BAKERSFIELD, Calif. -- The Roadrunner men will get their first taste of action in the 2014 Track and Field season as they join the women to compete at the Cal State L.A. Invitational. The competition marks the beginning of the outdoor season for the 'Runners.
The meet will run for two days starting on Friday, March 7 with two throwing events and will continue on Saturday with the majority of the other disciplines. Two 'Runner upperclassmen, Gabe Holland (Sr., Anchorage, Alaska, University of Alaska) and Bryan Wilmert (Jr., Bakersfield, Calif., Liberty HS), will get the competition started for the men with the hammer throw. Holland will also participate in the discus event in which he was an All-Conference honoree in 2013.
Saturday will feature the rest of the men as the 'Runners are led by two more conference finalists and a group of strong newcomers. Karnell Grimes (Jr., Rosamond, Calif., Rosamond HS), an All-Conference recipient last year, will take part in the javelin competition. Grimes will attempt to improve upon his 2013 personal best throw of 172-4. Four more inches will land the junior in the Bakersfield Men's Top 20 All-Time list.
Freshman Kyle Wiggins (Bakersfield, Calif., Centennial HS) will also participate in the field events, taking on the long jump and pole vault. Other newcomers to the team who will be competing this weekend are Rolando Torres (Fr.), Max Fagan (Jr., Auburn, Calif., College of the Siskiyous), and DeArris Rockett (Fr., Palmdale, Calif., Highland HS). Torres will compete in the 200m and 400m sprints while Rockett will race in the 800m. Fagan, a junior transfer, will pace the 'Runners in the 400m hurdles.
Justus Mora (Sr., Sparks, Nev., Spanish Springs HS) will race in the 100m and 200m sprints. Mora was a conference finalist in 2013 in the 100m and will continue to be a strong compeittor in the WAC this season. Fellow upperclassman Richard Maestre (RJr., Bakersfield, Calif., South HS) will sit this one out as a precautionary measure due to a minor injury.
On the women's side, Meghan Cleare (Fr., Boron, Calif., Boron HS) will begin the meet in the hammer throw, marking her first collegiate experience in the event. Two veteran 'Runners, Dominique Alexander (Jr., Bakersfield, Calif., South HS) and Erica Wilcox (So., Bakersfield, Calif., Liberty HS) will lead Bakersfield into the second day of competition. Both Bakersfield natives will race in the 200m and Alexander will compete in the 100m while Wilcox will take on the 400m.
Three of the women's strongest 'Runners will be taking a break this weekend as they recover from their showing at the 2014 WAC Indoor Championships in Moscow, Idaho. Alyssa Page (Jr., Santa Rosa, Calif., Montgomery HS), Marina Emhoff (RFr., Bakersfield, Calif., North HS), and Erica Hawkins (Sr., Bakersfield, Calif., Shafter HS) all competed in multiple events for Bakersfield at the Indoor Chamionships last week.
While this trio will take the weekend off, a quartet of distance runners are sure to put up strong times in the 1500m race. Jorey Braughton (RJr., Bakersfield, Calif., Centennial HS) will lead teammates Megan Thompson (RJr., Fellows, Calif., Taft Union HS), Ariana Mariscal (Fr., Bakersfield, Calif., North HS), and Tori Blackmon (Fr., Bakersfield, Calif., Stockdale HS) into the competition. Mariscal closed the WAC Indoor Championships on the podium as the third-place finisher in the 800m race. The freshman became the first women's All-Conference honoree for Bakersfield in Division I history with the performance.
The meet is scheduled to kickoff Friday at 9 a.m. and will conclude around 6:30 p.m. on Saturday.
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