STANFORD, CALIF. - On Saturday, March 18th, the Sonoma State track & field team saw action in their first full spring meet after weather canceled the Rossi Relays in Southern California weeks prior. The team meet in a stacked field would be highlighted by a historic performance from true freshman
Gianna Bomarito who went on to break the school record in the 5k with a time of 16:50.53!
You may have heard this story before but Bomarito now holds two school records as she broke the 6k record this past fall during the 2022 cross country season. Her time would go down as the only sub 17-minute 5k in program history as she shattered the previous record by 16 seconds. She would finish 4th overall and represent the top DII finisher in the event.
TRACK EVENTS:
The Seawolves would go on to also compete in the 100, 200, 800, 1500, 4x100, 400 meter hurdles, and four additional field events on an action packed day. Joining Bomarito in the 5k were veteran runners
Sophie Rodriguez and
Abby Ribet. Both Rodriguez and Ribet would record new personal bests in the event, with Rodriguez recording a time of 18:29.93 and Ribet a time of 18:51.19, both good for top-20 finishes.
Second year sprinter
Nia Arceneaux made her 2023 debut in the 100 meter dash and as a member of the 4x100 meter relay. Arceneaux would finish the 100 meter with a time of 13.04 seconds and 50.72 seconds in the 4x100 relay. Additional members of the relay team included second year track members
Makayla Bernadez and
Katie Sheldon, as well as freshman
Mia Cecilio.
The freshman out of Santa Teresa HS, Cecilio also competed in the 200 meter where she finished 37th with a time of 26.73 seconds. Wrapping up the shorter distanced events was sophomore
Katie Sheldon who recorded a top-15 finish in the 400 meter hurdles. Sheldon would also partake in a field event as she recorded a season best 5.15 meters in the long jump, good for another top-15 finish. Joining Sheldon in the long jump was also senior
Amber Lanza who finished with a mark of 4.37 meters.
In the distance events, sophomore
Alex Boyle would have a solid day, recording two top finishes for the Seawolves in the 800 and 1500 meters. Boyle would finish in the top-20 of the 800 with a time of 2:30.12. Returners
Sara Wenger and
Alex Doyle would follow, both finishing inside the top-26 of the event.
In the 1500 meters, Boyle would lead SSU once again with a time of 5:06.54. Wenger would follow closely behind with a time of 5:24.60 and Doyle would round out the event with a time of 5:45.45.
FIELD EVENTS:
For the field events, Sonoma State would have participants in the shot put, discus, hammer throw and long jump. In the shot put, freshman thrower
Halle McDaniels would record a 12th place finish as the top SSU finisher, finishing with a season best mark of 10.69 meters. Fellow freshman
Ariyah Ford would follow in 13th place with a throw of 10.53 meters.
In the discus event, Fresno native
Lily Garcia would record a top-10 mark in program history with a throw of 36.80 meters, good for 14th place to lead the Seawolves. Ford would also compete in the discus and finish 20th with a mark of 29.02 meters. Finally, the hammer throw would feature all four of SSU's throwers on the day as they all recorded top-20 finishes.
Garcia would lead the way again with an impressive mark of 44.74 meters good for 13th place and a new season best. McDaniels would also finish inside the top-15 with a mark of 40.67 meters. Rounding out the top-20 were
Kyra Togni and
Emma Lopez who finished in 16th and 17th place out of over 20 participants.
100m: Nia Arceneaux (13.04 sec., 39th)
200m: Mia Cecilio (26.73, 37th)
800m: Alex Boyle (2:30.12, 18th), Sara Wenger (2:40.07, 25th), Alex Doyle (2:48.71, 26th)
1500m: Alex Boyle (5:06.54, 38th), Sara Wenger (5:24.60, 45th), Alex Doyle (5:45.45, 47th)
5000m: Gianna Bomarito (16:50.53, 4th), Sophie Rodriguez (18:29.93, 17th), Abby Ribet (18:51.19, 19th)
4x100: Nia Arceneaux [JR] Makayla Bernadez [SO] Katie Sheldon [SO] Mia Cecilio [FR], 50.72 sec., 8th
400 hurdles: Katie Sheldon (1:08.08, 15th)
Long Jump: Katie Sheldon (5.15m, 14th), Amber Lanza (4.37m, 23rd)
Shot Put: Halle McDaniels (10.69m, 12th), Ariyah Ford (10.53m, 13th)
Discus: Lily Garcia (36.80m, 14th), Ariyah Ford (29.02m, 20th)
Hammer: Lily Garcia (44.74m, 13th), Halle McDaniels (40.67m, 14th), Kyra Togni (40.03m, 16th), Emma Lopez (39.92m, 17th)
Congratulations once again to freshman runner
Gianna Bomarito on breaking the program record in the 5k with a time of 16:50.53, representing the only sub 17-minute 5k in program history!
The Seawolves are back in action next weekend at the Mangrum Invitational hosted by fellow CCAA member Cal State San Marcos. Live results, scoring links and meet information can be found at sonomaseawolves.com. Be sure to follow your Seawolves on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter to get all the latest SSU athletics updates and information. Sonoma State athletics also has launched a new fan app in partnership with From Now On. Download the free app today in both the Apple and Google Play stores by searching Sonoma State Seawolves in the app store. @SonomaSeawolves | #NomaNation
