Jacque Desmond Wins Pole Vault for CMS Women's Track and Field at Oxy Spring Break Classic
Posted: Mar 09, 2019

Jacque Desmond Wins Pole Vault for CMS Women's Track and Field at Oxy Spring Break Classic

CLAREMONT, Calif. - Senior Jacque Desmond, who recently returned to the track and field team after spending the winter as a diver for the CMS swimming and diving squad, took first place in the pole vault by a wide margin at the Occidental Spring Break Classic on Saturday.

Desmond cleared 11 feet (11'3.75"), while nobody else in the field reached 10 feet, as Juliette Lum of Occidental and Amanda Amundson of Saddleback both finished tied for second at 9 feet, 10 inches. 

The Athenas also had a strong showing in the 5000 meters, with eight finishing in the top 50 in a field of 153 that included runners from all three divisions, as well as college graduates from track clubs. Sophomore Abigale Johnson led the way with a 17th place finish in 17:36.30, followed by senior Natalie Marsh (17:39.69, 20th), senior Malea Martin (17:40.95, 22nd) and freshman Riley Harmon (17:41.10, 24th) in the top 25. 

Senior Matilda Msall (18:08.27) and freshman Sophie Gitlin (18:08.29) finished two-tenths of a second apart in 39th and 40th, respectively. Freshman Brooklyn Button (18:14.26, 46th) and sophomore Dulcie Jones (18:15.78, 48th) also finished in the top 50. 

In the 1500, sophomore Sophia Liles (5:02.13, 31st) and sophomore Theresa Versen (5:12.15, 46th) were in the top 50 of a field of 104 runners for the Athenas. Junior Sabrine Griffith came in 14th place out of 31 in the 100 meters with a finishing time of 13:09, while senior McKenzie Deutsch was in the top half of the 800 meters with a time of 2:24.87, placing her 21st out of 43. 

In the other field events, junior Amanda Gallop earned a fourth-place finish in the javelin out of 16 (102'7"), a fifth place finish in the shot put out of 21 (35'8.75") and a ninth-place finish in the discus out of 24 (104'2"). Sophomore Bailey Mknelly and freshman Kellie Okamura tied for second in the high jump, clearing 4 feet, 11 inches. 

CMS will be back in action on Friday when it travels to the Redlands Invitational.