NORTHRIDGE, Calif. – The Bakersfield men's and women's track and field teams will head to Southern California for a tune-up meet for the outdoor season.
Saturday's meet will be the first action of the year for the 'Runner men and the first outdoor meet for either squad. The women got their indoor season kicked off last weekend with a trip to the Northern Arizona University Invitational and will participate in this outdoor meet before returning to the indoor races.
The women put together a strong showing in Arizona and look to continue to build momentum as they prepare for the WAC Indoor Championships at the end of February. The talented pool of runners at the NAU Invite was headlined by student-athletes from UCLA and Arizona State as Bakersfield's Director of Track and Field, Marcia Mansur-Wentworth, was pleased with the team's performance.
Redshirt freshman sprinter Marina Emhoff (Bakersfield, Calif., North HS) posted a strong showing in her first meet as a Roadrunner with two personal bests. After winning her heat of the 400m dash, Emhoff placed 13th overall in the strong collection of sprinters. Emhoff also raced well in the 200m dash, finishing just a tenth of a second behind teammate Alyssa Page (Jr., Santa Rosa, Calif., Montgomery HS). Page and Emhoff look to continue to lead the 'Runner women this weekend as they will both compete in the 300m and 600m races.
Freshman Ariana Mariscal (Bakersfield, Calif., North HS) was a top eight finisher in Flagstaff and will compete in the 600m and join Page in the 4 x 400m relay. Audrena Harlan (So., Antioch, Calif., Dozier-Libbey Medical HS) will be jumping for the 'Runners in the long and triple jumps as well as running in the 60m dash. As a student-athlete who scored points at the conference meet in 2013, Bakersfield expects Harlan to continue to lead the team in jumps.
Other female student-athletes to note are junior Megan Thompson (Fellows, Calif., Taft Union HS) and sophomore Gabby Giuliano (Bakersfield, Calif., Stockdale HS). Giuliano will be making her collegiate debut as a pole vaulter on Saturday and Thompson will look to pace her distance teammates in the two-mile race after being a top eight finisher last weekend.
The men will have their first competition of the year but will not be joined by 'Runner throwers. Team captain Richard Maestre (Jr., Bakersfield, Calif., South HS) will compete in the 300m hurdles and 60m hurdles and will anchor the 4 x 400m relay. Maestre will be joined in the 300m hurdles and the relay by junior transfer Max Fagan (Auburn, Calif., College of the Siskiyous).
A pair of freshman, DeArris Rockett (Palmdale, Calif., Highland HS) and Kyle Wiggins (Bakersfield, Calif., Centennial HS) will be making their collegiate debuts with the 'Runners. Rockett is a middle distance runner and will compete in the 800m as well as the 4 x 400m relay. Wiggins looks to soar high and far for Bakersfield as he competes in the pole vault and long jump.
Justus Mora (Sr., Sparks, Nev., Spanish Springs HS) will run in the 60m and 200m dashes and will attempt to improve upon his solid collegiate career. Mora is already a conference finalist and will look to make a mark on the WAC in 2014.
The one-day All-Comers Meet will begin at 9:30 a.m. and will conclude Saturday afternoon.
~www.GoRunners.com~
