ALBUQUERQUE, N. Mex. – Azusa Pacific's indoor track and field schedule brought them to the Land of Enchantment at the end of January to compete in the New Mexico Team Open.  It was a weekend that saw several impressive individual efforts, particularly in the field events.

 Friday Field Recap

Sierra Nelson put up a strong showing in the long jump, as her second jump of the day went 17' 8", the longest of any Division II competitor on the day.  On the men's side, Dejuan Walcott needed all three of his attempts to record a clean result, but it was worth the wait, as his jump of 22; 4 ¼" was the third best among Division II athletes and 13th overall in a field of 40.  Elsewhere in jumping events, Zania Ruffin earned a top-7 finish in the high jump, clearing 5' 4 ¼".  

In the throwing events, Hannah Richardson put in a 10th-place finish in the women's weight throw with a toss of 54' 1", while Stefano Matteucci led the Cougar men in the event with a toss of 47' 11", two spots ahead of Brett Olson's 47' 3".

Friday Track Recap

Isaac Shires was the top finisher for the Cougars in the unseeded portion of the men's 200m, coming to the line in 13th place overall in a time of 21.64, just a hundredth of a second faster than teammate Chase Hansen.  In the women's 200 invitational, it was Trinity Miller coming through for the Cougars with a time of 24.10, the 7th-fastest overall and 2nd among Division II athletes.

Saturday Field Recap

Richardson got the day started with a bang, placing second overall in the women's shot put with a toss of 52' 3 ¾".  Matteucci placed fifth in the men's shot put with a throw of 50' 6".  Nicolas Jordan tied for the best performance by a D2 athlete in the men's pole vault, clearing 15' 3 ¾".  

Saturday Track Recap

Erick Leal and Nicolas Melendres finished within 0.15 seconds of each other in the men's 800m run, both finishing in the upper half of a field littered with Division I and II athletes.  Miller just barely missed the qualifying time for nationals in the women's 60m sprint, finishing in 7.63 seconds.

Up Next:  The Cougars will return to Nevada next weekend for the Wolf Pack Classic in Reno, which will run from Thursday through Saturday.