VANCOUVER – Highlighted by championship game certifying marks both on the track and in the field, the first day of the 2023 UBC Open saw some remarkable outcomes – and weather condition – at the Rashpal Dhillon Oval on Saturday.
Hundreds of professional athletes from throughout B.C. and Washington State contended on the recently resurfaced track which itself shone, even if the sun didn’t for much of the day which included rain and hail attending to some included difficulty together with the quality of competitors.
“Overall I’m simply truly happy,” said UBC head coach Laurier Primeau. “And in some occasions where there weren’t leading efficiencies, we simply contended well. We understand where a few of the professional athletes’ relative efficiencies stand based upon success they have actually had in the past therefore if we’re coming leading 3 or 4 versus some high level competitors, I’m comfy understanding when we get to southern California that we can anticipate even much faster times and more ranges.”
One of the leading T-Bird efficiencies that did take place Saturday was thanks to sophomore Rachel Mortimer who took top place in the ladies’s 1500 metres with an exceptional time of 4:21.41, the leading mark throughout the NAIA up until now this season and almost 15 seconds under ‘A’ Standard while shattering her previous personal finest by 13 seconds.
“From 800 to 5K she’s going to be an effect,” Primeau said of Mortimer’s capacity. “We’re lucky to have her back with the group and eagerly anticipating seeing what she can do throughout her spectrum of occasions.”
Traditionally among UBC’s greatest disciplines, the ladies’s 5000 metres didn’t dissatisfy with all 4 T-Bird entrants protecting ‘A’ Standard and an area at May’s championship game in Indiana. Kiana Gibson ended up second in the deep field with a time of 16:22.04. Katie Newlove, Marley Beckett, and Kyla Becker followed close behind as the pack of blue and gold took second through 5th.
?? TF | @ubctrack‘s Rachel Mortimer squashed her previous personal finest in the 1500 to win the occasion at the UBC Open in 4:21.41 and punching her ticket to the NAIA National Championship in May pic.twitter.com/o1x13nBmUf
— UBC Thunderbirds (@ubctbirds) March 26, 2023
Three T-Birds likewise made their automated certification to nationals in the males’s 5000 metres with John Perrier blazing a trail with a top place surface time of 14:23.74. Fellow T-Bird Liam Dwyer ended up 4th in 14:35.36 while Sasha Schimmelpenninck fulfilled ‘A’ basic without a split second to extra, discovering in precisely 14:40.00.
“It was fantastic to see those 1500 and 5K requirements, regardless of the reality we bookended this day with some quite rough weather condition,” included Primeau. “We had a good stretch throughout the middle part and it was fantastic for us to see a good variety of extra ‘A’ Standards which’s what we desire. I anticipate when we have opportunities with much better conditions we’ll see much more.”
Earlier in the day UBC’s race walkers set the tone with an overall of 4 automated certifying times. The ladies’s race saw the ‘Birds declare the leading 3 areas, led by safeguarding NAIA champ Olivia Lundman who finished the 5000 metre occasion in 23:03.90. Joean Lu ended up second in 25:20.60 followed carefully by Cassidy Cardle 8 seconds later on.
Tyler Wilson won the males’s race walk in 22:26.27 to declare ‘A’ Standard while novice T-Bird Nikhil Hirani fulfilled ‘B’ basic in his very first college race with a time of 25:14.04.
Freshman pole vaulter Sonya Urbanowicz began her blue and gold profession off with a bang, protecting ‘A’ Standard on her very first effort, ultimately clearing 3.80 metres.
Field occasions continued to acquire championship game qualifiers as Isabella Hall enhanced last weekend’s ‘B’ Standard hammer toss to an ‘A’ as she handled 50.84 metres Saturday, completing 2nd at the satisfy.
The males’s hammer toss was controlled by freshman T-Bird Matthew Uliana who took initially by almost 10 metres, clearing 63.58, improving his ‘A’ Standard accomplishment last weekend in California by over a metre and a half.
Day 2 of the UBC Open on Sunday will see the conclusion of decathlon and heptathlon occasions in addition to the males’s and ladies’s 3000 metre steeplechase with still more championship game qualifiers up for grabs.
