cobwebs off they did. The Highlander jumpers led the way for UCR as nearly every men's triple jumper hit a lifetime best mark. The Highlanders took 1st through 3rd as well as 5th and 6th in this competition, led by Brian Nnoli. Nnoli's mark of 14.95m (49'0 ¾") (video) won the competition by .50m over fellow Highlander Anthony Reyes (14.45m/47'5"). Three freshmen, Deondre Ruth, Cameron Lewis and Titan Ruotolo, along with Nonli and Reyes leaped over 14.25m and hit Big West Conference qualifying marks. Â
"Today we got a good look at what our jumps group has been showing me in practice all year," said Assistant Coach for Jumps, Eric Fremd. "The most exciting part about these lifetime bests, season bests and outdoor debuts is that there is so much more left in the tank. As with any opener, we have some technical issues to work out. From the runway rhythm to getting on the board, we know what we need to work on in practice before we all see what this group is truly capable of doing."Â
Not to be outdone in the triple jump was Highlander women's standout, Hana Johnson, who won the competition with a mark of 12.38m (40' 7 ½") (video) by more than four feet.  "Hana opened her outdoor season with the same mark she finished her season at last spring," added Fremd. "This proves she's poised to take the next step this year."Â
On the long jump runway, Asia Mallory finished 2nd overall (by tie-breaker) with a great debut of 5.94m (video). She and CSU-Fullerton senior, Naiah Boardingham, had equal best marks along withequal second best marks, forcing a tie-breaker to be used (the women's third best jump of the day) to determine the winner. (Of note, a tie breaker of this depth is very rarely necessary in the jumps). In men's long jump, the Highlanders went 2-3-4, led by freshman Damion Loman and his Highlander all-time best 7.10m (23' 3 ½") (video).  He was followed closely by Reyes and Ruth.
Other top finishers on the day were Tanner Anderson making his lifetime debut in the 1500m, and finishing 2nd with a time of 4:00.49, Kailie Grimes stopping the clock in 2:20.17 for 2nd place in the 800m, and Mallory's 12.22 100m personal best (good for 3rd in this competition). Â
"Each of these student-athletes were inspiring for different reasons this weekend, but especially Kailie's return to the track," Browne added. "KG has overcome so much in her career, and to see her competing at a high level is so fulfilling for Coach (Rob) Hansen and myself as well as our whole support staff." Â
"We're excited to be looking to the future now," Browne continued. "We learned a lot this weekend and had a lot of folks make their debuts in UCR colors. That is always a lot of fun for us. We have two weeks to train along with final exams and then we'll be set to compete hard at UC Irvine."
The Highlanders have the next week off, and will return to action after final exams for the UCIrvine Spring Break Classic on March 20 and 21.
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