SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – The Vanguard women's track and field team flooded the podiums at the season-opening meet on Saturday at the Rustbuster Meet at Westmont College. The Lions issued 26 top-three finishes, including 13 first-place hauls during their first meet of 2026.

Indoor Records Broken:
Kaylee Best | Long Jump 19'3 ¼"  | Previous 17'8 ¼" (Jordan Burke 2024)
Kaylee Best | Triple Jump 39'3 ¼" | Previous 38'11 ¾" (Kiana Davis 2014)
Haley Svendsen | 300m Hurdles 47.33
Landon Torres | 300m Hurdles 40.50
* The 300m event is new for both programs


Starting with sprints, freshman Angelique Addae sped past the pack in the 60-meter race, clocking in at 7.89 in her first track event as a Lion.

It was the veteran Elizabeth Betten who set the pace in the 200 meters, ripping out 25.55 to claim first place.

The Blue and Gold stacked out the podium in the 600 meters, with sophomore Megan Charley leading the way (1:40.61) to finish first place. Mary Sawzcuk and Isabella Alvarez were tight-knit in second and third place, with Sawzcuck running 1:42.79 and Alvarez ending at 1:43.33.

Freshman Haley Svendsen was runner-up in the 300-meter hurdles at 47.33.

The distance runners were led by Bella Sword and Madyson Nakamura. Sword marked her debut with a first-place finish in the 1000 meters, finishing two seconds ahead of second place at 3:07.27. Nakamura wedged a dominant gap in first place in the 3000-meter race, with the captain ending nearly 36 seconds ahead of the pack (11:02:40).

The relay teams showed out, with the pair of squads in the 4x800 relay taking first and second place. Haley Butenschoen, Kaitlyn Smith, Hailey Quiroz, and Bella Sword were first to finish (10.05.99) with the quartet followed by the Lion collective of Chase Sullivan, Sydney Sydney, Macey Thomas, and Brady Wylie (10:30.70).

In the distance medley relay, VU's A squad (Haley Butenschoen, Chase Sullivan, Kaitlyn Smith, Giselle Rubio) came together for third place, connecting for a 12:56:36 time.

VU's only high jump competitor, Abigail Wolf, won the event, clearing 4' 7" (1.40m).

Kaylee Best flashed across the sand pit to win first place in the long jump. In her first official Vanguard meet, she tallied 19' 3.25" (5.87m) trek on her third attempt. She was followed by Kolena Apana (17' 0.5"- 5.19m) in second place and Briana Martin in third (16' 10.75" – 5.15m).

Best also blew past the competition in the triple jump, with her third turn proving her best once again (39' 3.25" - 11.97m) to sport her second first-place win of the meet.

Andrea Espinoza Noriega and Gimena Hurtado were the top two in shot put, discus, and weight throw. Noriega was first in shot put (30' 5.5"- 9.28m) and second in discus (104' 3" - 31.78m) and weight throw. She PR'd in weight with a 13.21m throw on her third try.

Hurtado was crowned first in the discus (33.04m) and weight throw (13.32m), while placing second behind Noriega  in the shot put (9.22m).

Closing out with javelin toss were Rebecca Sicotte and Hannah Finch. The freshman Sicotte struck gold in her third attempt (23.69m) to earn first place, while Finch's best launch (23.33m) came in her second go to take third place.

What was Said?  "I'm so proud of our team today!  They shared great joy and camaraderie with the Westmont and TMU athletes, while competing their hearts out," said Head Coach Bryan Wilkins.  "We saw loads of personal bests, and sever top 10 marks on the day.  Also, super proud of Kaylee Best for break two school records in her debut, along with seeing Hailey Svendsen and Landon Torres set a pair of new school in the 300m hurdles!  A very fun and fulfilling start to our season."

What's Next? The Lions head to the OIDFE Challenge next Saturday, Feb. 7, in Claremont.