DALLAS, Texas – Arizona's track and field team competed in Walnut, Calif. For the Mt. Sac Relays today and in Dallas, Texas for the TCU Big 5 Classic.
"I thought this meet was a great experience for our team," head coach Fred Harvey said. "For us to come out and get to compete against schools like Florida, Texas Tech, and TCU was great, especially in this condition of high winds. It forced us to persevere against some tough competition. We put together a good amount of PRs today too, so overall it was a great day to be a Wildcat"
Sage Watson dominated the 400-meter hurdles for a win at 55.67 seconds, the sixth-fastest time in the world according to IAAF.org. It also moved Watson to a sole possession of third-place in the NCAA this season.
"This was a good second meet and I definitely have more in me," Watson said. "The conditions weren't ideal today, but overall our team pulled out some good times. We have to keep progressing towards Pac-12's, and I think everyone improved a little today."
Aaron Castle set an outdoor best in the shot put and won the event with a mark of 19.10 meters (62' 10"), moving him back into the top-10 nationally. Viktor Gardenkrans took fourth with a mark of 17.60 meters (57' 9"). On the women's side, freshman Megan Dulaney had a personal-best mark in the shot put for third-place at 15.47 meters (50' 9.25").
Karla Teran took second-place in the high jump with a personal-best mark of 1.78 meters (5' 10"), a top-25 mark in the country this season.
Emma Ljungberg took third-place in the discus with a mark of 49.99 meters (164'). On the men's side, Gardenkrans took second-place with a mark of 56.12 meters (184' 1") and Castle took fourth-place with a mark of 51.22 meters (168').
Erik Mensendiek won the javelin throw with a mark of 65.08 meters (213' 6").
Grayson Fleming took third-place in the hammer throw with another personal-best, this time at 62.19 meters (204').
Tyrell Johnson returned to the team and took seventh-place in the 100-meter dash at a time of 10.42 seconds. On the women's side, Savaughn Christman ran a personal-best time of 11.75 seconds. Christman went on to take eighth in the 200-meter at 24.09 seconds.
Miles Parish took second-place in the men's 400-meter with a time of 46.61 seconds, a top-30 time in the NCAA. Bryce Houston took fifth with a time of 47.10 seconds. Freshman ZaKee Washington took seventh-place with a time of 47.58 seconds.
Houston, Parish, Michael Demby, and Washington led Arizona to a third-place finish in the 4x400-meter relay with a time of 3:08.68.
Isaac Hing and David Egbo both ran personal-best times in the 200-meter race. Hing took 10th with a time of 21.66 seconds, with Egbo finishing right behind him at 21.67 seconds for 11th overall.
April Sutton took seventh overall in the 100-meter hurdles with a time of 13.94 seconds.
In the men's 400-meter hurdles Demby took first-place with a time of 53.14 seconds.
Avery Mickens took seventh in the men's long jump with a mark of 7.46 meters (24' 5.75").
Bryant O'Georgia took fourth in the high jump with a mark of 2.05 meters (6' 8.75").
Overall the Cats now have 24 qualifiers for the first round of NCAA's in Austin, Texas over 32 total events.
The Track Cats are back in action next weekend in La Jolla, Calif. for the Triton Invitational.
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