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UA track wins 4 individual titles at Sawer Invit.

Francisco Merced

With a relaxed attitude, the UA men's and women's track team opened their outdoor seasons Saturday in the Bill Sawyer Invitational in Tempe, winning four events.

The team didn't take most of its top athletes to the meet, letting the NCAA qualifiers rest for the National Indoor Championships this weekend.

"It was a real low-key meet for us," head coach Dave Murray said. "We left a lot of our sprinter and hurdlers at home, resting them from the indoor season."

With most of the team participating in unfamiliar events, Arizona still had four athletes come away with first place victories.

The highlight of the meet for Arizona was senior Ola Larsen. Taking part in his first javelin competition of the season, Larsen went out and threw an NCAA provisional qualifying mark of 235 feet-4 inches, marking a career-best for the Norwegian athlete.

"Practices have been going really well and the conditions were perfect to throw - 80 degrees with no wind," Larsen said. "To come out and get an opening (personal record) in the first meet is really good."

"Ola probably assured himself a berth at NCAA (outdoor championships) with that throw," Murray said.

Another fielder coming a spectacular performance from the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Championships last week was senior Mandy Shefman. After placing second in the championships in the shot put, Shefman threw a Pacific 10 Conference qualifying throw of 47-5, one foot short of the personal record she set at MPSF.

"I'm starting stronger than I had any previous season, it was kind of unexpected," said Shefman. "It does open the doors for the rest of the season and shows me that anything is possible."

In other events, graduate student Chris Schaefer won the men's 800-meter in a time of 1 minute, 53.39 seconds. In the 1,500m, senior Jeremy Lyons won with a time of 3:52.36.

The Wildcats resume their outdoor season Mar. 17-18 when they host the Willie Williams Invitational.