On Saturday, the Aggies refused to allow circumstance to influence their performance. Despite the Johnny Mathis Invitational beginning two hours behind schedule and the occurrence of technical malfunctions, UC Davis showed not only its composure and discipline, but also its talent.
“We were literally on the track for twelve hours,” said coach Deanne Vochatzer. “It made for a rather miserable meet. To have our athletes to keep their cool and their act together was a statement.”
UC Davis has other reasons to be proud of itself. Vochazter and other coaches rotated athletes around, hoping to give younger athletes more experience and the opportunity to succeed. This proved beneficial for the Aggies.
For the women, Anikia Jackson outdid her personal best in the javelin with a distance of 141 feet. Her throw shattered her previous record by two feet, and lands her at No. 5 on the Aggies’ all-time charts. Kiara Reed won the 800-meter with a time of 2:11.85 and now ranks 10th on the school’s all-time lists. The win is her first in the event as it was the first time this season Reed competed in the 800.
“You need both aerobic and anaerobic capacity to do well in the 800,” Deanne Vochatzer said. “She showed that she’s a great athlete. What she did on Saturday just proves that she works really hard.”
The men were not to be outdone as Michael Starr won the pole vault, clearing 15-1 while Nolan Frazier [cq] took first in the 400-meter hurdles, finishing at 54.03.
Jonathon Sees capped off an impressive men’s team performance, taking first in the 1,500 at 3:50.91. It was a season best and a near personal record.
These performances are even more impressive because they came without rest or tapering. Over the break, the Aggies trained very hard and the coaches kept the tempo high for Saturday.
“We trained right on through and didn’t take any time to freshen up,” Deanne Vochazter said. “No one backed off from training regimens. All the coaches are really pleased.”
The Aggies will compete at the Arizona State Invitational at Tempe, Arizona on Friday.
MATT WANG can be reached at sports@theaggie.org.
