Track and Field Hosts Final Dual Meet of the Season

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Author: Riley Kimball

In the final dual meet of the season, men’s and women’s track and field squared off against California Lutheran University (Cal Lu), Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (CMS) and Pomona-Pitzer (PP) last Saturday.

Although the men defeated PP and Cal Lu, they lost to the longtime dominant CMS squad. The women beat CMS and PP, but were just edged out by Cal Lu. After the SCIAC dual meet, the women held a conference record of 6-1 and the men finished with 4-2.

Coach Rob Bartlett was pleased with the outcome of Saturday’s meet as well as the team’s preparation for the event.

“We’re proud of the work they’ve put in and their attitudes, which have produced this result,” he said.

The results were especially impressive considering the competition.

“Claremont has dominated track for probably the last 10 to 15 years, so they really are the team to beat,” Bartlett said.

The women’s win over CMS and the men’s triumph over Cal Lu should be positive signs for things to come.

“Our team has been steadily more successful as the season progresses, which should mean some awesome performances and a crescendo for SCIAC trials and finals,” Captain Dimitri Groce (junior) said.

Going into the meet, the team knew it would be neck and neck with each competing team, particularly the women’s side.

“On all sides really, it’s going to be very close. One good event, one bad event will make a huge difference,” Bartlett said before the meet.

Fortunately, Oxy had some key performances from several team members. Claire Larson (sophomore), Kelly Young (junior) and Karuna Batcha (senior) earned provo marks, turning in a 2:14 flat in the 800m. All three are ranked within the top 10 or 11 in the nation in their event.

Thomas Cahuzac (sophomore) led Oxy in the 400m dash while achieving a personal best, breaking the 50 second mark. Grace Peck (senior) won the 5000m handily. On the men’s side, in a first through fourth spread separated by less than a second, Eric Kleinsasser (sophomore) placed third. On the field, Sam Huie (senior) continued a strong jumping season, winning by a full 2 feet in the triple jump. In addition, David Minguez (junior) claimed first in the pole vault by six inches.

However, the team also faced some setbacks in the meet. Sadie Mohler (sophomore), Sebastian Devlin-Foltz (sophomore), Matt Tsujimura (senior), Will Hollingsworth (sophomore) and Eliza Dornbush (sophomore) were unable to compete due to injuries and sickness.

“The season’s very long, and just through attrition, if nothing else, people get sick, people get hurt,” Bartlett said.

Fortunately, the team had the skill and depth to overcome these obstacles. Despite Mohler’s absence in the steeplechase, Oxy still went 1-2 with strong performances by Tara Saxena (first-year) and Moe Kishida (senior).

Those not able to compete still supported and rooted for their team at the meet.

“I think this undoubtedly shows the degree of commitment everybody on the team has – not just to the condition and outcomes of Oxy track, but to each other,” said Groce.

With this final conference meet completed, the team turns its attention to SCIAC, which is quickly approaching. The team is confident and ready to compete, relying on each other to progress.

“Individually, every runner on our team has been putting in work to compete and challenge themselves, and collectively, the team has been extremely active in supporting each other as well as pushing each other,” said Groce.

“This meet has put us in a very good position going into SCIACs,” added Anna Dalton (sophomore), who claimed fourth in the 800m and earned a season best time. “We’re feeling good.”

The Tigers will head to La Verne on April 30 to compete at the first SCIAC championship trials of the season.

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