IRVINE, Calif. – The Cal State Fullerton's men's and women's track and field team combined for eight first-place finishes and one meet record as the Titans completed the only day of competition in the 22nd annual Big West Challenge Cup at Anteater Stadium on Friday.
Competing against Long Beach State, UC Santa Barbara and UC Irvine, the Titan women finished second and the men third.
"I think the overall team performance for the women was very strong," head coach John Elders said. "The women improved from a fourth-place finish last year at this meet."
The Titan women placed first in 4x100-meter relay as the quartet of Alexandria Stewart, Ashley Sims, Katie Wilson and Destinee Brown recorded a time of 45.72 setting a new meet record.
For the second straight year, junior Deena Pierce claimed a first-place finish in the 400-meter hurdles at the Big West Challenge with a season-best time of 61.43. Pierce also took first in the women's 100-meter hurdles crossing the line first with a time of 14.20, recording her first win in the event this year.
"Deena was on fire today, it was good to see her bounce back," Elders asid.
Senior Jasmyne Davis took home two first-place finishes in the long jump and triple jump. Davis recorded a first-place finish with a jump of 18-03.75 to lead all competitors in the long jump – her second-best mark of the year. In the triple jump, Davis' mark of 37-10.00 was good for first as she was closely followed by teammates Ty'Jalayah Robertson (36-11.50 ; 3rd) and Ifunanya Gwacham (36-06.75; 4th).
Freshman Luis Matos recorded his first first-place finish of his career with a time of 10.83 in the men's 100-meter dash, and Wilson recorded her third first-place finish of the year with a time of 54.49 in the women's 400 meters.
Freshman Malik Johnson placed first in the men's high jump with a mark of 6-06.75.
Also on the track, Daniel York-Mouton's personal-best time of 47.68 was good for second in the men's 400 meters. The freshman also finished third in the men's 200 meters with a time of 21.97
Freshman Pamela Pelayo recorded a personal-best time of 11:56.70 in the women's 3,000-meter steeplechase finishing fifth. On the men's side, rookie Daniel Ramirez's personal-best time of 9:19.97 – a 15-second improvement - in the 3,000-meter placed third. Jeff Little's time of 9:35.62 was also a season best as he placed fifth.
The Titan men, Nick Sole, Joshua Gordon, Matos and Malek Walls placed second in the 4x100-meter relay with a time of 41.57. In addition, freshman Shelby Hernandez, Jr., recorded a personal-best time of 1:52.67 placing third in the 800 meters as he continues to improve each week.
Sims finished second in the women's 100-meter dash with a time of 11.97. Sims (24.41; 2nd) and Wilson (24.55; 3rd) recorded top finishes in the women's 200 meters as Wilson's time was a season best.
In the field, Robertson, also competing in the high jump, recorded a mark of 5-03.00, placing third, while Leah Stevens finished fifth with a jump of 4-11.00 – matching her season best.
Fullerton produced two top-five finishers in the men's long jump as Walls' leap of 22-05.00 was good for third place while Alexander Ostrowski's jump of 22-02.50 placed fifth. Senior Emmett Kellogg placed third in the men's triple jump with a mark of 44-04.00 – his second best score of the year.
With a season-best throw of 171-11, Amanda Mercado finished second in the hammer throw for the Titans. Alexandria Kemp also recorded a season-best throw of 161-01 to finish sixth.
In the women's javelin throw, Catherine Craig was Fullerton's top finisher with a throw of 107-06 (5th) as she competed in the event for the first time this year.
Sophomore Steven Parsons finished fourth in the men's hammer throw with a season-best distance of 164-07.
The Titans return to action Wednesday, competing at the CA Invitational Combined Events in Azusa, Calif.