Women’s 4x400m Relay Squad Shines on Day Two of NCAA Championships

Eugene, Ore. – UCLA's 4x400m relay team stole the show in the final event of day two of the NCAA Championships, clocking the No. 2 time in school history and earning qualification to Saturday's final.
 
The Bruins' quartet of Meleni Rodney, Makenzy Pierre-Webster, Kate Jendrezak, and Shae Anderson ran a blistering time of 3:27.68, the fastest time for the team this year and the second-fastest time in school history. UCLA finished second in the final heat and notched the third-fastest time of the day to advance to Saturday's final.
 
The time was just 11 one-hundredths of a second away from UCLA's school record of 3:27.57 – held by Sani Roseby, Sheena Johnson, Adia McKinnon, and Monique Henderson – that was set back in 2003. The 2021 squad improved upon its previous best of 3:28.70 from the NCAA West Preliminaries (May 29), which was previously the No. 3 time in school history.
 
Earlier in the day, Alyssa Wilson finished 10th overall in the women's hammer throw with a toss of 66.52m (218-3) on her first attempt. The redshirt junior just missed a spot in the final flight, but did secure her third-career top-10 national finish in the hammer.
 
Ilaria Casarotto finished her UCLA career with a 15th-place finish in the javelin competition. The UCLA school-record holder posted a throw of 52.80m (173-3).
 
Rodney capped her individual season in the 400m, finishing 10th overall with a time of 52.02. The senior was just 10 one-hundredths of a second away from earning a spot in Sunday's final.
 
UCLA's 4x100m squad finished fourth in the final heat of the event, crossing with a time of 44.07. The quartet of Chinyere Okoro, Anderson, Catherine Leger, and Pierre-Webster just missed a qualifying spot at 12th place overall.
 
Day Four
Wilson and the 4x400m relay squad will be back in action on Saturday, June 12. Wilson is set to compete in the discus at 2:35 p.m. PT and the 4x4 will cap the National Meet at 5:21 p.m. PT.