NEWPORT NEWS, VA– UC Santa Cruz swept the 5000m and Distance Medley Relays with new meet records on the first day of the 2024 Coast-To-Coast Conference (C2C) Indoor Track and Field Championships.
Helena Janku, the Conference 6K champion during the Cross Country season, added the 5K Indoor crown with a time of 17:52.12. That set not only a new school record but also the Conference Championship meet record. The Banana Slugs ended the day defending their Distance Medley Relay title. The quartet of RIley Martel-Phillips, Marianne Chuang, Elena Stanciu, and Kenzie Seymour finished in 12:35.39. That was also a new C2C record and was 33.7 seconds better than host Christopher Newport.
Standouts in the field events saw Isha Kasanagottu place fifth in the High Jump after clearing 1.39m (4ft, 6.7 in.), while Allyson Petersen set the school Pole Vault record after placing 3rd with a height of 2.69m (8ft 9.75in).
For the men, Luke Holland won the 5K in 14:57.21. That was 3.48 seconds ahead of teammate Casey Orton to give the Banana Slugs a 1-2 finish in the event. Raymond Ingersoll was fourth in 15:12.41.
The Distance Medley Relay of Victor Kieturakis, Soujit Ing, Holden Spencer, and Camden Jaureguy finished in 10:30.38 to win the race, 7.1 seconds ahead of the Captains. The men are in second place with 34 points while the women are in third with 29 points heading into tomorrow's second day.
Races start again Saturday at 8:00 am Pacific.