Track records are made to be broken, as Saturday night showed. Two collegiate records and six all-time Drachman Stadium records fell at the UAโs Desert Heat Classic.
Meanwhile, the Arizona menโs and womenโs athletes made strong advances in their individual marks with the Pac-12 championships coming up in two weeks. Team scoring was not kept as UA competed against eight teams in its final home meet of the season.
In the first collegiate record, Kenya-born Michael Saruni of UTEP blazed to the fastest time in the world in the 800 meters by clocking 1:43.25. Arizona redshirt sophomore Carlos Villarreal posted his personal best by running 1:46.70 to place second.
After suffering a disappointment earlier in the hammer throw and discus, ASUโs Maggie Ewen tossed the shot put 63 feet, 10 1/4 inches to establish an NCAA record.
In addition to Saruni and Ewenโs marks, four other stadium records were set, three of those by Oregonโs No. 3-ranked womenโs team.
The Ducksโ 400-meter โAโ relay team ran 42.70 for one stadium record. Alaysha Johnson followed with a new standard, 12.75, in the 100 high hurdles. Then the Ducksโ Lauren Rain Williams took another record with a 22.51 time in the 200 dash.
Ashley Henderson of San Diego State joined the stadium record breakers by speeding to the 100 finish line in 10.98.
Arizona freshman Jordan Geist heaved the 16-pound shot put 66-11 1/2 for his personal-best outdoor performance, establishing the NCAAโs longest throw of the season.
Tucsonan Turner Washington and Pennsylvanian Geist finished 1-2 in the discus with Washington throwing 185-4 and Geist 183-8.
Arizona ended the night with a victory in the 1,600 relay in a season-best 3:07.37. Other first-place winners for the Wildcats were Maj Williams in the 400 dash in 46.69, Hunter Davila in the 3,000, Grayson Fleming in the hammer throw and Erik Mensendiek in the javelin.
For the womenโs team, Addie Zerrener breezed to victory for the Wildcats at 3,000 meters, Claire Green won the mile run, Kayla Ferron took the steeplechase and Kaelyn Carlson-Shipley won the javelin.
In the womenโs hammer throw, NAUโs Brook Anderson upset ASUโs Ewen, who had been undefeated for two years and holds the farthest mark, not only in the NCAA but in the world.
Anderson flung the hammer 243-5 to beat Ewen by almost four feet. Ewen still holds the worldโs longest throw โ 244-6.
Ewen, who has been No. 1 in the NCAA discus throw, failed to place in the event by fouling four times. But then she came up strong in the shot put.
Arizonaโs seniors, along with their parents, were honored during the meet.
The Wildcats will contend with highly ranked Oregon, USC and Stanford at the Pac-12 championships at Stanford on May 12 and 13.
