CHICO, Calif.- The Santa Clara outdoor track team traveled to Chico State to compete in the annual Wildcat Relays in Chico. Santa Clara was the only WCC school to compete in the event, and the team definitely did not disappoint.
It was an especially memorable day for the Bronco women, who took three first-place finishes for the day. Senior Danielle Miller took first place in the 3000M steeplechase with a time of 11:45.81. The 4x100 relay team composed of freshmen Jackie Lynch, Kashmir Brown, Jennifer Hinds, and sophomore Joanna Gistand won their race with 50.32. Later on Hinds, Lynch, junior Brittany Hodill and freshman Christina Cordua added another first place finish in the sprint medley with a time of 1:55.93.
In the distance medley, Conlin, Lopez, Hodill and Miller raced to a time of 12:58.59 took place third in the event and the freshman team of Brown, Cordua, Conlin, and Hinds took sixth place in the women's 4X400M relay (4:22.76).
In the women's 3000M race, sophomore Stephanie Wilson took second place (10:23.00) and junior Noelle Lopez placed eighth (10:42.93). In hurdles, Gistand took thirteenth in the 100 M (17.90), and eighth place in the 400 M (1:19.47).
It was a successful day for the men's side as well, with freshman Robbie Reid taking second place in the 800M (1:57.76) with sophomore John Laughlin (2:00.80) and junior Ben Snyder (2:04.73) finishing sixth and ninth.
Senior Michael Delaurenti took third place in the 3000M steeplechase with a time of 9:33.51, and sophomore Alex Harkins took fifth place (9:48.34), his first time ever competing in the event in his career.
In the other events for the men, Santa Clara made their presence known in the 3000M race with a total of nine Bronco men competing. Juniors Chris Gumbs (9:03.09) and Daniel Smith (9:07.48), senior Michael Hannon (9:18.71) and sophomore Andy Backus (9:19.12) placed in the top fifteen for the Broncos. In the relays, the freshmen and sophomore men led the Broncos to a seventh place finish in the 4X100 M and a ninth place finish in the 4X400 M relay.
"We've had some really great performances today, and I'm very pleased with our level of aggressiveness today" said head coach Tom Service about the team's performance.
The track team will have a bye week next week due to finals week, where then they will travel to Sacramento State for the Hornet Invitational March 22nd, 2008.
