Posted: Apr 08, 2023

Joel Gardner breaks Pima School Record in 5,000-meter race at Triton Invitational

Sophomore distance runner Joel Gardner (Ironwood Ridge HS) broke the Pima School Record in the 5,000-meter race at the Triton Invitational after he took first place with a time of 14:12.84. The previous record was set in 2008 by Craig Curley, who had a time of 14:23.30. Photo courtesy of Connor Deakin

The Pima Community College men's and women's track & field team competed at the Triton Invitational on Friday and Saturday at University of California San Diego in La Jolla, CA.

The men's team finished in fourth place out of 19 teams with a total of 73.5 points competing against fellow junior colleges and NCAA Division I universities.
Sophomore Joel Gardner (Ironwood Ridge HS) shattered the Pima school record for the 5,000-meter race. He took first place with a time of 14 minutes, 12.84 seconds. The previous record was set by Craig Curley in 2008 with his time of 14:23.30. Gardner's time is unofficially the No. 1 time in the country.
Freshman Abraham Valenzuela (Palo Verde HS) took third place in the 5,000 and finished with a personal-best time of 14:31.27. He improved on his previous qualifier by 15 seconds (previously at 14:46.03). He is fourth on the all-time records list.
Freshman Johnathon Lane (Walden Grove HS) also set a new personal-record in the 5,000 at 14:32.67, improving by 26 seconds from his previous qualifier (14:58.02). He is now sixth on the all-time records list.
Sophomore Orion Barger (Canyon del Oro HS) finished in second place in the 400-meter race with a season-best time of 47.44 seconds. His personal-best in the event was set last year at 47.42.
Sophomore Tristan Spalding (Palo Verde HS) improved on his national qualifying time and set a personal-best in the 400-meters as he finished in third place with a time of 47.67. His previous qualifier was at 47.83.
Barger and Spalding, along with freshman Broden Cahoon and sophomore Nathan Plant improved on their 4x400 national qualifier with a time of 3:14.93. Their previous best was set at 3:15.53.
In women's competition, the Aztecs took 18^th place out of 22 teams with 18 points.
Sophomore Jackie Trice (Williams Field HS) took third place in the Long Jump with a mark of 5.71 meters (18-feet, 8.75-inches), which is a new Outdoor season-best. She hit 5.82 meters at the Indoor National Championships.

The Aztecs will compete at the Mesa Outdoor Invitational on Friday, April 14 at Mesa Community College. Events begin at 3:00 p.m.

See complete results of the Triton Invitational on Finished Results