SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The Gaels once again took to the track this weekend, this time in the state capital of Sacramento as part of the Hornet Invitational, hosted by Sacramento State. In a meet with some of the best track and field programs at the Division I, II, NAIA and Community College levels, the Gaels amassed enough points to place 11th in the 16 team meet. 22 different Gaels competed in 12 events, with three picking up scoring finishes in their events.
Rayna Stanziano again proved to be arguably the best distance runner ever to don a Saint Mary's track and field uniform. A week removed from her regional qualifying run of the 5000m at the Bay Area Invitational, Stanziano again won a race for the Gaels this time at the 1500m distance. Stanziano threw down a time of 4:20.23 in her first race at this distance this season, and looks like she will well be on her way to besting her PR in that race of 4:17.15 as the season wears on.
Kaylee Barnes paced a group of three Gaels in the 3000m steeplechase, finishing third overall with a time of 10:44.67. It was just her second go around at this event, and her first this year, but Barnes clearly showed that she has been working hard in practice on this new skill, as she bested her previous PR by nearly five seconds.
Jaden DeSouza competed in a pair of events today, the 200m dash and the 400m hurdles. Both races resulted in PRs for Jaden, with the hurdles resulting in a fifth place finish. Her 200m time of 25.96 was 0.26 seconds faster than her previous best, while her 400m hurdle time of 1:00.19 was nearly a full second faster than her previous PR.
Narrowly missing out on scoring, but still running strong races today were Klara Frih, Ana Mercado and Emily Field. Frih placed 10th in the 800m race with a time of 2:13.11. Frih also PRd in the 200m with a time of 27.31. Mercado placed 11th in the 400m with a time of 56.58, also a new PR. Field placed 13th in the 5000m at 17:16.75, her new best by nearly 16 seconds. Other PRs today included Elizabeth Nip (1:04.04, 400m), Alexis Ortiz (2:27.27, 800m), Eleanor Jepsen (4:41.20, 1500m), Jane Harig (4:48.67, 1500m), Andrea Villegas (4:54.47, 1500m), Jane Carney (12:03.08, 3000m Steeple), Britney Perera (13:31.42, 3000m Steeple), and Regina Molitoris (31.34m, Discus)
The Gaels will next be in action April 3 - 5 with split squad action at the Mike Fanelli Track Classic and the Stanford Invitational.
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