NORTHRIDGE, Calif. – The Cal State Fullerton track and field team saw two school records fall at the CSUN Challenge in Northridge, Calif. as Joshua Gordon set the new all-time school mark in the men's 400-meter run while Ty'Jalayah Robertson posted the best mark in the women's high jump in Titan history on Saturday afternoon.
Gordon, who was honored with the Cal State Fullerton Male Big West Scholar-Athlete of the Year award in March, ran the fastest 400m in Titan history, clocking in at 46.93 seconds to take home second-place overall in the event. The senior also took home a second-place finish in the 200m dash, crossing the finish line in 21.65 sec.
Robertson completed the sweep for the Titan men and women in the event as she cleared 5-feet-8 inches to take home the top spot in the competition. Robertson not only had a great day in the high jump, but went on to set a personal-best jump in the triple jump, taking home second place with a distance of 11.82 meters.
Sprinters / Mid-Distance / Hurdles
The men's 400m run was not only a bright spot for Gordon, but for senior Taylor Ros and sophomore Chaz Harmon as well. Ros and Harmon both ran personal-best's in the event on Saturday, posting times of 47.24 sec. and 47.44 sec., respectively.
Tejera Dial kept used the momentum of her school-record performance in the 1,500m run at the UCSD Trition Invite a week ago to take home top prize in the 800m run this time around. Dial ran the 800m in 2:10.67 sec. while teammates Kaylie McGrady and Ruby Rodriguez posted times of 2:40.72 and 2:27.89, respectively.
Not to be outdone, Shelby Hernandez Jr. completed the first-place sweep of the 800m run competition in Northridge by posting a time of 1:52.17 sec. to outpace the rest of the field.
Other notable performances on Saturday from the men and women runners from Fullerton include: A first-place finish in the 100m dash by Nick Sole with a time of 10.78 sec., Nick Reynolds' personal-best time in the 110m hurdles (14.57 sec.) which earned him second-place overall, Mason Rollins set a personal-best time in the 200m dash with a time of 21.68 sec. for a third-place finish.
Tyler Hardge was the standout Titan in the women's 100m and 400m hurdle events, posting first-place finishes in both. She first competed in the 100m hurdles, crossing the finish line in 14.13 sec., before lacing up for the longer 400m variety which she finished in 1:00.10 sec.
Jumpers
In addition to Robertson's record-breaking afternoon, Steven Williams and Malik Johnson continued to dominate the high jump event for the Titan men. The duo finished in first place and second place, with Williams just out-jumping his teammate Johnson. Both Williams and Johnson cleared the 2.10m height, a personal-best for Johnson.
Throwers
Emmanuel Martinez took home his first top finish of the season on Saturday at CSUN, winning the hammer throw competition with a personal-best throw. Amanda Mercado also set a new personal-best throw for the Titan women on Saturday with a toss of 49.14 meters. Jessica Flores was the top finisher for the Titan women in the event after her throw of 55.20m landed her in fourth-place overall.
Daniel Walker took home his second first-place finish of the season in the javelin throw, posting a distance of 54.05m. Walker's other top finish came at the UCR Spring Classic where he tossed a personal-best 60.88m.
Relays
The men's 4x100m relay team took home a first-place finish for the Titans, posting Fullerton's first sub-41.00 sec. 400m relay time since the 2007 season. The team of Sole, Ros, Gordon and Harmon ran the race in 40.98 seconds to cross the finish line ahead of the field.
The Titans will compete at the Big West Combined Events in Riverside, Calif. beginning on Friday and ending on Saturday. The Titans will also send a select few to the OXY Invite on Saturday in Eagle Rock, Calif.
