Track & Field

Titans Continue Season at UCI Spring Break Invitational

Posted: Mar 18, 2014

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FULLERTON, Calif. – After taking home both the men's and women's titles last weekend at the Ben Brown Invitational, the Cal State Fullerton track and field program returns to action this weekend at the UC Irvine Spring Break Invitational in Irvine, Calif.

The Titans will send over 80 athletes to compete in 15 separate events this Friday and Saturday. The meet will begin Friday at 2 p.m. with the men and women's hammer throw and will conclude approximately at 4:15 p.m. with the men's 4x400m relay.

Fullerton will go up against some of the top programs on the west coast including Fresno State, Pepperdine, Long Beach State, Northern Arizona, Loyola Marymount, and host UC Irvine.

"I'm looking forward to this weekend's meet because it will be the first time we'll have a full squad at one competition," said head coach John Elders. "I'm also excited to see where everyone is at and see how we compare against other Big West opponents like UC Irvine and Long Beach State."

Ben Brown Invitational

Last weekend, the Titans hosted their annual Ben Brown Invitational at the Titan Track and field complex. Fullerton took home first place for both the men and women.

In front of over 1,100 spectators, the Titans were led by Destinee Brown (23.83) and Tigest Nealy (24.85), who both competed in the 200-meter dash. Also, a 4x400m relay team of Katie Wilson, Morgan Thompson, Deena Pierce and Nealy came away victorious with a time of 3:45.88. The 4x400m time last weekend currently ranks fourth nationally. In the 800-meter run, Tejera Dial placed third with a time of 2:13.68, which also ranks eighth nationally.

On the men's side Shelby Hernandez (1:54.46) placed second in the 800-meter run in his heat, while Brandon Cook finished sixth in his preliminary with a time of 1:54.13. Paris Pijuan (15-07.0) finished third in the pole vault, while Bubba Ostrowski (22-11.0) placed fourth in the long jump.

"I was really pleased with last weekend with how the meet was ran and how we competed. We had some good performances with Destinee Brown, Jasmyne Davis, Tejera Dial, and our 4x400m relay team," said Elders. "There were a lot of positive performances and were excited to see it improve this weekend."

2013 UCI Spring Break Invite

At last year's UCI Spring Break Invite the team saw multiple personal best performances, including Jayson Perez (9:33.16) who finished fifth and set a personal best in the 3000-meter Steeplechase, while Tim Reed (9:49.03) placed eighth.

Emily Taylor (10:08.49) and Katie Bathgate (10:12.18) both ran a personal bests and placed eighth and 10th respectively in the 3000-meter, while Ana Valdovinos recorded a personal best time of 4:46.65 in the 1500-meter run to round out the solid weekend in Irvine last season.

Destinee Brown Nationally Ranked

At the Ben Brown last weekend, freshman Destinee Brown posted a time of 23.83 in the 200-meter dash. The Los Angeles native time currently ranks as the best mark in the Big West and second nationally behind California's Charnell Price (23.72).

Jasmyne Davis Second in Triple Jump

Senior Jasmyne Davis posted a triple jump of 38-09.0 at the Ben Brown Invitational, which currently ranks second amongst all Big West jumpers. Davis fell just short of her personal best of 39-0.

Titan Men With Best Marks

After two weeks of outdoor competition multiple Titan men hold marks in the top three of conference and top 15 bests nationally. Redshirt-Freshman Malik Johnson holds the second best high jump in the Big West conference and ranks 13^th nationally, while Bubba Ostrowski also ranks second in conference marks in the long jump.

In the 800-meter run, senior Brandon Cook posted a time of 1:54.13, which ranks 15^th nationally and Paris Pijuan ranks 14^th nationally with a pole vault jump of 15'7".

Next Up

After traveling to Irvine this weekend, the Titans will next head to Riverside, Calif., to compete in the UC Riverside Invitational on March 28-29.