OREM, Utah-- On the final day of competition at the 2014 WAC Outdoor Championship, Bryan Wilmert (Jr., Bakersfield, Calif., Liberty HS) became Bakersfield's first WAC Champion with a first-place performance in the hammer throw.
Men
Throughout the majority of the 2014 track and field season, Wilmert's massive throw of 197-00 at the Ben Brown Invitational led the entire WAC in the hammer. In the final weeks leading up to the WAC Outdoors, Kyle Rothwell of Idaho narrowly edged out Wilmert, but the Bakersfield native got the last laugh at the big meet. With a throw of 191-04, Wilmert won the event and became the first Bakersfield WAC Champion since the 'Runners joined the conference this year.
Wilmert's teammate, Gabe Holland (Sr., Anchorage, Alaska, Univ. of Alaska), finished his senior season with a strong performance as well in the hammer. The Alaskan thrower earned a spot on the podium with his sixth-place toss of 169-11. Holland finished the day in his better event, the discus, by claiming fourth with a throw of 149-02. The senior closed his Roadrunner career by scoring a total of eight points towards the team scores. "Bryan had great throws today," said Bakersfield's Director of Track and Field, Marcia Mansur-Wentworth. "Gabe did really well, too."
Richard Maestre (RJr., Bakersfield, Calif., South HS) showed up at the track in Orem after a hard season, but put the countless hours of preparation to good use. The former South High Rebel improved his personal record by more than a second with a fifth-place finish in the 400m hurdles (53.08). After battling back from injury, Maestre has not returned to form; he has surpassed his previous form. "Richie had a great weekend," said Mansur-Wentworth.
The Bakersfield native also took a leg of the 4 x 100m relay along with Max Fagan (Jr., Auburn, Calif., College of the Siskiyous), Justus Mora (Sr., Sparks, Nev., Spanish Springs HS), and Matthew Turkington (RJr., Bakersfield, Centennial HS). The group of men put up its fastest time of the season by eight tenths of a second (42.34) for a fourth-place finish. The 4 x 400m quartet smashed the previous 2014 CSUB best by more than six seconds as it crossed the line fifth with a time of 3:21.02.
The Roadrunner men's team was as high as fifth in the team standings on Saturday. Despite bringing only nine members, the squad represented Bakersfield well, finishing seventh of eight in the standings with 40 points. Seattle U was just 16 points ahead in sixth place while Idaho's men won the team overall title.
Women
Less than three months after standing on the podium at the WAC Indoor Championship with a third-place finish in the 800m, freshman Ariana Mariscal (Bakersfield, Calif., North HS) climbed the steps again on Saturday. Mariscal finished sixth with her second best time of the season (2:14.69).
Alyssa Page rebounded from a near miss of qualifying for the 200m dash on Friday and ran a 57.72 time in the 400m finals. Proving herself to be the anchor of the women's team, Page also ran the anchor legs on both the 4 x 100m and 4 x 400m relay teams. Imitating their male teammates, the women's 4 x 100m team improved its season's best time to 47.20 in a sixth-place finish. The 4 x 400m team, featuring three of the same women from the shorter relay, posted a fourth-place time of 3:50.32. The finish was not only nearly three seconds faster than the previous season's best time, but also moved the quartet from 20th overall on the Bakersfield's Top 20 list in the event to 10th. "I was really happy with the way all of our relay teams ran this weekend," said Mansur-Wentworth.
The 'Runners were able to leapfrog Chicago State in the last event of the day, giving Bakersfield's nine women an eighth-place finish in the team standings. Idaho's women's team completed the team sweep as it also won the overall title on Saturday.
~www.GoRunners.com~
