At Toomey Field, Picnic Day was more than just wiener dog races and nitrogen-cooled ice cream – it was about fans screaming with Aggie pride.
With a big, enthusiastic crowd, UC Davis triumphed in the track meet with 13 first-place finishes. Of those 13 wins, 10 came from seniors.
Interim director Byron Talley felt the weather and the atmosphere was much better than in previous years.
“It was a beautiful day weather-wise,” Talley said. “It was a perfect day to compete. I think we were pretty even in our level of competition and performances.”
In Saturday’s Woody Wilson Classic, the Aggies hosted over 600 collegiate, club and unattached athletes for the Picnic Day tradition.
With plenty of competition, senior Ugo Eke won the 200- and 400-meter dash, along with the women’s 4×400 meter relay. Eke, who broke the school record in the 400-meter dash at Sacramento State last weekend, captured the event this time around with a time of 54.84 seconds.
Meanwhile, senior Alex Wilright took two wins for the men with his performances in the 4×400 meter relay and 400-meter hurdles.
Seniors Offune Okwudiafor, Chidinma Onyewuenyi and Lauren Radke also got top scores in the triple jump, shot put and pole vault, respectively.
The Woody Wilson Classic marked the last home meet of the season and the final time the track and field seniors will compete at Toomey Field.
“I don’t think the weight of the day hits our senior class until we have our senior ceremony during the meet,” Talley said.
Though this was the last home meet, there are still several more meets for UC Davis this season.
Next weekend, the Aggies will travel to Berkeley for the Brutus Hamilton Invitational.
CALEIGH GUOYNES can be reached at sports@theaggie.org
