For the eighth year in a row, the No. 1 women’s track and field team returned home victorious after the University Athletic Association (UAA) Outdoor Championships in New York City on April 26 and 27. This is the 14th back-to-back UAA indoor and outdoor win for the women’s program, a title that they have been defending since 2018. The No. 19 men’s squad fell short of the podium, placing fourth behind Emory University, The University of Chicago, and Carnegie Mellon University. With both of WashU’s teams combined, the Bears amassed a total of 27 All-UAA finishes, an award given to athletes who earned a top-three in their event. 

As the UAA Championships is the biggest meet of the season behind the Division III National Championships, many of WashU’s track and field athletes’ training was specifically dedicated to last weekend’s meet so they could perform their best. Despite the especially intense training, the team tries not to explicitly focus on winning. 

“We, especially the girls, try to take all the pressure off winning,” junior Jenae Bothe said. “Going into meets, we never really talk about winning. It is an unsaid expectation and goal… but this is a weekend that is entirely focused on the team. It’s not really focused on individual performances.” 

At the end of the first day of the competition, the Bears were on the podium: the women’s team in first place and the men’s in third. 

Senior Abby Patterson won the steeplechase with a time of 10:52.99. Junior Riley Clark finished as the runner-up with a time of 11:00.85. 

The 4×800-meter relay saw podium finishes for both the men’s and women’s squads. The team, composed of first-year Caleb Brox, sophomore William Frohling, junior Brandon Brazil, and graduate student Frankie Lynch, won the event with a time of 7:46.98. 

In the women’s race, the WashU team, consisting of sophomores Cate Christopher and Caroline Echols and seniors Sophie Bekins and Virginia Pridgen, finished in 9:02.64 as the event’s runner-up. 

The Bears also excelled in the pole vault as senior Yasmin Ruff, who has won the NCAA D-III Indoor and Outdoor Track and Field Championships for pole vaulting, once again proved her dominance. Ruff’s height of 4.17 meters set both a new school record and the fifth-best pole vaulting performance in D-III history. The men’s squad also took home first in pole vault with graduate student Tommaso Maiocco’s clearing of 5.10 meters, a height tying him with sophomore Peter Litchenberger for the second highest in WashU history.   

Bothe defended her title of the indoor UAA shot put champion with a throw almost a meter further than the second-place finisher. 

The Bears woke up on the second day of the meet determined to build on their success. 

The high jump, triple jump, and long jump all saw podium finishes for graduate student Ebun Opata. Opata collected back-to-back UAA titles, winning the high jump with a height of 1.72 meters and the triple jump with a height of 12.80 meters. She also secured third place in the long jump with a 5.80-meter leap. 

The 4×100-meter relay team of sophomore Maya Davis, junior Jasmine Wright, and seniors Lauren Gay and Nicole Stewart earned silver for their time of 47.01. 

Gay earned an additional medal for her third-place finish in the 100-meter hurdles, with a time of 14.85 seconds.

In the 400-meter hurdles, senior Ruby Kaplan was the runner-up, finishing with a time of 1:04.38. 

Both the men’s and women’s teams earned runner-up in their respective 1500-meter races. Junior James Corbett finished in a time of 3:53.98, and senior Izzy Gorton ran a time of 4:31.40. 

Junior Kylie Spytek ran 400 meters in 55.16 seconds, earning another second-place finish for the Bears. 

Wright secured a UAA champion title in the 100-meter dash, finishing with a speedy time of 12.05 seconds. 

The Bears also found success in the 800-meter races. The women’s squad earned first and second places with Gorton’s finish of 2:14.61, followed by Echols’ time of 2:15.32. Frohling won gold for the men’s team with a time of 1:52.84. 

In the 200-meter event, Spytek set a new personal record and placed second with a time of 24.22. Junior George Bourdier was the third to cross the finish line for the men’s race with a time of 21.49. 

The 4×400-meter relay also saw podium finishes for the Bears. The women’s team of first-year Quinn Bird, sophomore Julia Coric, Christopher, and Echols finished in a time of 3:46.79, earning the title of UAA champions. The men’s team of Brazil, Frohling, sophomore Alex Gardner, and senior Elvin Binagi came in second with a time of 3:18.04. 

Senior Loucas Xenakis placed second in the javelin event with a throw of 55.40 meters. 

WashU will next compete on Friday, May 2, at Illinois State’s Senior Spotlight Invite. Competitors in upcoming meets, including the Senior Spotlight Invite, will be trying to qualify for the NCAA Championship on May 22-24. 

“Everything now gets pretty focused and specific,” Bothe said.  “All we have our eyes on is nationals, and everything we’re doing in these coming weeks is either to get to Nationals or to perform better at Nationals.”