NAU Invite Results (PDF)
Husky Invite Results
SEATTLE, Wash. / FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. – The Cal State Fullerton Indoor Track and Field team completed the split-squad Valentine's Day weekend at the NAU Invitational and the Husky Invite with a record-breaking performance by Tejera Dial multiple top-five finishes to go along with Taylor Frank's record-breaking pentathlon performance Friday.
Friday Recap
Frank, already the school record holder in the pentathlon after totaling 3,093 points in a single meet last season, shattered her previous school record by over 200 points on Friday at the NAU Invitational. The senior finished in third place overall and posted a final point tally of 3,296. Frank finished in third place in four out of the five total events on the day, she finished with a high jump of 1.64m, a shot put distance of 9.04m, a long jump of 5.35 m , a 60m hurdle time of 9.21 seconds and finally an 800m time of 2:44.50.
In the 200m dash, Janaya Shorty outpaced the field to cross the finish line in first place with a time of 24.13 sec. It's the first time this season the sophomore from Victorville, Calif. has taken home the top spot after finishing fifth overall at the UW Invitational in the Titans last meet action.
Saturday's Action
Sprints / Hurdles
The Titans had five student-athletes compete in the 60-meter dash on Saturday with three finishers in the top 15 in the preliminary heat. Alexandria Stewart, Ty'Jalayah Robertson and Alexis Stewart all crossed the finish line consecutively in 11th, 12th and 13th place. Alexandria Stewart posted a time of 7.88 seconds, Robertson was right behind at 7.90 sec. and Alexis Stewart after that at 7.91 sec. Both Robertson and Alexis Stewart finished with season-best times, but no Titans qualified for the final in the event.
In the 60-meter hurdles Tyler Hardge and Taylor Frank, India Owens and Ifunanya Gwacham joined the 22 other competitors vying for the top spot. Hardge posted her second-straight top-10 finish at the NAU Invitational with a time of 9.05 seconds as Frank posted a season-best 9.18 sec. finish.
The 400-meter dash featured Calaiah Branch, Owens and Deena Pierce for the Titans. Branch broke the one-minute mark for the first time this season with a time of 58.47 seconds, finishing in fifth place overall. Owens and Pierce finished with times of 58.91 sec. and 1:05.53, respectively.
Relay
For the first time this season, the Titans had two separate teams compete in the 4x400-meter relay race. The team consisting of Hardge, Elizabeth Claustro, Morgan Thompson and Shorty finished in third place with a time of 3:53.80 and the team of Darnisha Loftis-McKnight, A. Stewart, A. Stewart and Branch finished two spots behind in fifth place with a time of 4:12.88.
Jumps
Ty'Jalayah Robertson continued her stellar season in the high jump competition, posting her second-straight top-five finish at the NAU Invite. Robertson's jump of 1.60 meters was good enough for a tie for fourth place in the event after finishing tied for fifth at the UW Invite in the Titans previous meet. Gwacham was the only other Titan competing in the high jump, jumping 1.55m in her first time participating in the event in 2015.
Laura Hamann and Brooke Hardge took part in the long jump competition for the third-straight meet for the Titans. Hardge had the longest jump of the day for Fullerton with a distance of 4.96 meters and Hamann right behind her with a jump of 4.84m. Gwacham finished in the middle of the Titan pack on Saturday with a jump of 4.89m.
Throws
For the second day in a row, the throwers had just one opportunity to showcase their skills as Saturday held the weight throw competition. The Titans took advantage of the opportunity, entering five student-athletes into the event. Amanda Mercado posted the best throw of any Titan at the NAU Invite with a throw of 17.20 meters. Mercado finished in third place overall with that season-best effort. Jessica Flores earned a ninth-place finish with a throw of 15.78m and Alexandra Kemp finished 13th with a distance of 14.78m. In their first time competing in the weight throw this season, Catherine Craig and Tayla Schultz posted throws of 12.83m and 9.68m, respectively.
Three Titan men competed on Saturday at the NAU Invite as Bubba Ostrowski got his first action of 2015. Nick Sole and Taylor Ros competed for the second-straight day in Flagstaff in the 60-meter dash and 400m dash. Sole qualified for the finals of the 60m dash with a fourth-place finish in the prelims (6.88 seconds). He took home eighth place overall in the final heat with a time of 6.93 sec. Ros had his best finish of 2015 in the 400m dash, taking third place overall with a time of 48.44 sec. Ostrowski competed in the shot put event on Saturday, finishing tied for fourth place with a throw of 15.98 meters.
Husky Invite
Tejera Dial was the lone competitor for the Titans at the Husky Invite on Saturday and she took full advantage of the spotlight, breaking her own school record she set a year ago in the 800-meter run. Dial finished in 26th place with a time of 2:14.43 sec., but bumped herself from the Titan history book by breaking her previous personal best time of 2:15.89 sec.
"We had some really strong performances this weekend," head coach John Elders said. "Taylor (Frank), Janaya (Shorty) and Tejera (Dial) really had outstanding meets. In addition, there were also multiple PR's by other athletes, so this was a good momentum builder as we look forward to the MPSF Championships."
The Titans will take the next week off to prepare for the MPSF Championships that are being held on Mar. 13-14 in Seattle, Wash.
