LOS ANGELES, Calif.-- Bakersfield men's and women's track and field competed in the second day of competition Saturday at the Cal State L.A. Invitational.
Day 2 was highlighted by several Roadrunners, including multiple student-athletes with Top 10 finishes. There were also a number of 'Runners who placed well in large pools of competitors.
Dominique Alexander (Jr., Bakersfield, Calif., South HS), gor the 'Runner women off to a good start as she placed well in the 200m with the 19th fastest time of the day (26.41). In a pool of 43 sprinters, the junior represented Bakersfield well. Alexander also finished well in the 100m dash. A 12.88 finish was good enough for 19th out of 40 sprinters for the Bakersfield native.
The ladies continued their strong showing with a good performance from Megan Thompson (RJr., Fellows, Calif., Taft Union HS). The distance runner posted the fastest 1500m time of all six 'Runners in the race at 4:59.94. Only one meet into the 2014 outdoor season and Thompson has already surpassed the 2013 CSUB best time of 5:00.26, set by Melisa Cruz. Freshman Ariana Mariscal (Bakersfield, Calif., North HS) finished three places behind Thompson for 18th overall with a time of 5:06.57.
The Roadrunner men represented the program well in the throwing events on Friday and continued with strong performances into Saturday. Remaining in the field events, Karnell Grimes (Jr., Rosamond, Calif., Rosamond HS) posted a Top 10 finish in the javelin throw. Grimes' distance of 166-08 was good enough for sixth overall out of 23 throwers.
Junior transfer Max Fagan (Auburn, Calif., College of the Siskiyous) hurdled his way into a Top 10 finish in the 400m hurdles. A 56.47 finish in the race placed Fagan eighth overall in a pool of 27 hurdlers. The men's 4 x 100m relay team finished with a time of 43.73, already more than a second faster than 2013's best Roadrunner finish of 44.80.
Freshman Kyle Wiggins (Bakersfield, Calif., Centennial HS) cracked the CSUB Top 10 all-time list of pole vaulters on Saturday. His height of 12-09.50 boosted the Bakersfield native into the CSUB record book.
Justus Mora (Sr., Sparks, Nev., Spanish Springs HS) and DeArris Rockett (Fr., Palmdale, Calif., Highland HS) both contributed well in their respective disciplines. Mora, a senior sprinter, finished the 100m dash in 11.09 seconds which was good enough for 19th overall in a large pool of 67 sprinters. The freshman middle distance runner finished 20th out of 72 runners in the 800m. Rockett's time of 2:01.62 is already five second faster than Rudy Castro's Roadrunner best time from 2013 (2:06.44).
Bakersfield will return to the track next weekend as the 'Runners head to Fullerton, Calif. for the Ben Brown Invitational. The meet will run for two days starting Friday, Mar. 14.
~www.GoRunners.com~
