FULLERTON, Calif. - After a great performance on Friday, the Cal State Fullerton indoor track and field team came back on Saturday to produce another strong performance at the 39th annual Frank Sevigne Husker Invitational on the campus of the University of Nebraska in Lincoln, Neb.
Just like it has all indoor season the Titans competed against some of the top programs across the nation as schools such as Auburn Kansas State, USC, Iowa State, Colorado State, Illinois, and Maryland competed.
"I thought we made a lot of improvement this weekend after a tough travel day on Thursday and not getting in until 3:30 a.m. on Friday morning," said head coach John Elders. "However we competed real well and the atmosphere and facilities at the University of Nebraska were fantastic."
On Friday, the Titans were led on Friday by freshman Destinee Brown who qualified for the 60-meter dash finals and on Saturday the Los Angeles, Calif., native came back to finish seventh in the event with a time of 7.49. Brown also competed in the 200-meter dash and had another top-ten finish after posting a time of 24.34.
Senior Katie Wilson, who ran a 55.19 in the 400-meter on Friday, came back on Saturday to post a personal record in the 200-meter with a time of 25.11 to finish 23rd. Wilson finished one place behind Ashley Sims who finished with a time of 25.02.
In the 800-meter run, Tejera Dial broke the school record with a time of 2:17.31. Dial broke Pamela Rogue's school record of 2:18.28 which was set in 2003.
After barely finishing moments behind school record-holder Dial in the one-mile run at the UW invitational last weekend, junior Ana Valdovinos came back this week to abreak Dial's school record with a time of 5:08.58, which was good for ninth place. Freshman Arianna Fuentes also recorded a personal record in the one-mile run with a time of 5:14.60 to finish 14th.
Katie Bathgate competed in the 3000-meter run finishing in 14th with a time of 10:22.65, while Celinda Manzo placed 19th with a time of 10:52.13.
Off the track, Ty'Jalayah Robertson Taylor Frank were the highest finishing Titans in the high jump as the duo finished 14th and 15th with jumps of 1.63m and 1.57, respectively.
Fullerton now shifts its focus to the Boise State Team Challenge in Boise, Idaho next weekend (Feb. 15).
Friday's Action
In the 60-meter dash sophomores Alexandria Stewart and Alexis Stewart finished with times of 7.83 and 7.88 to place 27th and 30th, respectively.
In the 400-meter run senior Katie Wilson finished seventh with a time of 55.19, while freshman Tigest Nealy was the only other Titan competitor in the event as she placed 36th with a time of 58.65.
Fullerton had five athletes compete in the 60-meter hurdles as junior Deena Pierce was the top Titan with a time of 8.81 as she finished in 15th. In her first meet of the season freshman Brittany Thornton finished 20th with a time of 9.08 and a trio of Taylor Frank (9.39), Nicolette Garcia (9.58), and Jessica Aguilera (9.99) finished 23rd, 24th, and 25th.
Notes: The Husker Invitational will have multi-events in addition to the full slate of open events and series of special invites. The Husker Invitational is named in honor of former track and field Head Coach Frank Sevigne, who fought a gallant battle against cancer prior to his death on Jan. 29, 1985. Sevigne was posthumously inducted into the United States Track Coaches Association Hall of Fame on Dec. 4, 2004, in Portland, Ore.
Sevigne brought a wealth of success to Nebraska athletics. He oversaw a total of 11 national champions, 42 All-Americans and 103 individual conference champions. One of his former athletes, sprinter Charlie Greene, added an Olympic gold medal in the 4x100-meter relay at the 1968 Games.
