Gauchos Track & Field Leaves Their Mark at NCAA West Regionals

COLLEGE STATION, Texas – The UC Santa Barbara Men’s and Women’s Track & Field team has finished their competitions at NCAA West Regionals at Texas A&M University, where ten Gauchos put their skills to work in their respective events throughout the four-day meet. Over the course of the meet, the Gauchos took part in eleven total events.

FIELD

The men’s hammer throw saw the first Santa Barbara athlete of the day, where senior Andy Buttrell recorded a mark of 58.60m in the event. Later in the meet, senior Eitan Goore notched a 5.17m mark in the men’s pole vault. Senior Will Denning also impressed in the men’s triple jump as he posted a jump of 15.19m.

On the women’s side, Kennedy Johnson was the sole representative in the field, where she took on the triple jump and delivered a mark of 12.46m.

TRACK

For the women, freshman Mia Shepard recorded a time in the 400m that was just short of a nationals qualifying time. The two-time Big West Athlete of the Week came out of the race with a time of 53.62. Maddie Conte, the only Gaucho to compete in multiple events at West Regionals, also recorded 13.69 in the 100m hurdles and was six places away from qualifying in the 400m hurdles with a time of 59.09.

On the men’s side, the Gauchos had two competitors in the 200m, where senior Justin Steele ran 21.16 and Curtis Borden III was just hundredths of seconds away from a qualifying time in the event. Borden recorded a time of 21.01.

Sophomore distance specialist Parker Simmons took on the 3000m steeplechase on the third day of the meet, where he delivered a time of 8:53.52. Freshman Finn Andrews, who was the BIg West champion in the 400m hurdles a few weeks ago, recorded 52.07 in the event.

UP NEXT

At the NCAA Track & Field Championships, senior multis expert Brad Thomas will be representing the blue and gold. The four-day meet will take place at Eugene, Ore. on June 11-14.