Posted: Mar 10, 2013
The Santa Clara Track and Field team continued their 2013 season with its third meet of the year at the UC Davis Aggie Open.
The Broncos will be off next weekend as the teams prepare for finals on the Mission campus. Both teams will be back in action in two weeks at the Jonny Mathis Invitational hosted by SF State.
Senior Hayley Ney finished just off the win in the metric mile, covering the 1,500-meter event in 4:37.85. Ney played it cool for the first 800 meters, sitting comfortable in the outside of lane one just off the lead shoulder. With 500 meters remaining in the race, with the wind gusts at her back, Ney pulled into the lead looking to run away from the field as she approached the bell lap. Heading back into the wind she maintained her lead, but was just narrowly kicked down in the last 50 meters by fellow WCC rival Alice Baker of USF. Baker was fifth place last fall at the WCC Cross Country Championships
"It was great to see Hayley make that aggressive move on the penultimate lap," said Bronco head coach Felipe Montoro. "The game plan was to remain patient early, and when the timing was right, somewhere between 600 to 400 meters to go, to commit to the win and go for it. She ran to plan perfectly, and while she was just outkicked, it was a great performance, and gives her something to build on."
Junior Allie Sibole finished 9th in the section one heat in a time of 4:52.78
Section two provided some more excitement for the Broncos, with junior Lauren Germany putting a huge gap on the field in the last lap, winning her section in a time of 4:53.83. Germany, in her first 1,500-meter race of the year, kicked her last 400 meters in 72 seconds, which gapped second place by nearly four seconds.
"Like Hayley, Lauren executed perfectly," said Montoro. "She was racing down in distance, but she showed us that she's very capable of switching gears and running fast. Most importantly was seeing her get a win in her heat. We're really excited about her being competitive and expecting to win that heat."
The women's 1500-meter race set the stage for an equally exciting men's 1500, where section 2 featured freshman Adrian Hinojosa. Adrian, in his second career 1,500, sat in 12th place through the first 700 meters, but coming through just past the midway point of the race, eased his way into contention. With 500 meters remaining in the race, he sat about 2 seconds back off the lead in 5th place, and took the bell as his cue to race for a section win. After a relatively pedestrian first two laps, things got moving into the 3rd lap, and Adrian managed to continue to push on the throttle in his last lap, closing in just over 61 seconds. His hard kick was good enough for his first collegiate win in 4:09.62.
Adrian doubled back in the 800 meter race, and finished second behind fellow freshman teammate Leland Wong. Wong won section 2 running away in a time of 2:01.96.
"With conditions like they were today, it's important to race smart, which Leland did a great job of doing," said Montoro. "An event like the 800 there are so many variables and it can take a while to be comfortable in different race situations. This is a great building block for Leland, and I think he has a great season and career in front of him."
Senior Erin Hartwig, making her comeback after having a setback over the winter, continued to race herself back into form, winning section 2 in 2:25.70.
"Erin knows how to compete, and once she starts getting those racing legs back, she should run very fast this spring," said Montoro.
Sophomore Audrey Hiatt made her debut in the steeplechase event, and it was a successful one. Hiatt placed 5th overall in 7:24.27 in the 2000m race. "I thought Audrey ran great in her first attempt at the steeple. She will run the full 3000m distance on the 29th, and this was a prefect prelude to that. She has a great future in the event."
Senior Hayley Ney finished just off the win in the metric mile, covering the 1,500-meter event in 4:37.85. Ney played it cool for the first 800 meters, sitting comfortable in the outside of lane one just off the lead shoulder. With 500 meters remaining in the race, with the wind gusts at her back, Ney pulled into the lead looking to run away from the field as she approached the bell lap. Heading back into the wind she maintained her lead, but was just narrowly kicked down in the last 50 meters by fellow WCC rival Alice Baker of USF. Baker was fifth place last fall at the WCC Cross Country Championships
"It was great to see Hayley make that aggressive move on the penultimate lap," said Bronco head coach Felipe Montoro. "The game plan was to remain patient early, and when the timing was right, somewhere between 600 to 400 meters to go, to commit to the win and go for it. She ran to plan perfectly, and while she was just outkicked, it was a great performance, and gives her something to build on."
Junior Allie Sibole finished 9th in the section one heat in a time of 4:52.78
Section two provided some more excitement for the Broncos, with junior Lauren Germany putting a huge gap on the field in the last lap, winning her section in a time of 4:53.83. Germany, in her first 1,500-meter race of the year, kicked her last 400 meters in 72 seconds, which gapped second place by nearly four seconds.
"Like Hayley, Lauren executed perfectly," said Montoro. "She was racing down in distance, but she showed us that she's very capable of switching gears and running fast. Most importantly was seeing her get a win in her heat. We're really excited about her being competitive and expecting to win that heat."
The women's 1500-meter race set the stage for an equally exciting men's 1500, where section 2 featured freshman Adrian Hinojosa. Adrian, in his second career 1,500, sat in 12th place through the first 700 meters, but coming through just past the midway point of the race, eased his way into contention. With 500 meters remaining in the race, he sat about 2 seconds back off the lead in 5th place, and took the bell as his cue to race for a section win. After a relatively pedestrian first two laps, things got moving into the 3rd lap, and Adrian managed to continue to push on the throttle in his last lap, closing in just over 61 seconds. His hard kick was good enough for his first collegiate win in 4:09.62.
Adrian doubled back in the 800 meter race, and finished second behind fellow freshman teammate Leland Wong. Wong won section 2 running away in a time of 2:01.96.
"With conditions like they were today, it's important to race smart, which Leland did a great job of doing," said Montoro. "An event like the 800 there are so many variables and it can take a while to be comfortable in different race situations. This is a great building block for Leland, and I think he has a great season and career in front of him."
Senior Erin Hartwig, making her comeback after having a setback over the winter, continued to race herself back into form, winning section 2 in 2:25.70.
"Erin knows how to compete, and once she starts getting those racing legs back, she should run very fast this spring," said Montoro.
Sophomore Audrey Hiatt made her debut in the steeplechase event, and it was a successful one. Hiatt placed 5th overall in 7:24.27 in the 2000m race. "I thought Audrey ran great in her first attempt at the steeple. She will run the full 3000m distance on the 29th, and this was a prefect prelude to that. She has a great future in the event."
In the flat 3000m, the Broncos were led by junior Emily Robinson, who ran a personal best of 10:26.97.
