The UCLA track and field team participated in two major meets over the weekend, competing at the Tyson Invitational in Arkansas and the Husky Classic in Washington. The Bruins achieved several notable results, including three medals in championship events and a new school record.
Michael Pinckney set a new UCLA record in the men’s weight throw with a mark of 22.40 meters, surpassing his own previous record from earlier this season. This is the third time in his collegiate career that he has exceeded 22 meters, making him the only Bruin to reach this distance in program history.
Taylor Snaer earned a silver medal in the 200-meter championship event, while Yanla Ndjip-Nyemeck secured another silver for UCLA in the 60-meter hurdles. Valentina Fakrogha took bronze in the high jump championship section. Naomi Johnson also claimed a bronze medal in the university-section 200 meters and recorded a fourth-place finish in the 400 meters with a time of 52.28 seconds, moving her to second place on UCLA’s all-time list.
Ndjip-Nyemeck led all collegiate competitors during preliminaries of the 60-meter hurdles and finished second overall with an 8.00-second run, matching her second-fastest time as a collegian.
At the Husky Classic, Ailish Hawkins ran a personal best of 9:26.56 in the women’s 3000 meters, which ranks fifth on UCLA’s indoor records list. The men’s distance medley relay team—Everett Capelle, Aaron Cantu, Arrin Sagiraju, and Jack Falkowski—won their event by eight seconds with a time of 9:50.67.
Senior Mackenzie Kirk achieved a personal best of 13.17 meters in the women’s triple jump, moving up to fifth place on UCLA’s all-time list for that event.
Paige Sommers matched her personal best by clearing 4.30 meters in pole vault during the championship section at Tyson Invitational, placing among the top five and advancing to fourth on UCLA’s indoor history list.
Both men’s and women’s teams posted strong performances in their respective 4×400 meter relays at Tyson Invitational; the men finished with a time of 3:08.74 (eighth-best ever for UCLA), while the women completed their race at 3:33.64 (tenth-best).
Other standout performances included Kaho Cichon’s mile run (4:48.49) for tenth place on UCLA’s all-time list; Arrin Sagiraju’s mile (4:00.54) ranking seventh; and Kaitlyn Arciaga’s sixth-fastest program mark (2:06.18) in the women’s 800 meters.
UCLA will compete next at Boston University during February’s Saucony Battle for Boston meet before heading to Indianapolis for Big Ten Indoor Championships.
