RIVERSIDE, Calif. – Jessina Morales highlighted a solid day of activity for the Vanguard women's track and field team as she established the school record in the two mile at the Riverside CC Early Bird on Saturday.
The senior posted a time of 11 minutes, 21.8 seconds to rewrite the record book, erasing a 25 year old record (11:44.2) previously owned by Monica Landa. Morales won the race with her effort.
The Lions filled out the rest of the top-10 in that event, beginning with Giselle Rubio with the third-fastest time of 11:48.84. Madyson Nakamura landed in fourth on the list in 11:49.73. Also finishing with top-10 VU record book performances were Sydney Sydney (5th, 11:59.60), Hailey Quiroz (6th, 12:35.82), Emily Noyes (7th, 12:36.87), Kaitlyn Barragan (9th, 12:59.63) and Vanessa Flores (10th, 13:30.68).
Freshman Kolena Apana just missed the Vanguard indoor long jump record by one-fourth of an inch. She finished first in the event with a leap of 17 feet, 8 inches. The indoor record is currently held by Jordyn Burke in 17-08.25, set on January 27, 2024. The 17-08 mark by Apana ranks sixth all-time at VU for both indoor and outdoor performances.
In the women's 300 meters, Brooke Dalgity improved upon her previous career-best of 40.32 with a time of 40.23 to maintain her hold on the No. 2 spot in VU annals. Meanwhile, newcomer Megan Charley posted a 42.92, good for eighth all-time.
Ariana Rodriguez placed fourth in the 600 meters and registered the fifth-fastest time at VU, crossing the line in 1:39.50. Katarina Sawczuk moved from ninth to eighth on the school's list, bettering her previous PR of 1:43.90 by more than a second to 1:42.15.
Kate Baranski – the school record holder in the mile – won the event in a time of 5:07.16, followed by Morales in 5:10.27. The Morales performance placed her fifth on the all-time list. Sydney Sydney logged a third place showing and her time of 5:26.89 was good for ninth all-time at VU.
Jaelah Butler had another banner day in the field events with first place finishes in the shot put (40-07/12.37m) and hammer (148-02/45.17m), as well as second in the javelin (87-10/26.77m) and sixth in the discus (112-02/34.19m).
Apana also showed out in the triple jump with a first place effort, clearing 35 feet, 10.75 inches (10.94m).
What's Next?: The Lions return to action on Saturday at the Soka Indoor Event.
