The San Diego women’s track middle-distance group achieved several personal-best performances and set two top-10 marks in program history at the Steve Scott Invitational at Anteater Stadium, according to a May 3 announcement.
The event was notable for the progress shown by both returning athletes and new freshmen. Head coach Will Guarino said, “We are also excited to see the development of the new freshmen mid-distance runners as they continue to grow and blossom.”
In the 800 meters, junior Lilly Dow won her heat with a time of 2:15.23, which is a personal best and ranks seventh all-time for San Diego. Scarlett Laurent finished fifth in her section with a personal-best time of 2:18.27, while Talya Sepand placed second in her heat with another personal best of 2:18.49. Guarino said, “Loved seeing the growth of Lily Dow as she not only won her heat, but she also got a great start in the 800m, and powered in with 200m to go to seal the win.” Molly Stewart recorded a season-best time of 2:21.01; Kara Curry finished in 2:20.53; Olivia Gaspar completed her race in 2:25.49.
In the women’s 1,500 meters event, Sydney Tackett led San Diego runners with a time of 4:50.64; Lizzie McVey followed closely behind with a season-best performance at 4:50.73; Nathalie Green ran it in 4:53.42; Ashleigh Schein set a personal best at 4:57.33; Allison Kirby clocked in at 5:00.91; Camryn Kozak finished at 5:03.37; Amy O’Connell rounded out their results with a finish of 5:21.03.
San Diego ended its meet by finishing third place in the women’s four-by-400-meter relay as Dow, Sepand, Gaspar and Curry posted a combined time of 4:02.79—the third-fastest mark ever recorded by San Diego’s program—just one meet after setting their school record during an earlier competition this April.
Looking ahead, San Diego will return to Azusa Pacific Track for its second appearance this season during the Franson Last Chance Meet from May 7–9—the final opportunity for Toreros athletes to qualify for NCAA Regionals later this month.
