2010 Men's and Women's Cross Country/Track and Field Media Guide

Women's Outlook
home country in the high jump and qualified for the World Junior
Championships in the heptathlon in 2008. Her career best score of
5314 in the event would have been good for 17th place at last year’s
NCAA Championships.
Sophomore Samantha Berryman also returns in the multi-events for
Arizona this season and freshmen Alex Weatherly (pole vault) and Tera
Besancon (high jump) will also see action for the Wildcats.
All-American presence on this year’s women’s team and they welcome
to their domain one of the top high school jumpers in the country
this season.
Patterson is coming back from a career year during her junior
season. After winning the NCAA National Championship in the high
jump during her sophomore season, Patterson bounced back to
finish second nationally indoors and outdoors last year. While some
may look at it as a step down, the fact of the matter is that Patterson
set personal records indoors and outdoors and posted the third best
jump in Arizona history at the 2009 NCAA Indoor Championship
where she finished second to eventual Bowerman finalist Destinee
Hooker of Texas. This season, Patterson’s name is the one listed on
the Bowerman Watchlist and will undoubtedly post some exciting
performances as the season goes on.
Day returns as a two-time All-American in her own right and you will
also find her name on Arizona’s all-time top ten list in the event. The
two have provided a formidable one-two punch over their first three
seasons, sweeping plenty of meets along the way.
They will add to their armada this year as they welcome freshman
Brigetta Barrett to the ranks. Barrett owns the distinction of being a
state champion high jumper in two states (Texas and New York) and
was one of the top recruits in the event in the country coming out
of high school. Alongside, Barrett is junior college transfer Courtney
Hayes and between the four – one would be hard-pressed to find a
more complete and deep high jumping program at any school.
With the departure of one of the all-time great Arizona athletes
in Shevell Quinley last season, one may find it hard to replace that
void. But incoming freshman Lisa Egarter appears more than primed
to do so. The youngster of Austria is the national champion in her
Throws
The loss of two All-Americans will hurt any program when it comes
to track and field, but the loss is a lot more bearable when you bring in
two impressive freshmen to fill the void as the Wildcats have done this
season with their throwers.
Sophomore Taylor Freeman heads an impressive group of
underclassmen in 2010 in her second season wearing the red and
blue. Freeman was an All-Region performer in the discus last season
and qualified for the Regional Championships in the shot put as
well. Freeman finished just shy of cracking into the 2009 NCAA
Championships in the discus and also was just short of cracking
Arizona’s all-time top 10 in the event, but those goals are well within
reach this season.
Behind Freeman are a tandem of freshmen who could very well also
find their names among the elite Arizona lists before all is said and
done. Canadian phenomenon Julie Labonte is a Junior Pan-American
Games medalist in the shot put and was the gold medal winner of the
event at the 2009 Canada Games.
Joining Labonte and Freeman is Alyssa Hasslen, one of the top
high school products out of Oregon. Hasslen holds the second best
shot put mark in state high school history and is a multiple-time state
champion in the shot put and discus. Hasslen also competed at the
US Junior Nationals last season, finishing fifth.
In the javelin, Leigh Bernstein returns after her redshirt year as a
junior this season. Bernstein currently sits second on the UA’s all-time
list under the new javelin. She is joined by freshman Asia Easley in
the event.
Senior and All-Conference shot putter Kelsey Jessup and All-
Conference hammer thrower Kendra Walworth also return for the
Wildcats this year. Taylor Bush and Omatayo Talabi round out a very
deep 2010 throwing squad.
In Review
If one thing stands out about
the 2010 University of Arizona
women’s track and field squad,
it’s the depth of the team. The
Wildcats have opportunities
to put up points in nearly any
event they get themselves
involved in and have the depth
to put forth bunches of points
in some events – such as the
high jump or throws. The team
has it’s fair share of experience,
talented youth, All-Americans,
high school state champions
and a collegiate National
Champion all to their name
and it will be very exciting
to see how such an already
talented team will improve
as the season progresses.
www.arizonaathletics.com
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