SACRAMENTO, CALIF. – The Nevada track and field team finished in first place at their first outdoor competition of the season, which saw plenty of new personal bests and a sophomore earning a Nevada all-time mark.
Sophomore Rayven Nealey, who competed in two events today, finished the triple jump with a distance of 12.53 meters. This distance was not only good enough for a first-place overall finish, but also good enough to put her at fourth all-time at Nevada. The distance beat Ashley Mathis' 2006 record of 12.39m.
Nealey also competed in the long jump where she finished with a distance of 5.54m. This being a new personal best and earning the team 12 total points from both events.
The long jump also saw success from three other Wolf Pack members. Sophomore Olaia Becerril finished in first with her distance of 5.57m. Junior Hanah Smrt finished right behind Nealey with a distance of 5.50m. Lastly, junior Gabby Fraser finished in 4th with a distance of 5.41m.
Becerril also competed in the 100m dash alongside junior Brooke Carson. Becerril finished with a time of 12.55, earning her a fourth place finish. On the other hand, Carson earned a new personal best with a time of 12.36. This time beating her personal best of 12.74.
The junior would go on to earn another personal best. This one would be the 200m dash. Her time of 25.49 not only earned Carson a new personal best in the event but also earned her a third-place finish.
Also in the 200m dash was Hanah Smrt and sophomore Anna Maria Sommerfeld. The sophomore would finish fourth with a time of 26.15 while Smrt would finish sixth with a time of 26.69.
Sommerfeld would go on to get top-two placements in other events on the day. On the field side, the sophomore took first in the javelin throw with a distance of 40.30m. While on the track side, she finished second in the 100m hurdles with a time of 15.01.
The 100m hurdles also had three other Pack athletes compete, including two freshmen. Smrt finished the event right behind Sommerfeld with her time of 15.12. Freshman Summer Steinsrud finished the race with a time of 15.54. This earned her a fifth-place finish. While just behind her was freshman Serena Shimada who earned a time of 15.70.
The Pack got a lot of help from true freshman talent throughout the meet. Freshman Alisha Pawlowski finished first in the high jump with her height of 1.65m. While freshman Kylie Burton finished first in the 400m hurdles. Her time of 1:05.31 was just above junior Shelby Garrison's time of 1:08.49.
On the other hand, tons of veteran talent gave the Pack a boost. Junior Emily Costello finished the 400m dash with a time of 55.30. This time being a new personal best and increasing her already fourth all-time Nevada placement. Junior Lauren Green was just behind Costello in second place with a time of 56.81. Also helping out was senior Eliza McCall, who finished second in the 800m run with her time of 2:23.61.
The Pack throwers also saw tons of action on the day. Senior Emma Dern finished in third in the shot put with her distance of 12.57m. Freshman Luisa Fischer finished in second place in the javelin throw (38.32m) and eighth in the shot put (10.52m). Dern and freshman Rachel Garrison went back-to-back in the hammer throw as the senior finished in fifth with a distance of 37.67m, while Garrison finished in sixth with a distance of 35.54m.
Lastly, the Pack had two group events that saw double second-place finishes. The 4x100m group that consisted of Brooke Carson, Serena Shimada, Lauren Green, and freshman Lillian Gregg finished with a time of 49.13. While the 4x400m group that consisted of Raegan Gorzeman, Eliza McCall, Kylie Burton, and freshman Madison Krivan earned a time of 4:10.13.
Nevada finished the meet with 121 points and a first-place team win. Sacramento State was behind the Pack with 108 points, while UC Davis ended the meet with 89 points.
The Nevada track and field team will look to continue their momentum in the UNLV Spring Invite from Mar. 18-20.
