University of Arkansas junior Nikki Hiltz raced to the top of the D-I NCAA performance list in the 1,500-meter run at the Bryan Clay Invitational at Azusa Pacific University on Friday.
Competing against collegians and professionals alike, Hiltz, an Aptos High alumna, crossed the finish line in second place in 4 minutes, 12.71 seconds — a personal best by eight seconds — to overtake former D-I event leader Annemarie Schwanz of Fresno State.
Carsyn Koch, a junior at D-II Cedarville University, won in 4:12.19, an APU stadium and meet record.
Hiltz’s time is the fifth fastest in Razorbacks history.
Clare Peabody (Aptos), Brown, Jr. >> Posted a faster finish than 39 other runners to win the 800 (2:08.71) at the Ocean State Invitational in Providence, R.I., on Saturday.
Brianna Cueva (Watsonville), CSU Northridge, Sr. >> Took third out of 22 in the discus (176-0) and fourth out of 28 in the shot put (50-1¾) at the Texas Invitational in Austin on Saturday.
Anastasia Kubicki (Santa Cruz), UC Davis, So. >> Tied for 24th out of 45 in the pole vault (12-3½) at the Beach Invitational at Long Beach State on Saturday.
Emily Lamb (SLV), Southern Oregon, Sr. >> Took 15th out of 22 in the 5,000 (19:34.14) at the Raider Invite on Saturday.
Selena Friedman (Santa Cruz), UC San Diego, Jr. >> Took 116th out of 145 in the 800 (2:21.45) at the Bryan Clay Invitational at Azusa Pacific.
Melissa Braun (Soquel), Occidental, So. >> Took third out of 11 in the pole vault (3.70m) at the SCIAC Multi Dual No. 3 at Occidental on Saturday.
Nicole Trenchard (PCS), Harvard, So. >> Took second in the pole vault (3.50m) in a dual meet against Yale on Saturday in Cambridge, Mass.
Summer-Solstice Thomas (SC), Williams, Fr. >> Heptathlete shined in the pole vault (1.65m) and 100 hurdles (16.15) at the Dick Farley Invitational in Williamstown, Mass., on Saturday.
Baseball
Sahid Valenzuela (St. Francis), Fullerton, Fr. >> Went a combined 5 for 11 with a walk, three RBIs, two runs and a stolen base as the Titans (23-11) took two of three games from USC in a series that ended Saturday. His nine-game hitting streak was snapped in an 11-6 loss to host San Diego on Tuesday.
Joe Gillette (Scotts Valley), Menlo, Jr. >> Went a combined 5 for 11 with two walks, two doubles, an RBI and a stolen base as the Oaks (28-14) closed their three-game series Thursday against visiting Biola with back-to-back losses.
Sam Thorne (MVC), Biola, Sr. >> Went a combined 4 for 10 with a run scored as the Eagles (29-14) won twice in their three-game series against host Menlo that ended Thursday.
Bryan Bucher (Aptos), Fresno Pacific, Sr. >> Went a combined 3 for 6 with an RBI as the Sunbirds (15-18) earned a split in their four-game series that ended Sunday at Hawaii Pacific in Honolulu.
Jett Gallagher (Santa Cruz), Willamette, Jr. >> Gave up two runs in two innings of relief but earned the win as the Bearcats (26-12, 18-6) rallied to beat Lewis & Clark 4-3 on Saturday in Salem, Ore.
Robbie Carling (SLV), San Francisco State, Fr. >> Went a combined 4 for 8 with a double, two RBIs and four runs scored as the Gators (12-27) split a four-game series with visiting CSUMB. He was hit by pitches twice.
Jack Harris (Aptos), San Francisco State, Fr. >> Hit two home runs — giving him a team-leading four — and finished 2 for 14 with three RBIs as the Gators split a four-game series with visiting CSUMB.
Chris Rivera (Watsonville), Long Beach State, So. >> Threw a combined 3.1 innings of scoreless relief with five strikeouts as the Dirtbags (22-13) lost 2-1 to host UCLA on Tuesday and 8-5 to visiting Northridge on Saturday.
Riley James (Harbor), Occidental, Sr. >> Threw a shutout inning of relief as the Tigers (21-12) lost 3-2 to host Redlands on Saturday.
Steven Eichhorn (Aptos), Young Harris, Jr. >> Recorded three strikeouts but gave up three runs in 1.1 innings of relief as the Mountain Lions (14-26) lost to Montavello 24-8 in Young Harris, Ga., on Friday.
Nathan Pisciotta (Harbor), San Francisco State, So. >> Gave up one hit in 1.2 scoreless innings of relief in a 9-6 loss to CSUMB in the opener of a four-game series Friday.
Dillon Houser (St. Francis), San Francisco State, Jr. >> Losing pitcher gave up six runs, four earned, in 6.1 innings as the Gators fell to visiting CSUMB 6-0 on Saturday to cap a four-game series.
David Snider (Scotts Valley), Saint Francis, So. >> Went a combined 4 for 11 with two walks, two doubles, four RBIs and three runs as the Cougars (11-34-1) were swept by visiting Taylor in Fort Wayne, Ind.
