Westmont Classic Results
Peyton-Shotwell Invite Results
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. - The Pacific Lutheran University men's track & field team won six events in California and one in Tacoma on Saturday, competing as a split squad to open up spring break. A bulk of the squad was in California at the Westmont Classic while a few Lutes stayed behind and competing at the University of Puget Sound's Peyton-Shotwell Invitational.
"Our team reveled in having the opportunity to compete in some great Southern California weather to start spring break. We took advantage of the weather and strong competition to produce some great performances. But more than anything, I loved how we supported each other and enjoyed the day together," said Head Coach
Adam Frye.
Darius Chaffin headlined the day, winning two events for the Black and Gold. The first-year clocked a personal best time of 15.22 seconds to win the 110-meter hurdles before uncorking a throw of 199 feet, 11 inches to win the javelin for the third straight meet. Chaffin's winning throw was over nine feet better than the next competitor and is currently the second best toss in NCAA Division III this spring.
Masum Real won the discus with a toss of 148' 11" with teammates
Larson Fairbairn second (148' 1"), and
Wyatt Tayon fourth (136' 8"). Real additionally was third in the shot put with a heave of 45' 7 1/4" while Fairbairn won the hammer throw with a chuck of 144' 0".
In the distance events,
Ryan Stracke and
Logan Werner went 1-2 in the 1,500-meters. Stracke, the NWC Cross Country Athlete of the Year, circled the oval in 3:54.63 with Werner a few steps back in 3:57.34.
Hezekiah Goodwin prevailed in the 3,000-meter steeplechase, winning a race for the third straight meet. Goodwin clocked a personal best time of 9:25.22 with teammate
Stefans Lusis third in 9:41.07. in the 5,000-meters,
Owen Ladinig was runner-up, crossing the finish in 15:24.83.
Nathan Atkinson cleared 5' 10 3/4" to finish third in the high jump while
Corey Solomon vaulted 14' 11" to place third in the pole vault.
In the sprints,
Kellen Meade was third in the 100-meters, clocking an 11.19 and teamed up with
Aiden Yost,
Keola Sanchez, and
Alec Serrao to finish third in the 4x100-meter relay in 44.04.
"Darius was on fire today! He had a huge PR to win the hurdles and followed up by throwing within an inch of 200 feet in the javelin that almost certainly locked up a spot at nationals. Our other throwers had a big day and it was fun to finish the meet watching our discus throwers go 1-2-4. Ryan and Logan also had inspiring efforts to go 1-2 in the 1,500 meters."
Earlier in the week,
Grady Lemma competed in Westmont's combined events meet, finishing sixth in the decathlon with 5,708 points, an effort that ranks him fourth in NCAA Division III this season.
At the Peyton-Shotwell Invitational in Tacoma, Sam Zielke won the 3,000-meter steeplechase in 10:20.76 while
Gavin Hawley was runner-up in the shot put (40' 6 1/4").
PLU is back in action on Friday, competing in day one of the CSUN Invitational in Northridge, California.
