Long Beach, CA - Ja’la Henderson’s (pictured above) latest school record mark didn’t last long. In a story that’s beginning to sound like a broken record, Henderson broke her own school record in the women’s outdoor triple jump to win the Gold Invitational division of the event at the Beach Invitational on Saturday. Henderson leap of 43 feet, 8.5 inches for the win highlighted a balanced effort by the Pokes on the final day of a three-day stretch of California meets.
 [bsa_pro_ad_space id=5]
“Ja’la (Henderson) had a weekend of near-misses,†UW associate head coach Quincy Howe said on Saturday. “Her biggest achievement, I believe, was keeping a level head through the adversity and bouncing back in her last event of the weekend to a new school record and a Gold Invitational division championship.â€
With Saturday’s mark, Henderson furthered her own school record by eight inches and finished tops in the field of 51 women’s triple jumpers by over a foot. She now sits over two and a half feet clear of any other Cowgirl triple jumper in UW outdoor track & field history. Her mark is currently eighth in the NCAA, pending final results from this weekend’s meets.
[bsa_pro_ad_space id=4]
Saturday’s action included another set of impressive performances from the UW distance squad. Lauren Hamilton and Solana Quistorff ran well in the women’s 1,500 meters, as Hamilton clocked a time of 4 minutes, 35.37 seconds to take 18th in the field of 73 while Quistorff ran a personal-best 4:37.57 for 22nd place. Late Friday night at the Bryan Clay Invitational in Azusa, Calif., Hamilton clocked 4:31.69 in the event.
In her second consecutive day competing in the 800 meters, Kerry White finished eighth in a field of 82 for the Cowgirls with a time of 2:09.54.
Jackson Wood had another highlight performance for the Pokes on Saturday, taking 15th place in a field of 92 runners in the men’s 400 meters with a time of 48.01. Wood also helped the Cowboys 4×100-meter relay team to a seventh-place finish after the squad crossed the finish line in 41.41 seconds.
Heidi Pfoor and Brandon McGuire each posted solid finishes in the 400-meter hurdles. McGuire was 21st in the men’s field at 54.41, while Pfoor checked in at 1:02.26 for 28th in the women’s field.
After a crazy week on the road, the Pokes will stay in Laramie next weekend to host the 7220 Invite. The meet will take place on Friday, April 27, at the Memorial 8 Track at the Louis S. Madrid Sports Complex. Events start at 11 a.m. MT and admission is free to the public.
