July 9, 2012

TUCSON - University of Arizona Wildcat men's and women's track and field teams were represented at the North American, Central American and Caribbean Athletics Association (NACAC) U23 Championships this past weekend. The meet took place on July 6-8 and was held in in the City of Irapuato in the Paralympic Stadium, the State of Guanajuato, Mexico. Assistant coach Francesca Green was the Head Manager and sprints coach for Team USA. Current student-athletes Alyssa Hasslen (USA), Jen Bergman (USA) and Edgar Rivera-Morales (Mexico) competed in the meet.

On Sunday, July 8, Rivera-Morales competed in the men's high jump. Rivera-Morales cleared 7-3.75 (2.23m), good for first place in the competition. Rivera-Morales needed to clear 7-7 (2.31m) to earn a spot on Mexico's Olympic team. Rivera-Morales' season-best mark was 7-4.5 (2.25m), he cleared that at the Mt. SAC Relays and the Jim Click Shootout. He earned all-conference honors for the third-straight year, earning a runner-up finish at the Pac-12 Championships. Additionally, he was a second-team All-American, taking 11th place at the NCAA Championships this year.

On Friday, July 6, Hasslen competed in the women's shot put. She earned a second-place finish, throwing 55-3.75 (16.86m). Hasslen had a strong season for Arizona but was hampered by a hand injury days before the preliminary round of the NCAA Championships. She earned All-Pac-12 honors in the women's shot put and discus and was named Pac-12 Field Athlete of the Week (April 23-30). Her throw of 60-2.5 (18.35m) at the Mt. SAC Relays is the No. 2 throw in UA history and the 13th-best toss in collegiate history.

Also on Friday, Bergman ran in the 1,500-meter race. She clocked a time of 4:41.08, good for a fifth-place finish. For the season, Bergman earned all-conference accolades in the 5K and 10K; she had a runner-up finish in the 10K. Bergman clocked personal-best times in both events; she ran 16:04.31 in the 5K at the Mt. SAC Relays and 33:10.87 in the 10K at the Stanford Invitational. Her times in the 5,000 meters and 10,000 meters are both the third-best times in school history, respectively.