The Olympic dream is hanging in the air now more than ever for Arizona track and field. The Wildcats competed against professional athletes and collegiate competitors alike and brought home four wins, three school records, and four Olympic “A” Standard marks from the Mt. SAC Invitational in Walnut, Calif., this weekend.
“Overall we had some really high-quality performances,” head coach Fred Harvey said. “It was a heck of a meet for us. I’m excited for all of our athletes, I think it bodes really well for us going forward.”
Junior Georganne Moline, who took two wins at the invitational, led the No. 13 women’s team. Moline won the 400-meter race on day two and broke her own school record of 56.02 seconds in the elite 400-meter hurdles with a time of 55.25. She now holds the top collegiate time in the country and No. 2 in the world. Moline also met the Olympic “A” Standard of 55.50.
“It’s relieving, now I can run for fun and just run to get a better time. I don’t have any pressure and it feels so good,” Moline said.
Junior shot putter Alyssa Hasslen, who has taken the reins since junior Julie Labonte announced she will redshirt during the spring season, also qualified for the Olympic “A” standard in her event with a mark of 18.35 meters. Hasslen’s mark was good for second place and is now the No. 1 collegiate mark in the country.
Junior high jumper Brigetta Barrett dominated the competition in the women’s invitational elite high jump with a mark of 1.95 meters, also keeping her at an “A” standard and at the top of the nation as well as tied for best in world.
“I felt like I was really tested today,” Barrett said. “I had my first jump-off, it was really exciting but it was the longest I’ve ever jumped under that kind of pressure. It was cool to see how I handle it because there were times when I did want to give up.
“I don’t know what clicked within me but I said, ‘No, after this long of jumping I’m not about to just hand it over to her.’ So that gave me the inspiration to just calm down and do what I had been doing on all the other jumps to win it.”
Senior Taylor Bush broke the school record and came in fourth for the women’s hammer throw with a distance of 73.78 meters.
For the No. 14 men’s team, senior Stephen Sambu kicked off the weekend with a win in the 10,000-meter run, clocking in at 28:06.16 and earning the top mark in the country this season. Sambu’s mark was the second best in the world.
“Now I’m really confident going into conference, regionals and nationals,” Sambu said.
Sophomore Lawi Lalang met another Olympic “A” standard for the men’s 5,000 meter run by 1.12 seconds.
Arizona will bring the competition home next weekend when it hosts the ASU/NAU Double Duel at Drachman Stadium.
