DAVIS, CA – The UC Davis track and field team will kick off the 2024 outdoor season this weekend with the Aggie Open at the Woody Wilson Track on March 8th and 9th.
The weekend festivities will start off with the hammer throw on Friday at noon, while the javelin will commence a full day of events on Saturday morning at 9:00 a.m. The running events will begin at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday with the mile.
The field will comprise athletes from American River, Dominican, Jessup, Nevada, Pacific, St. Mary's-Cal, Fresno State, Sacramento State, San Francisco State, Santa Rosa, Sonoma State, and UC Santa Cruz. Additionally, athletes from various clubs, including City Speed SF, Excelsior RC, Lake Tahoe, Mesa Training, Peninsula TC, Philippines, Santa Cruz TC, Sierra Gold, SRA Elite, Strawberry Cyn, UC Davis Club, and West Valley TC, will also participate in the events alongside several unattached athletes.
This marks the third straight season UC Davis has hosted and started the outdoor season at the Aggie Open. The Ags claimed nineteen event victories in last season's opener and 5 event victories the year before that.
INDOOR RECAP
Women's track and field are coming off a strong indoor season where they claimed four individual conference titles at the MPSF Championships held in Spokane, WA. Brianna Weidler took home first place in the 5000m and 3000m, posting times of 16:21.38 and 9:21.00 respectively. Madison Kackley claimed first in the mile with a time of 4:52.30, and Ashpreet Kler dominated the weighted throw, bringing home the gold with a distance of 18.72 m.
The MPSF Championships saw many other standout performances with three second-place finishes and two third-place finishes to help boost the Aggies to a third-place overall team finish with 108.33 points. Kerrington Smith soared 11.88m to take second place in the triple jump, Madison Kackley crossed the finish line at 9:40.83 to earn second place in the 3000m, and Elizabeth Churchill cleared 1.68m, claiming second in the high jump. Third-place finishers included Kylee Davis in the long jump with 5.82m and the 4x400m team composed of Cierra Kinsey, Janae Oneal, Alexys Ford, and Maya Shinnick with a combined time of 3:46.66.
The 2023 indoor season was also marked by several new indoor records. At the Ralph Lindeman Invitational, Kylee Davis broke the indoor school record for long jump with 6.03m and Ashpreet Kler broke the school record for weighted throw with 18.84m. Brianna Weidler certainly left her mark on the indoor record books. First, she broke the school record for the 5000m at the 2023 indoor season opener (15:56.99). This was a short-lived record as Bri went on to break her own record just two months later at the Husky Classic with a time of 15:38.77.
2023 OUTLOOK
The Aggies return to the oval after a strong 2023 season that saw five individuals qualify for the NCAA Prelims: Elizabeth Churchill in the high jump, Kerrington Smith in the triple jump, Corey Moore for discus, Sierra Atkins in the 10,000m race, and Brianna Weidler in the 5,000m. All five are returners for the 2024 season.
Bri went on to have a record-breaking 2023 season, being the first Aggie to make the national outdoor meet since 2019. She finished 21st and concluded her sophomore year with three championships, two NCAA appearances between cross country and track, USTFCCCA All-American accolades, and honorable mention for her finish at nationals in Austin, TX.
NEXT TIME OUT
The Aggies will return to the oval on March 15th and 16th for the Hornet Invite in Sacramento, CA.
