BAKERSFIELD, Calif.-- The Roadrunner men's and women's track and field teams will travel to Fresno this weekend for their final meet before the WAC Outdoor Championships in May. The Fresno State Bulldog Invitational will run all day on Saturday.
Men
The 'Runner men will continue to be led by the throwing group of Bryan Wilmert (Jr., Bakersfield, Calif., Liberty HS), Gabe Holland (Sr., Anchorage, Alaska, Univ. of Alaska), and Karnell Grimes (Jr., Rosamond, Calif., Rosamond HS). Wilmert will compete in the hammer throw, where his season and personal best of 197-00 at the Ben Brown Invitational is the longest hammer throw of all WAC competitors this season and ranks him in the top 75 in NCAA Division I throwers.
Wilmert will also take on the shot put while Holland will join his teammate in the hammer and compete in the discus. Holland raised his season's best toss in the discus last weekend to 155-06, tied for third best in the WAC this season. Grimes will compete in the javelin where he hopes to move out of the WAC Top 10 in the event and into the Top 5 for the season.
“The throwers continue to be the highlight of the men's team this spring and have been consistent performers,” said Bakersfield's Director of Track and Field, Marcia Mansur-Wentworth. “They have been working very hard in the weight room and on the field.”
Richard Maestre (RJr., Bakersfield, Calif., South HS) and Max Fagan (Jr., Auburn, Calif., College of the Siskiyous) will compete in the 400m hurdles where the two runners rank 10th and 11th in the WAC, respectively. Of the duo, Mansur-Wentworth said, “Both have shown consistency and an improved level of fitness this spring.” Justus Mora (Sr., Sparks, Nev., Spanish Springs HS) will compete in the sprints, taking on the 100m and 200m.
Women
Mansur-Wentworth expects promising results out of the ladies as she said, “The women's team has shown progress this spring. The relay team, in particular, has run faster and more consistent than in the past several years.” That 4 x 400m relay team will consist of Ariana Mariscal (Fr., Bakersfield, Calif., North HS), Marina Emhoff (RFr., Bakersfield, Calif., North HS), Erica Wilcox (So., Bakersfield, Calif., Liberty HS), and Alyssa Page (Jr., Santa Rosa, Calif., Montogmery HS). The quartet finished the relay in a time of 3:53.17 last weekend, which was good enough for fifth best in the WAC this season and cracked the Bakersfield All-Time Top 20 performance list in the event.
Page will be the anchor on both relay teams and will also run in the 200m and 400m races where she sits in the Top 10 in the WAC for both in 2014. Emhoff and Wilcox will also take on the 400m while Mariscal will return to the 800m. “Ariana has proved herself to be a reliable competitor with excellent racing instincts,” said Mansur-Wentworth. In her freshman season, Mariscal has already cracked the school's All-Time Top 10 in the 800m and has the fifth fastest time in the WAC.
Gabby Giuliano (So., Bakersfield, Calif., Stockdale HS) and Audrena Harlan (So., Antioch, Calif., Dozier-Libbey Medical HS) will be among the Bakersfield female representatives in the field events. Giuliano will compete in the javelin and pole vault while her teammate will leap into the long and triple jump competitions.
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