Friday, March 29

UCLA track and field sets records in Seattle at Pac-12 Challenge


Redshirt senior sprinter Shae Anderson runs with the baton during the women's 4x400 meter race at the Pac-12 Challenge last weekend. Anderson competed in her first indoor meet of the season in Seattle. (Courtesy of Ryan Andersen/UCLA Athletics)



Correction: The original version of this article misspelled Ryan Andersen's name.

This post was updated March 2 at 8:45 p.m.

The Bruins rewrote the record books over the weekend.

UCLA track and field competed in the Pac-12 Challenge in Seattle from Friday to Saturday, its first meet against multiple conference opponents this season. During the two-day event, the women’s 4×400 meter relay earned the second-best time in program history, while the men’s 4×400 meter relay team broke the school record.

Redshirt senior sprinter Shae Anderson – one-fourth of the women’s squad – said she enjoyed being able to compete indoors again in her first competition of the year.

“I haven’t been competing all indoor season and it was nice to get back out in the competition field and see all of my old competitors,” Anderson said. “Overall it was a really fun meet and I’m glad we were able to run a really good time.”

Coach Avery Anderson said the women’s 4×400 meter team of Shae Anderson, sophomore Rose Pittman, sophomore Kate Jendrezak and senior Gwyn George, which finished with a time of 3:32.55, set the standard even higher based on the team’s recent history in the event.

(Seth Van Matre/Daily Bruin)
Kate Jendrezak (right) runs on the Drake Stadium track. The sophomore sprinter was a part of a team that set the second-fastest time in program history in the women’s 4×400 meter. (Seth Van Matre/Daily Bruin)

Last year, the UCLA women’s 4×400 meter team earned the eighth-fastest time ever at the collegiate level, with a time of 3:25.01 seconds.

“The last two seasons coming into this year, that was the standard, especially after having a good outdoor performance last year,” Avery Anderson said. “We were in a really hot race.”

The Bruins faced two of the top-ranked track programs in the event, USC and Oregon. Anderson said the competition was a good chance for the team to compete against some of its rivals earlier in the season than it normally would.

“It was great competition between us, that school across town, and that school up in the state above us,” Anderson said. “Three of the best track programs in the country and some of the best times in the country were ran in this one race.”

In the men’s version of the event, the Bruins placed second overall while earning the fastest time in program history. The quartet, consisting of sprinters junior Myles Misener-Daley, junior Ismail Turner, senior Chase Wells and junior Cameron Reynolds, finished with a final time of 3:05.80.

On the first day of the event, junior distance runner Peter Herold also eclipsed a top-two time in program history in the men’s 5000-meter individual race, placing second overall in the race with a personal best time of 13:46.12.

With his performance, Herold now holds top-10 spots in program history in three different events. Avery Anderson said he was happy with the way Herold and the rest of his distance runners performed.

“Peter Herold ran exceptionally,” Anderson said. “I thought several of the distance runners ran really great to put up some really good marks.”

The women’s distance medley relay also earned the ninth-fastest time in UCLA history, 11:25.24. The team consisted of Shae Anderson, Rose Pittman, Kate Jendrezak and Gwyn George.

The Bruins will compete in the UC Santa Barbara Multi Event starting March 9.

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Hallum is currently a contributor on the track & field and swim & dive beats.


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