Apr 5, 2009

Personal Bests at Pomona-Pitzer Invite for Numerous Tigers

CLAREMONT, CALIF. (April 4, 2009) – Occidental College track and field athletes had one last opportunity to tune-up their performances before re-entering conference competition, during a day with athletes from all divisions, out on the track at the 2009 Pomona-Pitzer Invitational. Numerous Tigers came away with personal bests as they prepare for the final stretch of the season.

Oxy’s female hurdlers enjoyed a great day. Leading the way was junior Karuna Batcha who produced the performance of the day in the 100m hurdles. In only her second race of the season, Batcha powered away from her competitors after the first hurdle and increased her lead with every hurdle. Her time of 15.19 was a lifetime best by 0.3 seconds, ranks her first in the SCIAC, and moves her to fourth on the Oxy All-Time Top Ten List.

In the 400m hurdles, the duo of Lauren Johnson and Sarah Fischer also produced life time best performances. Johnson, a freshman, ran a great last 100m to cross the line in 68.02, over two seconds faster than her previous best performance, while Fischer '09 had an equally impressive breakthrough. Her time of 68.47 was a lifetime best by over a second and a half. Johnson and Fischer are now ranked second and third in the SCIAC for 2009.

Another pair of Tigers who rank highly in the conference are the first year 800m runners Claire Larson and Anna Dalton. At the meet both Larson and Dalton bettered her seasonal best marks. Larson took over a second off her best time this year, finishing in 2:16.06, which is the fastest by any SCIAC competitor this year and makes her the tenth fastest half miler in Oxy history. Dalton ran a great last 200m of her race to cross the line in 2:23.56, giving her the second fastest time in the conference this year.

In the quarter mile, sophomore Season Falker-Rodriguez lowered her lifetime best in the 400m, for the fifth consecutive meet, to 60.43.

Highlighting the field events was senior Kera Bartlett who equaled her best mark of the season (12'2"); a performance that still ranks her first in DIII in 2009.

On the men's side, a trio of Tigers produced either lifetime or seasonal best performances in the 400m. Leading the pack home was freshman Thomas Cahuzac who lowered his life time best by an astonishing 1.3 seconds to 50.47. Sophomore Mike Fox finished strongly in the same race and was rewarded with a new seasonal best time of 51.45. Close on Fox's heels was first year Dan Perez who took just over a second off his lifetime best in the 400m, crossing the line in 51.50.

Not to be outdone, the half milers also produced a slew of lifetime best performances. They were led by freshman Will Moseley who clocked in at 1:56.54. Junior Jon Wheeler was the next fastest Tiger on the day as he took 1.1 seconds off of his previous best 800m time, leading his heat from wire to wire crossing the line in 1:57.81. Fellow junior Noah Carson also had a huge break through as he clocked 2:00.19, two seconds better than his previous best time.

In less than ideal conditions (75 degree weather), first year Will Hollingsworth lowered his lifetime best in the 5000m. He has been one of the outstanding break-through performers on the team this spring. After going out through the mile in a time that would have been close to his high school mile PR, Hollingsworth hung tough to finish in 15:39.47. That time makes Hollingsworth the second fastest first year in the 5k in the SCIAC this year (behind fellow Tiger Eric Kleinsasser).

Both men's relay teams also had stellar performances. The 4x100m team lowered their best time of the season to 43.57, even though not all of their exchanges were ideal. In the 4x400m relay all four Tigers produced their best splits of 2009. Cahuzac led the Tigers off with a 51.3 performance, Fox split 50.3 on the second leg, Wheeler split 50.9 on third, and Moseley split 49.6 on anchor.

Out in the field, freshman Juan German launched the hammer out to a new lifetime best of 139'10" and classmate Dave Foley improved his best high jump mark by two inches to 5'9".

Below are a selection of videos of the Tigers in action at Saturday's meet (available in high definition):

Women's Videos

Women's 400mH (Lauren Johnson & Sarah Fischer): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WBynkLMNQ6Y&feature=channel_page
Karuna Batcha 100mH: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p09VlU8Ua-w&feature=channel_page

Men's Videos

Men's 4 x 400m Relay: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f6tgx6GKLWE&feature=channel_page
Men's 200m (Mike Fox and Dorian Vaughn): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iclGp92cZRI&feature=channel_page
Men's 400m (Thomas Cahuzac, Mike Fox, Dan Perez): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PpkMELqJSRI&feature=channel_page

Next weekend the Tigers will open their conference campaign at the SCIAC Multi-Duals hosted by Whittier College. This meet counts for a quarter of the final conference standings. Field events will start at 11:30 a.m. and track events begin at noon.



