Three School Records Fall at @UNC_TrackField's Tom Benich Invite

Sunday, April 2

Greeley, CO

All Day

University of Northern Colorado

Tom Benich Invite

Photo by: Ed Navarro

4/2/2017 8:52:00 PM | Men's Track & Field, Women's Track & Field, Track & Field

By: UNCBears.com

FINAL RESULTS | TEAM RESULTS

GREELEY, Colo. – Northern Colorado track and field hosted its annual Tom Benich Invite on Sunday. The men's and women's team combined for nine first place finishes and three new school records.

Best Finishes:
All three school records came on the women's side. The first program-best to fall on the day came in the 4x100 meter relay.

The team of Brianna Pardner, Alivia Ayres-Perry, Samara Lishchynsky and Moriah Zachary passed the baton around the rack in 45.45 seconds, besting the old record of 45.67 seconds set by the same team nearly one year ago. The relay team also took first place honors in the event.

The second record to come down was in the 800m run. Sophomore, Cammy Sargent bolted to a finish of 2:09.34, taking first place by over six seconds and besting the previous UNC record of 2:10.66 set by Libbie Simpson in 1992, 25 years ago.

The third and final school record of the invite came from junior jumper, Juliette Cossey. Cossey became the first UNC triple jumper to record over a 12 meter mark. She hit the pit in 12.05m (39-6.40), out-jumping the previous record set by Alisha Allen (11.96m) in 2015. Not only did she set the school record, but Cossey also took top honors in the event.

The women's team also brought home four other first place finishes.

Senior, Moriah Zachary came through for the Bears in the final home meet of her career. Along with 4x100m relay win, Zachary won both the 100m and 200m dashes. Zachary broke the tape in 11.69 seconds in the 100m, and came across in 24.01 seconds in the 200m.

Fellow senior, Rikki Gonzales was a dominant force in the 1500m run. Gonzales was the only runner in the field to finish with a sub-five minute time. She wrapped up the event in 4:51.28, with the next closest competitor coming in 11 seconds later.

The women sealed up their final victory of the meet in the last racing event of the day, the 4x400m. Shalise Fernander, Sargent, Alyssa Bettendorf and Mackenzie Howie dashed their way to a time of 3:50.15, taking first by 11 seconds.

The Men's team garnered two first place finishes. The first came from sophomore, Even Keely in the 800m run. Keely clocked in at 1:55.45, just beating out teammate, senior, Keegan Lape (1:56.52) for the top spot.

The other event UNC men won was the 4x400m relay. The squad comprised of Jordan Medina, Keely, Antoine Coates and Bailey Sexton came soaring across in 3:21.33.

Other Top Finishes:
In the women's pole vault, senior vaulter, Karli Jelden sealed up a second place nod in the event. Jelden cleared the bar in 3.55m (11-7.70).

Cossey was good for second place in the women's long jump. Her mark of 5.75m (18-10.5) was a new PR for the junior and sits tied as the fifth longest jump in UNC history.

Besides Sargent's historic run in the 800m, the Bears also took second and third place in the event as well thanks to sophomore, Alicia Thompson and senior, Carly Browning. Thompson placed second with a time of 2:15.79, while Browning came in third, clocking in at 2:22.81, respectively.

Pardner and Ayres-Perry owned third and fourth place in the women's 100m dash. Pardner set a new PR with a finish of 11.89 seconds, and Ayres-Perry finished in 11.91 seconds.

Howie posted a respectable third place finish in the women's 400m hurdles. Howie's time of 1:02.31 now sits as the seventh-fastest mark in the UNC record books.

On the men's side, junior sprinter, Alex Mead brought home a third place finish in the 200m dash with a time of 21.70 seconds. Sophomore, Isaiah Brown took fourth in the event, clocking in at 22.08 seconds.

Medina, who had his hand in the Bears' 4x400m relay win, also placed third in the 400m dash. Medina finished in a season-best time of 48.28 seconds.

Freshman distance runner, Jeremy Romero reeled in a third place finish of his own in the 1,500m run. Romero's time was in the tune of 4:08.24, good for a spot in the UNC record book as the 10^th quickest time in program history.

Up Next:
Track and field will stay in the Centennial State for its next meet. The Bears will head to Boulder to compete in the Colorado Invite on April 8.