Guidry leads SMU track and field in impressive John Knight Twilight showing

The Saint Martin’s University Track and Field team had one of their best track meets this outdoor season so far. The men’s team collectively finished fifth out of 13 schools, and the women’s team placed fourth out of 14 participating schools in the John Knight Twilight last Friday at Western Oregon University in Monmouth.

Ethan Guidry had a notable performance for the Saints. He was named the GNAC player of the week after he won the men’s javelin throw, setting a new personal record of 61.01 meters. This placed him 24th by far in the NCAA Div II rankings, a national provisional qualifier.  

Still in the field, Jocelyn Saribay also impressed in her two events, placing third in the women’s hammer throw with a personal record of 47.28m and sixth in the women’s shot put, hurling at 11.13m.

Heptathlete Andrew Boyd ground on a busy day of multiple events. He placed second in the men’s 110m hurdles at 15.45s, fourth in the 400m hurdles at 1:00.86, fifth in the pole vault after jumping 3.55m, and 14th in the discus throw after recording 34.46m.

Cassidy Walchak Sloan and Alisha Saucedo set their sights for the GNAC Regionals as they finished second and third, respectively, in the women’s 800 meters. Walchak-Sloan's time of 2:14.17 is fifth overall in the GNAC so far, and Saucedo’s 2:15.79 is seventh in the conference for now.

In the jumping events, rookie Connor Olmstead impressed in the men’s high jump, placing third with 1.80m, while senior Andrew Schulz finished third in the men’s long jump with an admirable distance of 6.56m. Ryan Doidge also did well, placing second in the men’s pole vault after clearing a 4.30-meter height.

Junior sprinter Madison Vu also did well in her events. She finished fourth in the women’s 400 meters after clocking in at 26.09 seconds and set a personal record in the women’s 200-meter sprint with 58.38 seconds. Gabriela Cintron also impressed in the women’s 100-meter hurdles, after her 15.74-second finish was deemed good enough for second place.

Known for his feats in distance running, Eli Dale switched gears and debuted for the men’s 3000 steeplechase and did not disappoint as he finished third in his first-ever competitive performance in the event, clocking at 9:59.64. Co-debutant Jaskran Dhatt also vied the same event and finished sixth at 10:59.53.

Speaking of debuts, Mira Jayarama debuted in her first-ever track race in her career, finishing ninth in the women’s 5000 meters after clocking a commendable 20:57.48. Sara Sabra led the Saints delegation in the same event as she placed third with 18:01.91 while Kya Ramirez finished fifth still in the women’s 5k with 18:29.04.

Other notable performances were that of the SMU quartet, finishing third in both the men’s 4x100m (Hewson Nguyen, Ashton Rodriguez, Kenneth Carter, and Zachary Franco) and 4x400m relays (Zachary Franco, Matt Cooper, Kainalu Pagente, and Connor Olmstead).

Overall, the men’s team garnered 73 points to place fifth out of 13 schools, and the women’s team scored 55.5 points to place fourth out of 14 participating teams.

The Track and Field team will take a rest this week. It will compete in the homestretch outdoor track meets this season at the Wildcat Invitational hosted by Central Washington University in Ellensburg on April 20 and the Ralph Vernacchia Invite at Bellingham on April 27. These are in the buildup for the GNAC Regional Championships on April 29-30 for Multi Events, May 10-11 for Track events, and the NCAA Div II Championships on May 23-25.