Wildcats Pick Up Five Event Wins at Desert Heat Classic
TUCSON, Ariz. – Arizona Track and Field hosted the annual Desert Heat Classic on Saturday, May 1, coming away with five event wins.
Highlights
The Wildcats swept the women's high jump with Lillian Lowe clearing a PR of 1.87m (6-1.5) to win the event. Karla Teran placed second with a season-best mark of 1.84m (6-0.5) and Alexa Porpaczy finished third, clearing 1.75m (5-8.75). On the men's side, Justice Summerset got over the bar at 2.18m (7-1.75) to take third.
"The high jumpers were spectacular," said head coach Fred Harvey. For Lily, that was just a long time coming. She's been jumping very well. She hadn't had a PR in three years, but she was jumping PRs in practice, it was just a matter of when it was going to happen in a competition. That was a big highlight."
Shannon Meisberger placed second in the women's 400m hurdles with a time of 56.65, just short of her PR time of 56.61 that currently ranks fourth in the NCAA. Arizona Track alum Sage Watson won the event, clocking the third-best time in the world at 55.46.
Israel Oloyede won his third hammer throw contest this season with a toss of 71.00m (232-11), coming off of a school record breaking performance at the Jim Click Shootout. Jordan Geist placed second in the event, throwing for 68.39m (224-4) and Jaisen Brown picked up a PR.
After breaking the Arizona 400m record at the Jim Click Shootout, Johnnie Blockburger won his third 400m race this season with a time of 45.25. Isaac Davis clocked a PR of 46.90 to finish fifth.
"You don't want to discount Johnnie's 400 because now that you have the 44.71 out there, running a 45.25 may not be as fast, but it's still a remarkable time," said coach Harvey.
Samantha Noennig won the women's shot put with a mark of 17.73m (58-2). She remains undefeated through four shot put contests this season. Megan Dulaney threw for 14.61m (47-11.25) to finish fifth. On the men's side, Geist took second with a toss of 19.47m (63-10.5).
Keelah Barger won the women's 5000m with a time of 17:08.81, followed by Grace Driskill in second place.
Trevor Volpe clocked his first sub-21.00 200m with a time of 20.91. Trent Stimac also recorded a PR of 21.24. All three competing women also picked up PRs in the event with Neysia Howard running 23.72 followed by Ajaysha Lewis (24.85) and Gracie Reinholz (24.94).
Noennig threw a season-best mark of 54.85m (179-11) in the discus to take third place. For the men, Geist also threw a season-best mark of 55.57m (182-3) to finish third and Jakob Chamberlin marked 53.44m (175-4) to take fifth. Zach Landa also recorded a PR of 51.11m (167-8).
Tiana Poirier-Shelton picked up a big PR in the long jump with a mark of 6.07m (19-11) to finish fifth. Her performance places her ninth on Arizona's all-time list. On the men's side, Jacorey Jones also recorded a PR with a mark of 7.22m (23-8.25).
Stimac led the men's 100m crew with a PR time of 10.53 followed by Volpe (10.55) and Tayvian Cunningham (10.61). On the women's side, Howard clocked 11.84.
In the women's 800m, Alyssa Blockburger crossed the finish line in 2:09.41, a PR time. Alisa Lyesina followed with a season-best time of 2:10.00. For the men, Tanner Hagstrom was the top finisher, taking fourth with a time of 1:53.44.
In the men's and women's 1500m, Victor Ortiz-Rivera finished in a close second with a time of 3:45.05. Peyton Heiden placed third, clocking 4:35.24. She was followed by Maddy Christopher with a time of 4:39.74.
Kaelyn Shipley threw for 48.99m (160-8) to place third in the women's javelin throw. She is coming off of a school record breaking performance of 51.02m (167-5) at the West Coast Classic.
The women's 4x400 relay team of Meisberger, Howard, Reinholz and Athena Montgomery clocked 3:39.40 to finish second. The men's squad of Calvin Wilson, Logan Hasher, Volpe and Blockburger ran 3:10.11 to take third.
Next up, the Wildcats will travel to Los Angeles, Calif. for the Pac-12 Championships on May 14. A complete recap of the meet will be posted to ArizonaWildcats.com. You can also follow @ArizonaTrack on twitter throughout the day for live updates.
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