Aaron Whitehouse (MVC), Doane, So. >> Losing pitcher gave up five unearned runs in two-thirds of an inning and the Tigers (17-22) lost to Briar Cliff 10-3 on Saturday in Crete, Neb.
Troy Miller (Soquel), Michigan, So. >> Gave up a run in an inning of relief as the No. 13 Wolverines (29-7) beat No. 18 Oklahoma 14-4 on Friday in the second game of a three-game sweep.
Men’s track and field
Ray Silver (Watsonville), UC San Diego, Jr. >> Tied for seventh out of 38 in the high jump (2.00m) at the Bryan Clay Invitational, held Thursday and Friday at Azusa Pacific University.
Justin Carrancho (Watsonville), Alaska Anchorage, Jr. >> Took 117th out of 277 in the 1,500 (3:54.56) and 28th out of 32 in the 5,000 (15:20.74) at the Bryan Clay Invitational at Azusa Pacific.
Alex Morris (Santa Cruz), Fresno State, Jr. >> Took 57th out of 89 in the 100 (11.16) and 45th out of 90 in the 200 (22.35) at the Bryan Clay Invitational.
Dustin Samms (MVC), UC Riverside, Jr. >> Took 15th out of 24 in the hammer throw (181-5) at the Mt. SAC Relays at El Camino College on Friday.
Alex Condotti (PCS), Johns Hopkins, So. >> Took 18th out of 55 in the 800 (1:58.64) at the Johns Hopkins Invitational on Friday.
Sam Schubert (SLV), Fullerton, Fr. >> Competed in the 100 (11.55) and 110 hurdles (14.77) at the Pacific Coast Intercollegiate at Long Beach State on Thursday.
Softball
Anna Gurr (Soquel), Claremont-Mudd-Scripps, Jr. >> Scattered nine hits over a combined 18 innings with 14 strikeouts and no earned runs in three games. She earned a pair of wins over host Occidental on Friday and lost a 1-0, 9-inning decision to visiting La Verne on Saturday.
Mikal Cuellar (Santa Cruz), CSU-Monterey Bay, Sr. >> Went a combined 6 for 10 with two runs scored as the Otters (38-7), ranked No. 10 in Division II in the NFCA poll, swept San Francisco State in a four-game series that ended Saturday to improve to 26-6 in the California Collegiate Athletic.
Amanda Ang (Aptos), Redlands, Sr. >> Was a combined 5 for 11 with a walk, RBI, three runs scored and two stolen bases as the Bulldogs (13-21) split a doubleheader at Whittier on Friday and dropped a doubleheader against visiting Cal Lutheran on Saturday.
Taylor Tessier (Soquel), Sacramento State, Sr. >> Stuck out 10 batters in a total of 5.1 innings, but was handed a pair of losses as the Hornets fell to host North Dakota 4-1 on Friday and 6-1 on Saturday in Grand Forks.
Faith Apolskis (Soquel), Pacific, Sr. >> Was 0 for 1 in a 5-0 loss at No. 20 BYU on Friday.
Equestrian
Natalie Wendt (Aptos), Fresno State, Fr. >> Lost 171-144 to Sydney Hutchins in equitation over fences as the No. 7 seed Bulldogs lost 12-3 to No. 2 Georgia in the quarterfinals of the NCEA Championships on Friday in Waco, Texas. Wendt beat Samantha Perlman 152-136 in equitation over fences in a 10-5 win over No. 10 New Mexico State in the first round Thursday.
Beach volleyball
Jenna Belton (Aptos), USC, Jr. >> Teamed with Jo Kremer for a 21-17, 21-13 win over Kat Anderson and Courtney Bowen in the No. 5 match as the No. 1 ranked Trojans beat host Stanford 5-0 on Tuesday.
Avery Keathley (MVC), Concordia, Fr. >> Keathley and teammate Marcela Frazzoni lost 22-20, 21-15 to Kristey Markle and Autumn Russell in the No. 4 match in a 5-0 loss to Cal State Northridge on Friday.
Men’s tennis
Cody Rakela (Scotts Valley), UC Santa Barbara, Jr. >> Beat Tadeas Lansky 6-0, 6-0 at No. 4 singles and won 6-4 at No. 3 doubles with teammate Kristian Prior in a 7-0 win over UC Riverside on Sunday. Beat Bruce Man-Son-Hing 6-2, 6-2 at No. 5 singles and lost 6-4 with Prior at No. 3 doubles in the Gauchos’ 5-2 win over host UC Irvine on Saturday.
Women’s tennis
Caroline Casper (St. Francis), Pomona-Pitzer, So. >> Won 6-0, 6-1 at No. 1 singles and 8-1 with Arianna Chen at No. 2 doubles as the No. 5 Sagehens (13-5) beat Cal Lutheran 9-0 on Saturday.
County Connections appears Thursdays in the Sentinel. Contact sports@santacruzsentinel.com if you know of a former Santa Cruz County prep athlete now playing at the collegiate level.
