MEET SCHEDULE | BERTHA SOLA FEATURE
FULLERTON, Calif. - The Cal State Fullerton women's indoor track and field team heads back to Seattle yet again to compete in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) Championships on Friday and Saturday. Competition begins on Friday at 12 p.m. PT and at 10 a.m. on Saturday.
In addition to the host Washington Huskies, Fullerton will compete against Arizona, Arizona State, BYU, CSUN, California, Colorado, Hawai'i, Long Beach State, Oregon, Oregon State, Portland, San Francisco, Stanford, UC Davis, UC Irvine, UC Riverside, UCLA, USC, Utah and Washington State.
Last time out at the Husky Classic (Feb. 14-15), junior Iesha Hamm cleared 5-10 (1.78m) to win the high jump competition and junior Mariah Lark finished fourth in the pole vault with an indoor personal-best clearance of 12-0.50 (3.67m).
On Jan. 31 and Feb. 1, the Titans were split between the UW and Colorado Invitationals. On the first day of competition, Hamm won the women's high jump competition in Colorado with a clearance of 5-8 (1.73m) for her season debut. She cleared 1.68m on her second try and 1.73m on her first attempt before missing on three tries at 5-10 (1.78m). The second day, senior Samantha Huerta made her season debut at the UW Invitational and just missed breaking her own school record in the mile. She clocked a time of 4:47.94 in 16th place while her record is 4:47.50.
To open the season, the Titans sent a group of sprinters, jumpers and throwers to the MLK Jr. Invite in Albuquerque on Jan. 24-25. Bertha Sola posted a PR on day one in the weight throw while the Titans posted five personal bests on the second day.
Four school records were broken or tied during the 2019 season and all of the record-breakers are back on the squad for the 2020 season. Junior Iesha Hamm tied her own high jump record of 5-10.5 (1.79m) last season at the Air Force Open. That mark was ranked fourth in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF). Huerta is back after breaking her own school mile record last year with a time of 4:47.50 at the MPSF Championships. Junior Trinity Ruelas broke a school record last year as well, running the 3K in 9:37.75, also at the MPSF Championships. At the same meet, both of those ladies also ran on the distance medley relay team that clocked a school-record time of 11:41.06. Sandra Flores was also part of that quartet and is a senior on the 2020 roster.
Huerta (800 meters; 1,500 meters) and Hamm (high jump) both won individual Big West Outdoor Track and Field Championships and both claimed Second-Team NCAA Outdoor All-America accolades last season.
As the 2020 season gets underway, cross country and track and field head coach John Elders enters his 32nd season at the helm of each program making him the longest tenured head coach in the history of Cal State Fullerton. Cal State Fullerton won the 2017 Big West Men's Outdoor Track and Field Championships, the first conference title in program history, then repeated that feat in 2018 to become back-to-back champions. The Titans then won the 2019 Big West Women's Outdoor Track and Field Championship and the 2019 Big West Women's Cross Country Championship, both firsts for their respective programs.
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