By Jeff Raymond
March 7, 2026
 
(GOLETA, Calif.) The Westmont men's and women's track teams made the short trip to UC Santa Barbara to compete for the past three days in both the Sam Adams Combined Events competition and the Gaucho Relays.
 
Three members of the men's team took part in the decathlon on Thursday and Friday. Sophomore Gabe LaBorin ended in sixth place with a point total of 5904. Gunnar Piepgrass was seventh (5672), and Roary Erskine came in ninth (5008).
 
LaBorin ended the 10-event competition on a high note by crossing the line first in the 1500 meters with a time of 4:33.29. He was also third in the 400 meters in 50.40. The top event for Piepgrass was the javelin, where he had the third-best throw of the day with a toss of 48.94 meters (160-6).
 
The Gaucho Relays began on Friday afternoon with a select number of events. Lucas DeDora threw 59.08 meters (193-10) to finish third in the open javelin competition. Hunter Skoglund ran 4:17.14 to cross the line in fourth in the mile run, with Tyler Allan seventh (4:21.60), and Timothy Johnson eighth (4:23.25). Sophia Stoddart ended eighth in the 3,000 meters in 10:56.77, while Samuel Nealon was eighth in the 5,000 meters in 15:23.42.
 
Competition continued on Saturday, and Westmont claimed a quartet of first-place finishes. David Oyebade captured the hammer throw with a mark of 51.11 meters (167-8), with teammate Joel Nakazawa in fourth (47.89m / 150-6). John Sakaguchi equaled the fifth-best long jump in Westmont history by soaring to a distance of 7.05 meters (23-1 ¾) to win the event.
 
On the track, Emma Bustamante came in first in the 1,000-meter run in 3:17.56, and Lucas Satterlee won the 2,000 steeplechase in 6:42.27.
 
The Warriors performed well in several relay events. On the men's side, the 4 x 800 relay came in fourth in 7:46.81, the sprint medley ended in third in 3:35.19, and the 4 x 400 relay placed third in 3:26.16. Several individuals had personal-best splits in the 4 x 800, while Josh Lin split in the 47's for the 400 meters in two separate relays.
 
For the women, the 4 x 100 relay took second in 48.78, the sprint medley ended third in 4:10.71, and the 4 x 400 relay finished fourth in 4:05.14.
 
The 400 hurdles proved to be a strong event for Westmont. Janelle Wanliss posted the sixth-best time in the Westmont record books, taking fifth in 1:03.87. Anna Hoke just missed writing her name in the all-time top-10 list, finishing in eighth in 1:07.86. Brooke Hogan ran 1:08.04.
 
The Warrior men claimed four places in the event, led by Crusoe Buzzard, who ran 55.49 to end in fourth. Isaac Jones placed fifth in 59.10.
 
Other top finishers included Wanliss taking sixth in the 100 hurdles (15.20), Sophia Rollman winning her heat in the 100 hurdles and placing ninth (16.19), Kayla Wheatley finishing fourth in the triple jump (11.34m / 33-4 ¾), Nakazawa ending third in the discus (43.35m / 142-2), and seventh in the shot put (11.25m / 36-11), Maverick Adams coming in fourth in the 1000 meters (2:47.04), and Oyebade capturing fifth in the discus (41.61m / 136-6).
 
The Westmont men ended up second overall in the meet, finishing ahead of Cal Poly and Pepperdine. The Warrior women were third overall.
 
"Eight weeks into the semester, the Warriors are beginning to benefit from their training, fitness, and technique," said Coach Russell Smelley. "I'm pleased with the progress of the team as shown in their supportive attitudes and their performances."
 
Westmont will host UC Santa Barbara in a dual meet on Friday, March 13.