Kaira Saunders broke a 35-year-old Bakersfield College track and field record in the 200-meter dash April 17 during the Western State Conference preliminaries in Ventura.
Saunders ran the 200 in a time of 24.78 seconds. That beat the old record form 1980 held by Thea Parrish, which was 24.94.
Saunders also took first in the 100 with a time of 12.11 seconds. Then to top off her winning for the day, she took first in the long jump with a distance of 17.19 feet.
The rest of the track and field team had its ups and downs at the prelims.
The BC men once again struggled as they only had one competitor place in the top four in the event.
Tristan McGee was the guy that placed fourth, and he did it in the long jump with a distance of 22.04 feet.
The BC women had a few standouts that placed top three in multiple events.
Saunders took first in the 100 with a time of 12.11 seconds. Then to top off her winning for the day, she took first in the long jump with a distance of 17.19 feet.
Leah Theroux took first in the 800-meter run with a time of 2 minutes 23.04 seconds. She then placed third in the 1,500-meter run with a time of 4:52.00. Jessica Campbell placed third in the 800 with a time of 2:23.66. She then took first in the 1,500 with a time of 4:45.78.
The team traveled to compete at Mt. San Antonio College on Saturday, April 11. Both BC teams struggled, but the men really had it rough. BC men failed to place top four in every event they competed in.
The BC women had a tough time keeping up with this level of competition. They had more runners that didn’t place in the top four than they usually do.
Saunders placed fourth in the 100-meter dash with a time of 12.05 seconds. Paola Silvestre placed fourth in the 3,000-meter steeplechase with a time of 12 minutes 8.30 seconds. The BC women’s A-relay team placed third in the 4×100-meter relay with a time of 47.86. The BC women’s A-relay team also placed third in the 4×400-meter relay with a time of 4:01.79.
BC’s track and field team will be heading to Santa Barbara City College to compete in the WSC Finals on Friday, April 24.