FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. — Former Cal State Bakersfield track and field athlete Arnaldo Cueto threw a personal-best 73-2 ½ in the 35-pound weight throw to highlight the Roadrunners' day at the Southwest Host Classic Invitational at Northern Arizona University on Saturday.
Cueto's throw in the loaded field easily won the competition and moved him back into the No. 5 position on the current U.S. list.
While former Roadrunner Cueto was throwing a personal best, current Roadrunner Nick Umholtz was just behind, only barely missing a personal-best in the same event at 65-4 ¾, which was good enough for third place.
The throwers continue to be strong for Bakersfield, but Head Coach Alan Collatz was impressed with the entire team's performance in its final indoor meet of the season.
“It was a really good meet,” Collatz said. “The kids are getting better. They're really coming along.”
One of the places where Bakersfield is really coming along is in the women's 400 meters, where Valerie Taylor, Jessica Cooper and Connie King each had standout performances. Taylor was fourth in 1:00.64, Cooper was fifth at 1:00.72 and King was sixth at 1:01.85.
“Those are really good times for them,” Collatz said. “They're really good considering that it was at elevation — 7,000 feet.”
Freshman Sheena Cooper was the No. 4 qualifier in the 55 meters at 7.36 seconds and finished sixth overall in the event after running 7.43 in the final. She was also seventh in the 200 meters at 26.01.
Jodi Calderon led a 1-2-3 finish for Bakersfield in the mile. Calderon won the event in 5;54.96, while Lina Nuñez was second (6:04.31) and Felicia Jasso was third (6:31.12).
In other men's competition, Josh Lopez was fourth in the long jump at 20-7 ¾, and teammate Elliott Fowler was fifth at 20-6 ½. Former Roadrunner Chris Figures was fifth in the men's shot put competition that was loaded with former Olympians. Figures threw 61-11 ¾.
Cueto and Umholtz were first and third in the weight, but other Roadrunners also performed well in the event. Leo Chavez was sixth (57-10 ½), Ryan Davis was seventh (57-4 ¼) and Ian Banez was eighth (55-8 ¼).
The Roadrunners open the outdoor portion of their schedule on March 3 when they compete at the UCLA Invitational.