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Oxy’s female hurdlers enjoyed a great day. Leading the way was junior Karuna Batcha who produced the performance of the day in the 100m hurdles. In only her second race of the season, Batcha powered away from her competitors after the first hurdle and increased her lead with every hurdle. Her time of 15.19 was a lifetime best by 0.3 seconds, ranks her first in the SCIAC, and moves her to fourth on the Oxy All-Time Top Ten List. In the 400m hurdles, the duo of Lauren Johnson and Sarah Fischer also produced life time best performances. Johnson, a freshman, ran a great last 100m to cross the line in 68.02, over two seconds faster than her previous best performance, while Fischer '09 had an equally impressive breakthrough. Her time of 68.47 was a lifetime best by over a second and a half. Johnson and Fischer are now ranked second and third in the SCIAC for 2009. Another pair of Tigers who rank highly in the conference are the first year 800m runners Claire Larson and Anna Dalton. At the meet both Larson and Dalton bettered her seasonal best marks. Larson took over a second off her best time this year, finishing in 2:16.06, which is the fastest by any SCIAC competitor this year and makes her the tenth fastest half miler in Oxy history. Dalton ran a great last 200m of her race to cross the line in 2:23.56, giving her the second fastest time in the conference this year. In the quarter mile, sophomore Season Falker-Rodriguez lowered her lifetime best in the 400m, for the fifth consecutive meet, to 60.43. Highlighting the field events was senior Kera Bartlett who equaled her best mark of the season (12'2"); a performance that still ranks her first in DIII in 2009. On the men's side, a trio of Tigers produced either lifetime or seasonal best performances in the 400m. Leading the pack home was freshman Thomas Cahuzac who lowered his life time best by an astonishing 1.3 seconds to 50.47. Sophomore Mike Fox finished strongly in the same race and was rewarded with a new seasonal best time of 51.45. Close on Fox's heels was first year Dan Perez who took just over a second off his lifetime best in the 400m, crossing the line in 51.50. Not to be outdone, the half milers also produced a slew of lifetime best performances. They were led by freshman Will Moseley who clocked in at 1:56.54. Junior Jon Wheeler was the next fastest Tiger on the day as he took 1.1 seconds off of his previous best 800m time, leading his heat from wire to wire crossing the line in 1:57.81. Fellow junior Noah Carson also had a huge break through as he clocked 2:00.19, two seconds better than his previous best time. In less than ideal conditions (75 degree weather), first year Will Hollingsworth lowered his lifetime best in the 5000m. He has been one of the outstanding break-through performers on the team this spring. After going out through the mile in a time that would have been close to his high school mile PR, Hollingsworth hung tough to finish in 15:39.47. That time makes Hollingsworth the second fastest first year in the 5k in the SCIAC this year (behind fellow Tiger Eric Kleinsasser). Both men's relay teams also had stellar performances. The 4x100m team lowered their best time of the season to 43.57, even though not all of their exchanges were ideal. In the 4x400m relay all four Tigers produced their best splits of 2009. Cahuzac led the Tigers off with a 51.3 performance, Fox split 50.3 on the second leg, Wheeler split 50.9 on third, and Moseley split 49.6 on anchor. Out in the field, freshman Juan German launched the hammer out to a new lifetime best of 139'10" and classmate Dave Foley improved his best high jump mark by two inches to 5'9". Below are a selection of videos of the Tigers in action at Saturday's meet (available in high definition): Women's Videos Women's 400mH (Lauren Johnson & Sarah Fischer): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WBynkLMNQ6Y&feature=channel_page Karuna Batcha 100mH: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p09VlU8Ua-w&feature=channel_page Men's Videos Men's 4 x 400m Relay: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f6tgx6GKLWE&feature=channel_page Men's 200m (Mike Fox and Dorian Vaughn): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iclGp92cZRI&feature=channel_page Men's 400m (Thomas Cahuzac, Mike Fox, Dan Perez): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PpkMELqJSRI&feature=channel_page Next weekend the Tigers will open their conference campaign at the SCIAC Multi-Duals hosted by Whittier College. This meet counts for a quarter of the final conference standings. Field events will start at 11:30 a.m. and track events begin at noon.

Search OxyAthletics.com

Personal Bests at Pomona-Pitzer Invite for Numerous Tigers