ALISO VIEJO, Calif. -- Vanguard women's track and field ran its final indoor-length events Saturday at the Soka Indoor Qualifier.  One school record was reset, as Kaylee Best slotted into first in the triple jump with a launch of 12.16m (39' 10 ¾"), besting her 39' 9 ¾" jump just last time out.
 
What Happened?  The Blue and Gold had the only entrants in the 4,000m distance medley relay, with the quartet of Isabella Sword, Chase Sullivan, Kaitlyn Smith, and Haley Butenschoen (12:54.79) topping Hailey Quiroz, Zoe Taylor, Brady Wylie, and Zoe Tavares (13:04.74).  In a duel between VU and The Master's in the 5,000m event, Madyson Nakamura led the Lions with a second-place finish in a time of 17:55.32, while Emily Noyes was sixth (19:31.9), and Kaitlyn Barragan was seventh (19:45.56).  TMU took the rest of the top five placings.  Giselle Rubio was fifth in the 3,000m run (10:52.06), and Wylie (3:10.85) and Smith (3:11.98) were third and fourth, respectively, in the 1,000m event.  Sword and Quiroz ended third and fourth in the mile run, as Sword tallied a 5:23.8 and Quiroz a 5:24.18.
 
Moving to the mid-distance levels, Sydney Sydney led all VU runners with a fifth-place showing in the 800m race with a time of 2:39.39, and Megan Charley had a 1:35.68 in the 600m chase to net second place.  In the 400m, Haley Svendsen tallied a silver with a 1:00.06 time, while Jillian Orm came home in ninth (28.06) in the 200m dash, with Rebecca Sicotte (28.10) behind her in 10th.
 
In the shortest-distance races, Svendsen and Hannah Finch were third and fourth in the 60m hurdles, with Svendsen posting a 9.55 and Finch a 9.58.  In the 60m sprint, Elizabeth Betten topped the field with a 7.93, with Kolena Apana next up for VU in sixth at 8.21.
 
The only relay on offer was the 4x400, which was taken by the foursome of Charley, Isabella Alvarez, Mary Sawczuk, and Betten in a time of 4:07.1, 13 seconds ahead of the top team from Long Beach City CC.
 
On the field, the throwers were led by Andrea Espinoza Noriega in the shot put with a heave of 10.04m (32' 11 ¼"), with Gimena Hurtado just two meters behind (10.02m, 32' 10 ½").  In the weight throw, the order was reversed, with Hurtado winning with a 13.85 chuck (45' 5 ¼"), besting Espinoza Noriega's distance of 12.32m (40' 5"). 
 
The jumpers saw Finch place eighth in the long jump (4.71m, 15' 5 ½"), while Apana placed third with a leap of 11.27m (36' 11 ¾").  Abigail Wolf had the highest finish for VU in the high jump, clearing 1.35m (4' 5"). 
 
What was Said?  "Another special day for VU track!  Loads of event winners and personal bests," said Head Coach Bryan Wilkins.  "Our athletes supported one another with great enthusiasm and displayed a high level of sportsmanship and connection with other teams throughout the day.  I'm so proud of our team!"


What's Next?  The Carl Rossi Relays at Claremont-Mudd-Scripps beckon in two Saturdays (February 28) for the Blue and Gold.