Yahnke Wins 800m for Women’s Track & Field at Westmont Sunshine Collegiate

Cross Country/Track & Field

Lacey Yahnke posted an 800-meter personal best 2:23.29 to outpace the field on Saturday.

Posted: Feb 13, 2021

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. — Santa Clara women's track & field picked up an event win in the first meet of the 2021 season on Saturday. Lacey Yahnke paced the 800-meter field with a 2:23.29 in the Westmont Sunshine Collegiate at Westmont Track.

In the first competition in nearly a calendar year, Yahnke topped the field with her personal-best time while Sophia Morris took second place with a 2:23.70; that mark is more than a second faster compared to her previous PR.

Hayley Harrison clocked a 5,000-meter 18:20.41 to lead the Broncos at that distance and take third place overall. Kinsey Hall cracked the top five in her collegiate debut with an 18:31.08. Hannah Aguirre (18:49.20) and Sarah King (18:49.88) finished in sixth and seventh, respectively.

"It was good to just be back together and racing," associate head coach Pete Cushman said. "You can get and be really fit over the last 11 months, but there's still something different about being on the line. The intensity of racing is just another notch up and we needed to experience that before our conference meet."

SANTA CLARA RESULTS

WOMEN'S 800-METER RUN (9 RUNNERS)

1. Lacey Yahnke – 2:23.29

2. Sophia Morris – 2:23.70

7. Elizabeth Elcik – 2:33.96

Coach Cushman: "We had a simple plan in the 800 and they executed perfectly. They did a good job ignoring the watch and just racing the field. They were patient for 500 meters and when they made their move, they were decisive."

WOMEN'S 5,000-METER RUN (31 RUNNERS)

3. Hayley Harrison – 18:20.41

5. Kinsey Hall – 18:31.08

6. Hannah Aguirre – 18:49.20

7. Sarah King – 18:49.88

9. Luciana Lenth – 19:06.54

10. Irene Nagasaka – 19:11.35

11. Sasha Codiga – 19:22.72

13.Kayla Neumann – 19:28.95

15.Hope Olbricht – 19:35.77

26.Gabi Wisnovsky – 21:15.53

DNF. Maiya Fujiwara

DNF. Jackie Cruz

Coach Cushman: "Hayley ran a great race. She spent all of last year working on becoming a more complete runner with range and she's getting more confident at races longer than 1,500 meters. Kinsey and Irene had really nice debuts and I think they both have bright athletic futures in front of them. Luciana has worked so hard and I thought she raced really tough today."

NEXT UP

The next scheduled meet for the women's and men's teams is the West Coast Conference Cross Country Championships on Feb. 24 in Las Vegas. Check back with SantaClaraBroncos.com and @SCUXCTF on twitter for official schedule updates.

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