By
Lindsey Manroel
Arizona Daily Wildcat
Both teams defeat NAU, but lack of depth shows against Sun Devils
The Arizona track and field team posted split results over the weekend at the double-dual meet held in Northern Arizona's Walkup Skydome in Flagstaff.
The Wildcat men topped NAU, 85-69, but fell to ASU, 82-73. The UA women came out with a 98-57 win over the Lumberjacks, but, like their male counterparts, suffered a close defeat, 80-78, to the Sun Devils.
"It was really close, and it just came down to a few points," sophomore Brianna Glenn said. "It came down to numbers, and we didn't have as much depth as ASU. We held our own in all the events."
Despite being unsuccessful in sweeping arch-rival ASU, head coach Dave Murray said he was pleased with his team's performance.
"I thought we competed extremely well," Murray said. "We had a lot of outstanding performances. Obviously, we were unhappy to lose to ASU, but we had a couple holes we couldn't overcome. Overall, it was a good meet."
Senior Andrea Dutoit finished on top in the pole vault event with a clearance of 13 feet, 5 1/4 inches (4.10m) - tying a school record she set last month.
Teammate Amy Linnen placed second in the event with a 13-5 1/4 vault - a personal best - as Arizona swept the event in impressive fashion.
The Arizona men took home a win in the 4x400-meter relay with a time of 3-minutes, 9.54 seconds. The team - consisting of Matt Lea, Mike Kenyon, Jules Doumbya and Olympian Patrick Nduwimana - recorded an NCAA provisional time.
Kenyon added individual success by running a season-best in the 400-meter dash. The UA senior's time of 46.56 seconds broke his own school record.
For Murray, however, the surprise of the weekend came during the 3,000-meter long-distance event. The Wildcats - who had never won on NAU turf - were surprisingly successful in the meet.
Despite the unfamiliar altitude, Arizona's Tara Chaplin took home a first-place finish.
With a leap of 40 feet, 10 1/4 inches in the triple jump, UA senior TaKisha Morgan posted a season-best as she took the event for the Wildcats.
Glenn rounded off the women's success with a win in the 60-meter dash. And with a 20-foot, 8-inch mark in the long jump, the UA sophomore was a key asset to her team's performance.
"Brianna gives us a great performance every day," Murray said. "We take her for granted but she does so much for us consistently - day in and day out."
UA will return to Flagstaff this weekend, where it will host the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Championships. According to Murray, the Wildcats are anticipating a better performance.
"I think we'll do very well and have a good chance at coming out with a championship," he said. "I think we can challenge anyone in order to finish on top."
