BAKERSFIELD, Calif.-- The Bakersfield men's and women's track and field teams will head to Orem, Utah this week for the 2014 WAC Outdoor Championships.

Women

The women will be led by Alyssa Page (Jr., Santa Rosa, Calif., Montgomery HS) who will compete in the 200m and 400m dashes where she hopes to make finals after narrowly missing at the WAC Indoor Championships. Page is currently ranked in the Top 8 in the WAC in both events and will also anchor both relay teams. The junior has improved her personal best in the 400m and had the best double of her career in Fresno two weeks ago in the 200m and 400m. She also ran the relays to make four races in one day to prepare for the rigors of the WAC Championships. Page will look to add to her two Great West All-Conference medals with a WAC medal. 

With a strong freshman season, Ariana Mariscal (Bakersfield, Calif., North HS) has climbed the CSUB rankings in the 800m to eighth all time. The freshman is currently ranked sixth in the WAC and she came up big at the WAC Indoor Championships, earning All-Conference honors with her third place finish. She will also join Page on the 4 x 400m relay team.

Joining those two in the relays is Marina Emhoff (RFr., Bakersfield, Calif., North HS), who will lead off both relays (4 x 100m and 4 x 400m), and Erica Wilcox (So., Bakersfield, Calif., Liberty HS). Both women will also run in the open 400m. The Bakersfield relay teams are ranked fourth in the 4 x 100m and fifth in the 4 x 400m in the WAC this season and hope to move up a spot in the finals.

Megan Thompson (RJr., Fellows, Calif., Taft Union HS), who missed all of last season due to injury, has returned and run personal bests in the 800m and 1500m distances. In her first ever attempt at the 400m hurdles, she ranked Top 20 All-Time for Bakersfield and will compete in that event at the WAC Championships. Jorey Braughton (RJr., Bakersfield, Calif., Centennial HS) will run her final race in a Roadrunner uniform in the 1500m. Although, she has another year of eligibility, Braughton is graduating in June with honors from the PEAK program. Dominique Alexander (Jr., Bakersfield, Calif., South HS) will compete on the 4 x 100m relay team and will also race in the 100m and 200m dashes.

Gabby Giuliano (So., Bakersfield, Calif., Stockdale HS) will compete in the javelin where she is currently ranked seventh in the WAC. Giuliano will also compete in the pole vault, an event the sophomore had a two year absence from but still ranks among CSUB's best all time in the event. Audrena Harlan (So., Antioch, Calif., Dozier-Libbey Medical HS) will compete in the long jump and triple jump where she hopes to advance to the finals as she narrowly missed them at the Indoor Championships.  

Men

The men will rely on a strong contingent of throwers led by junior Bryan Wilmert (Bakersfield, Calif., Liberty HS) who has a slight lead in the WAC hammer throw standings. Wilmert is an example of what someone who works hard can accomplish. He began at CSUB as a walk on and risen to the highest ranks in his event. The Bakersfield native is mentored by former head coach, Alan Collatz, who graciously remained on staff to coach the throwers. Wilmert will also compete in the shot put as well as the hammer, events in which he scored 15 points at the Great West Conference Championship in 2013.

Joining Wilmert in the hammer throw is Gabe Holland (Sr., Anchorage, Alaska, Univ. of Alaska) who will also compete in the shot put and discus throw. This will be Holland's final conference championship as a Roadrunner as he will graduate next year and is planning to attend medical school. Karnell Grimes (Jr., Rosamond, Calif., Rosamond HS), a javelin thrower, began his career at CSUB on the baseball team and switched to track and field. He has risen to the highest ranks in the javelin among CSUB history and will look to tack on a WAC Championship medal as he is currently ranked seventh in the WAC.

Senior Justus Mora (Sparks, Nev., Spanish Springs HS) will also run his final meet in a Roadrunner uniform this week. He will compete in the 100m dash where he currently stands tied for ninth. Additionally, he will race in the 4 x 100m relay. Mora will graduate in June with honors with a degree in psychology and was a recent inductee into the Alpha Chi Honor Society and is planning to pursue a master's degree. Team Captain Richard Maestre (RJr., Bakersfield, Calif., South HS) has battled back from injury and will compete along with teammate Max Fagan (Jr., Auburn, Calif., College of the Siskiyous) in the 400m hurdles and both relays. Both men have been working hard this spring and look for good races to advance them to the finals in the 400m hurdles.

Matthew Turkington (RJr., Bakersfield, Calif., Centennial HS) is starting to return to form after having back surgery two years ago and looks to advance in the 200m dash as well as work with his teammates on the relays. These seven men will be joined by a pair of walk-on freshmen to round out the squad for this year's WAC Championships. Rolando Torres will compete in the 400m and 4 x 400m relay while Kyle Wiggins (Fr., Bakersfield, Calif., Centennial HS) will compete in the pole vault and high jump. Wiggins has earned a Top 10 CSUB All-Time ranking in the pole vault already.

"While we are only lining up nine student-athletes on the women's and men's sides, I have faith in all of them to perform well and make CSUB proud," said Bakersfield's Director of Track and Field Marcia Mansur-Wentworth. "We are not yet deep enough to make an impact on the team chase, but do have some impact athletes who should make finals and contend for All-Conference honors. I look at us as a work in progress and with these fine student-athletes and my great coaching staff, we will look to the future."

The WAC Championships begining Wednesday, May 14 and run through May 17. Bakersfield's portion of the competition will begin Friday and will run all day and through Saturday. For more information on the conference championship, visit the WAC Tournament Central.

~www.GoRunners.com~