Keenan Donath
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In the much-anticipated late season Blue-Green Rivalry dual meet, the Cal Poly track and field team split victories against familiar opponent UC Santa Barbara.
The Cal Poly women’s team was led by a sweep from its sprinters, beating the Gauchos by a team score of 108.5-89.5, while the men’s team came up just short on Saturday despite a string of solid performances, falling 107-96.
Junior sprinter A’jah Love was very much involved in the success on the women’s side. She finished first in the 200-meter dash, second in the 100 and ran a key leg in the victorious 400-meter relay team. The Mustangs had the top three times in the 100 and the top two times in the 200.
Junior Kendal Nielsen brought home multiple victories as well, setting the day’s best marks in both the triple jump (38-6.75) and long jump (17-11). Freshman Ciara Levy won the 100-meter hurdles and also played a key role in the 400-meter relay team.
Sophomore Arnie Sambel had a strong showing for the men, winning two events and setting a personal record along the way. Sambel won the shotput and the discus, the latter with a mark of 175 feet, a record for him and the fourth-longest throw in school history. The thrower looks to be a real threat in the coming Big West Conference Championship.
Fellow sophomores Brad Beekman and David Galvez were also strong on Saturday. Beekman kept up his winning ways with a pole vault of 16-0.75, while Galvez ran a PR of 9:12.46 in the steeplechase on his way to a win.
In the last meet of the regular season, many Cal Poly athletes proved themselves as some of the best in the Big West. Conference championships are next on the schedule, kicking off on May 8 at UC Riverside.