While most of the Highlander track and field team was in Albuquerque, New Mexico, Weslie Totten continued to add to her legacy just over 1,400 miles north.
The redshirt junior broke her own school record in the 5,000-meter indoor run at the UW Husky Classic at Washington’s Dempsey Arena in Seattle, Washington on Friday, Feb. 10. She recorded a time of 17:02.25, breaking her previous record of 17:08.25 that was set at this same meet two years ago. While Totten’s time placed her 46th, the only other Highlander participant in Seattle — sophomore Emily Sanchez — finished in 64th place with a time of 17:50.39.
Several other members of the track and field team traveled to the University of New Mexico (UNM) to participate in the UNM Dom Kirby Indoor Invitational held at the Albuquerque Convention Center in Albuquerque, New Mexico on Friday, Feb. 10 and Saturday, Feb. 11.
Despite not qualifying for the finals, sophomore Nick Abboud cruised past the Highlander record at the event with an 8.34 second time in the 600-meter hurdles preliminaries, almost two-tenths of a second better than the previous record of 8.52 seconds set by Jason Bolden-Anders in 2004. Abboud finished the race in 17th.
The Highlanders also had some success in the men’s weight throw event. Senior Carl Nahigian placed eighth with a throw going 17.68 meters. Sophomore Silviu Bocancea placed 10th with a distance of 17.47 meters. Junior Wesley Braddock placed 15th with a 16.36 meter score. Freshman Lawrence O’Hara rounded out the Highlanders, placing 18th with a distance of 14.78 meters.
In the women’s weight throw competition, freshman Gabrielle Eshiet placed 14th with a distance of 17.03 meters. Junior Tori Teraji finished 25th with a distance of 15.55 meters. Junior Jessica Tobias did not qualify due to fouls.
Eshiet also placed 25th in the women’s shot put, logging a 12.71 meter throw.
In the men’s long jump, sophomore Ricky Wright Jr. finished 19th with a jump of 7.03 meters and senior Michael Harris finished 27th with a distance of 6.56 meters. Sophomore Nick Abboud did not qualify.
In the men’s 3,000-meter run, sophomore Arman Irani finished in 9:04.85, good for 26th place.
Senior Carlos Lopez finished fifth in the men’s 600-meter, with a time of 1:21.42. Sophomore Ethan Van Setten finished right behind him in 1:21.43 for sixth place and senior Jarrade Davis finished ninth, completing the race in 1:23.53.
Lopez also participated in the men’s one-mile run. He finished in 4:21.48, good for 17th and junior Solomon Demeku-Ousman finished in 4:24.91 to take 25th place.
The Highlanders stuck close to each other in the men’s 800-meter run. Davis finished 21st with a time of 1:59.17 and Demeku-Ousman finished right behind him with a time of 1:59.56, placing him 23rd.
In the men’s 200-meter dash, junior Justin Parker finished 45th with a time of 22.31 seconds and senior Zachary Lewis placed 53rd with a time of 22.59 seconds.
In the men’s 400-meter dash, Parker placed 12th, finishing in 48.45 seconds. Lewis placed 33rd, finishing in 49.91 seconds. Davis placed 41st, finishing in 50.62 seconds and Porter placed 55th, finishing in 52.74 seconds.
Freshman Kenady Jackson led the women in the 200, finishing 45th with a time of 24.98 seconds. Her time also moved her into second place on the Highlander all-time list at the event. She only trails Asha Giles’ 24.70 time set on Feb. 13, 2015. Redshirt junior Sirai Thompson finished 76th with a time of 25.59 seconds. Freshman Destiny Mitchell finished 80th with a time of 25.64 seconds. Finally, sophomore Rachel Wiggins finished 102nd with a time of 26.51 seconds.
Freshman Sydney Hunter was the first Highlander to place in the women’s 400-meter dash, finishing in 59.12 seconds for 62nd place. Redshirt junior Jasmine Thomas finished in 1:00.29 for 72nd place, junior Taylor Brown finished in 1:00.85 to take 74th place and Wiggins finished in 1:01.94 for 78th place
In the women’s 800-meter run, junior Keisha May finished the race in 2:22.96, placing her 25th overall.
The UC Riverside ‘A’ team placed eighth in the men’s 4×400-meter relay with a final time of 3:18.20.
In the women’s triple jump, Schuhmeier did not qualify due to fouls.
The Highlanders will be back in action on Friday, Feb. 24, when they’ll be participating in their first ever Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Indoor Championships at the University of Washington.
