Davidson, Litoff Best Own Track & Field Program Records at OSU High Performance Meet

Posted: May 02, 2021

CORVALLIS, Ore. — Two of Santa Clara track & field's program record holders were at it again at the Oregon State High Performance Meet. Jack Davidson bested his own 5,000-meter program record with a third-place 13:51.79 and Zach Litoff did the same in the 3,000-meter steeplechase with a second-place 8:43.43 on Friday to begin the two-day meet at Whyte Track and Field Center.

Davidson's new mark is nearly seven seconds faster than his previous program record of 13:58.41 in the team's last competition at the Bryan Clay Invitational. Litoff's time is nearly four seconds faster than his previous program record of 8:47.39 at the 2019 Stanford Invitational; it is also the ninth-fastest mark in the NCAA this season. Litoff has two first-place finishes and two second place finishes in five events in 2021.

As a team, Santa Clara notched 16 new collegiate best times, including a 1,500-meter 4:49.18 by Sophia Morris to win the women's open section.

Sasha Codiga captured her 1,500m heat with a PR 4:45.08 and took eighth place overall. Spencer Fischer became the second-fastest Bronco all-time at 800 meters by clocking a PR 1:51.39 to win his heat and finish in fifth-place of 56 competitors.

Alex Scales finished in second place in the field of 56 runners at 800m with a 1:50.64; he has two second-place finishes and one third-place finish in three 800m races on the year. Harvey Chilcott's steeple PR of 9:02.54 made him the fourth-fastest Bronco at that distance in program history.

"It was a fun few days in Oregon," head coach Felipe Montoro said of the men's team. "This team just keeps coming up with better and better performances. I thought we did a really good job across the board. The focus was again on just racing and not splits.

"Zach's performance was stellar. Jack looked like himself again and ran an outstanding race to place third in a very competitive field. His time should hold up to make NCAA round one. Alex continues to build confidence and gain experience. Consistently finishing in the top three bodes well for when he gets to the NCAA opening round in a month. Spencer had a breakout 800 performance and Nicky had a really good double. The 5k guys did great as well."

"Our entire emphasis was on executing good race tactics and winning our sections rather than chasing a mark and we did a great job of that," associate head coach Pete Cushman said of the women's team. "Our team is young, but has learned so much about how to race this spring and we don't look like a young team when it comes to making decisions, reacting to situations and finishing strong. I'm so proud of how we performed.

"Sasha and Irene going one-two in their section was one of the highlights of the meet for us. Sophia ran a very seasoned, tactical race in her second-ever 1,500 and earned the win."

OREGON STATE HIGH PERFORMANCE MEET SANTA CLARA RESULTS

WOMEN'S 1,500 METER RUN (21 RUNNERS)

8. Sasha Codiga – 4:45.08 (PR/won heat)
9. Irene Nagasaka – 4:45.61 (PR)
12. Maiya Fujiwara – 4:48.95
17 Hannah Aguirre – 4:50.63

WOMEN'S 1,500 METER RUN OPEN (14 RUNNERS)

1. Sophia Morris – 4:49.18 (PR/won section)
5. Luciana Lenth – 4:55.08 (PR)
11. Kayla Neumann – 5:02.47

WOMEN'S 5,000 METER RUN (32 RUNNERS)

8. Hayley Harrison – 17:37.63
9. Kinsey Hall – 17:39.33 (PR)
10. Daniela Camacho – 17:39.60 (PR)
14. Kaitlyn Twadell – 17:51.42 (PR)
DNF. Hope Olbricht

MEN'S 800 METER RUN (56 RUNNERS)

2. Alex Scales – 1:50.64
5. Spencer Fischer – 1:51.39 (PR/2nd-fastest SCU history)
19. Nicholas Russell – 1:54.10 (first collegiate 800/7th-fastest SCU history)
40. Ishaan Singh – 1:58.22 (first collegiate 800)

MEN'S 1,500 METER RUN (29 RUNNERS)

4. Nicholas Russell – 3:51.91
19. Ishaan Singh – 4:00.51 (PR)

MEN'S 1,500 METER RUN INVITATIONAL (12 RUNNERS)

10. Spencer Fischer – 3:49.64

MEN'S 5,000 METER RUN INVITATIONAL (27 RUNNERS)

2. Jack Davidson – 13:51.79 (PR/program record)
19. Xander Olivero – 14:13.96
21. Ian Twyman – 14:26.91
26. Kyle Johnson – 15:00.52

MEN'S 5,000 METER RUN (20 RUNNERS)

9. Drew Burns – 14:47.99 (first collegiate 5,000)

MEN'S 5,000 METER RUN OPEN (20 RUNNERS)

3. Dominic Baciocco – 15:07.91 (PR)
5. EJ Odocayen Cruz – 15:19.80

MEN'S 3,000 METER STEEPLECHASE INVITATIONAL (15 RUNNERS)

2. Zach Litoff – 8:43.43 (PR/program record)
11. Harvey Chilcott – 9:02.54 (PR/4th-fastest SCU history)
12. Christian Raslowsky – 9:06.01