Slugs Perform Well at Chico Invitational in Rainy Conditions

Saturday, April 11

Chico, CA

UC Santa Cruz Athletics

Chico Invite

Slugs Perform Well at Chico Invitational in Rainy Conditions

4/13/2026 10:24:00 AM | Men's Track and Field, Women's Track and Field

CHICO, Ca. – UC Santa Cruz men and women's track and field teams competed at the 2026 Wildcat Invitational hosted at California State University Chico. Through rain and threats of thunderstorms, the Banana Slugs put up strong showings at this meet.

Women's Highlights:
Track:

100 Meter Hurdles: Olivia Marino ran a 15.48 second race which earned a 7th place finish.
100 Meters: Camille Anneet placed 14th with a strong 12.62 seconds, and Skyla Jones came in at 12.94 seconds to earn 21st.
200 Meters: Camille Anneet ran 26.38 seconds placing 11th, Skyla Jones and Kalee Herd both ran sub 27 second races to place 15th and 16th.
400 Meters: Mae Stafford led the pack and placed 10th with a time of 1:03.41 minutes which was followed by Varsha Aravindhan (1:03.46) and Sandrine Martinez (1:04.31) for a tight finish at the line.
800 Meters: Jordan Robinson ran 2:19.46 minutes earning a 7th place finish with Meeran Gill and Melody Chiu following with 2:21.60 and 2:21.74.
1500 Meters: Meeran Gill took a spot at 13th with 4:52 minutes, followed by Jordan Robinson, Madelyn Basinet, and Hope Martin all placing top 30.

Field:

Long Jump: Olivia Marino jumped 5.19 meters and secured a 2nd place finish.
High Jump: Olivia Marino landed in a four way tie for 3rd after jumping 1.45 meters, Celine Castaneda jumped 1.45 meters and placed 10th.
Javelin: Kailey Leba flung a 31.51 meter and finished 6th and Olly Gordon landed nearby in 8th, throwing 27.63 meters.
Discus: Semalu Hernandez threw 32.99 meters, placing 9th and followed by Kailey Leba placing 15th and throwing 27.09 meters
Hammer: Kailey Leba threw 35.25 meters to sit comfortably in 12th place followed by Whitney Porter who threw 26.51 meters and placed 22nd.
Shot Put: Olly Gordon placed 4th by throwing 10.88 meters, Semalu Hernandez threw 9.74 meters and landed 9th place.

Men's Highlights:
Track

110 Meter Hurdles: Shriyan Manjrekar placed 17th with a time of 16.45 seconds followed by Ricky Murray who ran 16.71 to place 18th.
100 Meters: Sophomore Arthur Gainant placed 3rd with a time of 10.85 and ran a 10.73 in the prelims.
400 Meter Hurdles: Shriyan Manjrekar ran a 59.14 second race earning a 4th place spot and Ricky Murray ran a 1:02.19 minute race earning a 7th place finish
800 Meters: Caeden Gardner placed 2nd with a strong 1:54.51 minute and was followed in by Matthew Riffle, Taran Grewal, and Viktor Kieturakis who all ran sub 2 minute races and all achieved new personal bests.
1500 Meters: Caeden Gardner came in 2nd with an almost sub 4 minute time (4:00.84), closely followed by Viktor Kieturakis who ran 4:02.29 minutes while Sasha Tanasychuk, Desi Herrerias, Sean Conley, and Eduardo Palma ran sub 4:15 minute times.
5000 Meters: Senior Ethan Vahle ran a 15:38.29 minute to place 3rd and Sammy Green came in 7th with a 16:18.24 minute time.

Field:

Long Jump: First year Oliver Berkowitz jumped into 2nd place with a 6.7 meter and was followed by Jack Richards in 5th with a 6.48 meter jump.
Discus: Chris Andrews spun up a 36.93 meter throw landing himself in 16th place, and Jameson Powell finished 21st with 33.97 meters.
Shot Put: Chris Andrews 11.62 meters to place 15th while Jeremy Hall threw 11.11 meters resulting in 19th place.