Posted: May 21, 2015
Championship Central | Meet Schedule | Meet Entries - MEN (PDF) | Meet Entries - WOMEN (PDF)
FULLERTON, Calif. – The Cal State Fullerton men and women's track and field team qualified five student-athletes to compete in the NCAA West Region Championships at the University of Texas at Austin on May 28-30, the NCAA announced Thursday.
Three Titans from the women's squad made the final rounds of cuts to get their chance to participate in the postseason meet as Janaya Shorty qualified in the 400-meter dash, Jessica Flores in the hammer throw, and Tyler Hardge in the 400m hurdles.
After not qualifying any men for the 2014 NCAA West Region Championships, two of the top performers on the season for the Titan men will make the trip to Austin, Tex. this year as Steven Williams qualified in the high jump and Joshua Gordon is set to participate in the 400m dash.
Janaya Shorty – 400m Dash
Shorty was one of the Titans most dangerous sprinters in the 2015 season, taking home five first-place finishes and nine top-five finishes during the year. The sophomore wasted no time getting to the top of the podium in the first meet of the season at Riverside Community College as she took home top prize in the 100m and 200m dash while anchoring the 4x100m relay team that earned gold. Her performance in the season debut earned her the first Big West Female Track Athlete of the Week award of the season for the Titans.
The Victorville, Calif. native earned her way to the NCAA West Region Championships at the UC Riverside Spring Invite, when she finished ahead of the field in the 400m dash with a season-best time of 53.60 seconds.
Jessica Flores – Hammer Throw
Flores was a staple for the Titans throwing squad in the 2015 season, appearing in 11 of the Titans 14 meets on the year. The Fresno, Calif. native competed in the hammer, discus, and shot put events during her junior campaign and posted at least one top-five finish in each event.
Flores was the second recipient of a Big West Athlete of the Week award, winning the female field honor after her school-record breaking performance in the hammer throw at the University of Las Vegas Spring Invite. She shattered Cal State Fullerton's previous school record of 185-feet-1 inch, set in 2010 by Jameena Hunt, after her fourth attempt in the competition flew 196-feet-5 inches. That throw proved to be enough to qualify her for the NCAA West Region Meet as the 24th-longest throw of the year in Division I competition.
Tyler Hardge – 400m Hurdles
Hardge, who was recently named the Big West Women's Freshman of the Year, burst onto the scene this season for the Titans and took home seven first-place finishes en route to her postseason conference honor.
The freshman from Colton, Calif. used her season-best 60.14 sec. finish to outpace the field in the 400m hurdles at the Big West Championships in Riverside, Calif. to earn the first individual Big West title of her career and a spot in the field of 48 at the NCAA West Region Championships.
Steven Williams – High Jump
Williams was the Titans most consistent performer in the 2015 season, taking home five first-placehonors in the high jump and posting either first or second place finishes in seven of his eight high jump competitions during his final year as a Titan. Williams joined Hardge as the only two Titans to earn individual Big West titles at the conference championships after clearing 2.07 meters at UC Riverside Track Facility.
The Downey, Calif. native qualified for the NCAA West Region Championship meet by taking home first place at UCLA Legends Invite on April 3-4, clearing a season-best height of 6-feet-9-inches.
Joshua Gordon – 400m Dash
Gordon, who is the Cal State Fullerton's 2014 Big West Scholar Athlete of the Year, was another standout performer for the Titan men in 2015. The senior finished with 23 top-five finishes throughout the year as he competed in the 100m, 200m and 400m running events while becoming a key member of both CSF's 4x100m and 4x400m relay teams.
Gordon qualified for the NCAA West Region Championships at the Big West Championships when he broke the Fullerton school record in the 400m dash by crossing the finish line in 46.90 seconds. He also broke the school record in the 200m dash in the same meet after finishing the race in 21.19 sec.
The qualifiers from the west region championships will go on to compete in the NCAA Division I Men's and Women's Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Eugene, Ore. on June 10-13.