(Tucson, AZ) The Pima Community College women’s and men’s track & field teams opened the 2022 season on Saturday as they competed at the Paradise Valley Indoor Invitational in Phoenix.
The Aztecs set three NJCAA national qualifying marks and earned a total of five first-place finishes.
Freshman Jaida Olson (Pusch Ridge Christian HS) left her mark as she earned first place in the Women’s Pole Vault with a national qualifying mark of 3.45 meters. With her mark, she earned an Indoor and Outdoor season national qualifier and sits No. 1 in the country. Olson also took the top spot in the Women’s Triple Jump with a jump of 9.90 meters.
Sophomore Reece Gardner (Marana HS) was tops in the Men’s Pole Vault as he finished with an Indoor and Outdoor national qualifier of 4.60 meters. His mark puts him No. 2 in the country.
Freshman Joel Gardner (Ironwood Ridge HS) earned second place and took home a Indoor national qualifying mark in the Men’s 3,000 meters race with a time of 8 minutes, 4.790 seconds. He sits third in the country for the event.
Sophomore Donovan Henderson earned first place in the Men’s Triple Jump with a mark of 14.13 meters. Freshman Joshua Bowen closed took first in the Men’s High Jump at 1.90 meters.
“Phenomenal way to start the season. We had many athletes make the top 10 list in sprints, jumps and throws. Great way to start defending our region crown. Next week we will go to Central Arizona College where we look to have more consistent performances.”
The Aztecs will indeed compete at the Central Arizona College Indoor Meet on Saturday, Feb. 5. Event start time is TBA.
Check out complete results of the Paradise Valley Indoor Invitational on WingFootFinish:
https://results.wingfootfinish.com/meets/12485
Press Release courtesy of Pima Athletics – Raymond Suarez
