The men and women’s track and field season has hit the ground running, with predicted success after last season’s SCIAC Championship. At Saturday’s opening meet at Caltech in Pasadena, the Kingsmen beat Caltech 102-40, but lost to Claremont Mudd-Scripps and Redlands. At the same meet, the Regals beat Caltech 102-41 and Redlands 106.5-51.5, but lost to Claremont Mudd-Scripps, 90-72.

“We are a deeper team than we have ever been, so we can fill events we used to not have people in. We are a young team. Once everyone adjusts and matures, we will be hard to beat,” said senior Justin Puccinelli, who placed first in javelin with a throw of 54.44 meters.

Newcomer Amanda Hamilton, a freshman from Simi Valley, broke two CLU records at Saturday’s meet. She placed third in the triple jump, jumping 11.21 meters, and placed first in the 400-meter hurdles with a time of 1:04.24, both significantly better marks than last week’s at the Pomona-Pitzer All-Comers Meet.

Breaking records is nothing new for Hamilton, who broke two records during her career at Simi Valley High School.

“She is really strong and has so much potential. She is going to do amazing things these next few years,” said junior Lauren Rohach, who placed fourth in the long jump and first in the 200-meter with a time of 26.7 seconds.

Rohach also ran in the 4×100 relay along with juniors Kendall Sauter, Amy Galipeau and Audrey Dow. They placed first with a time of 49.12 seconds.

The men’s 4×100-meter team, consisting of seniors Justin Reeves and Tristan Baer, sophomore Conor Frinfrock and junior Halaiano Aholelei-Fuentes, placed second with a time of 42.22 seconds. The 4×400-meter team placed fourth with a time of 3:31.26.

“As a team, we had a ton of personal bests from both the men and the women. Whether or not you win, it’s always nice to know the training is paying off,” said Puccinelli.

The hurdles were a strong event for the Kingsmen and Regals, with five people placing.

Along with Hamilton’s record-breaking 400-meter time, junior Lauren Kennedy placed fourth in the 100-meter hurdles with a time of 16.18 seconds. In the 110-meter high hurdles, Erik Fruth placed first with a time of 15.17 seconds, while Joe Forster took third with a time of 15.91 seconds. Fruth also competed in the 400-meter hurdles with a time of 56.86 seconds, resulting in a second place finish in the event.

Another strong competitor for the Kingsmen was Roy Diaz, a senior from Phoenix, Ariz. Diaz took first in discus, throwing 41.28 meters and third place in the hammer-throw, throwing 46.56 meters.

“We are competitive and have a lot of good athletes in a lot of events, which makes us dangerous in SCIAC meets. We have a few injuries right now, but it is early in the season and once everyone is back to 100 percent, we will be even stronger,” said Rohach.
The CLU track and field teams continue their season on Friday, March 8 at the Ben Brown Invitational at Cal State Fullerton.

Caitlin Dimmitt
Staff Writer
Published March 6, 2013