This weekend, the UW men's and women's track teams capped off yet another stellar performance with two event wins each. Competing in the Gatorade Classic, the men had it in them to win the triple jump and discus. The women achieved victory in the high jump and 3,000 meters, picking up a NCAA Regional qualifying mark as well.
On the men's side, junior Alonzo Moore and senior Rick Bellford went one-two in the triple jump with marks of 50'10.25\ and 49'6.5"" respectively. Moore also placed third in the long jump. Sophomore Joe Thomas continued the winning ways, as he took first place in the discus with a toss of 167'9' while placing second in the shot put.
Other notable performances included a third place finish in the pole vault by senior Darren Niedermayer and a third place in the 4x100-meter relay, achieving their best time of the season thus far. These performances were not enough to help in the team race, however, as the Big Ten fell to the Southeastern Conference 420-298.
The women fared slightly better as they recorded season-best performances in seven events besides the two event wins. Scoring the event win in the high jump was junior Theresa Giorno with a leap of 5'7"". In the 3,000 meters, sophomore Katrina Rundhaug was the victor with a time of 9:42.09.
A further standout performance came in the form of sophomore Michelle Bellford's second place finish in the triple jump, which improved her NCAA Regional qualifying mark and moved her into the third place spot of all-time UW triple jumps.
Nonetheless, the team race's result was the same as the men's, losing to the SEC 379-310.
Both teams will compete next weekend at the Mt. SAC Relays in Walnut, CA.
