Track sets 3 season-best marks at Sun Angel meet

By Jason A. Vrtis
Arizona Daily Wildcat
April 8, 1996

Junior Chima Ugwu won the shot put with a personal-best effort, and two other Wildcats set season-best marks Saturday at the Sun Angel Classic.

Ugwu's toss of 64 feet, 4 1/2 inches was an automatic-qualifying mark for the NCAA Outdoor Championships held in Eugene, Ore., on May 29 through June 1. He had already qualified for the NCAAs in the shot put March 2 at the Bill Sawyer Invitational with a throw of 63-6 3/4. In the discus, Ugwu finished fifth with a throw of 179-11, well below his automatic-qualifying mark of 196-10 which he set March 23 at the Jim Click Wildcat Shootout. That effort is the second-best throw in the nation this year.

Ugwu's mark in the shot put was the second-best outdoor effort in UA history. On Feb. 23, Ugwu broke the school indoor record with a 61-4 toss at the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Championships.

On the women's side, senior Karen Bennett ran a season-best time of 54.26 seconds in the 400 meters and finished sixth. Bennett, who was an NCAA qualifier two years ago in the 800, is continuing her comeback from injuries that sidelined her all of last year.

Bennett came back later in the day to run a leg on UA's second-place 4x400 relay team. Bennett, along with Allison Dring, Michelle Ferguson and Michelle Johnson, finished with an NCAA provisional qualifying time of 3:38.62. Last week versus Oregon, the group ran a provisional qualifying time of 3:37.63. Also setting a season-best mark was junior Ann Colonna in the 1,500 with a time of 4:26.99.

Arizona returns home next weekend to host Arizona State and Northern Arizona in a triangular meet that begins at 4 p.m. Saturday at Roy P. Drachman Stadium.

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