LOS ANGELES, Calif. – The CSU Bakersfield men's and women's track and field teams competed at the Cal State LA Invitational Friday and Saturday as two throwers, Alec Benavides and Madison Bundy, led the way with strong performances in the javelin.
“Javelin was definitely our best event this weekend,” said Marcia Mansur-Wentworth, Director of Track and Field for the Roadrunners. “Alec got fourth with a big PR and Madison got third and is 10th all-time for us now. Joselito Flores also had a good showing in the high jump to place second. Overall, I was pleased with how our first outdoor meet went.”
Women
After concluding a standout career with the CSUB softball team, redshirt senior Bundy decided to finish off her final year of eligibility by competing for the Roadrunner track team. Bundy made her CSUB track and field debut on Saturday by placing third in the javelin with a throw of 123-06. The toss already ranks Bundy 10th all-time for CSUB in the event while she posted the best result for the 'Runners since 2005 (Tiffany Fox, 138-09).
Redshirt junior Taevionna Wilson improved her personal best in the 100-meter dash with a time of 12.41. Wilson moved into a tie for 20th all-time for the 'Runners with the performance, which was good enough for ninth place on Saturday.
Redshirt junior Marina Emhoff improved her personal best as well as CSUB's season-low time in the 200-meter dash. Emhoff ran the race in 25.28 seconds, good enough for eighth overall. Wilson also ran well, lowering her season-best to 25.59 while finishing 12th.
The 'Runner long jumpers had success on Saturday as both senior Audrena Harlan and redshirt junior Alisha Byrd improved their personal bests. Harlan finished second in the event with a new PR of 17-04.25 while Byrd was close behind in fourth with a mark of 16-10.50. Byrd also increased her personal best in the triple jump by half an inch with a jump of 36-04.00 to finish fifth.
Sophomore Micaiah Lugo finished sixth in the discus with a mark of 117-09. Newly-announced volunteer assistant coach Alex Collatz competed in the event unattached and won with a mark of 185-05.
Susannah Vera paced the 'Runners in the 100-meter hurdles. The sophomore finished with a time of 16.23, placing 12th overall, while teammate Byrd was three places behind Vera at 16.87. Vera also placed third in the high jump, tying her season-best mark of 5-03.00. Senior Tricia Cervantes successful leaped four feet, eleven inches to finish fifth on Saturday.
Men
Benavides, a sophomore, improved his personal best in the javelin by 18 feet in Los Angeles. The Bakersfield native placed fourth overall, behind only a former USC Trojan and a pair of competitors from BYU. Benavides' mark of 168-10 is just under four feet outside of the CSUB Top 20 in the event.
Flores, also a sophomore, placed second in the high jump with a strong mark this early in the season (6-04.75). Junior transfer Justin McKinley jumped the same height as Flores, but finished third on number of attempts.
McKinley made his 'Runner debut earlier in the day with an impressive long jump mark of 21-10.25. The native of Southern Claifornia finished sixth in the event while Flores came in close behind at 21-05.50.
Senior Emmett Wirtz placed fourth in the hammer throw in Los Angeles. The native of Ridgecrest, Calif. posted a best toss of 152-08. Freshman Luis Mendez came in 12th with a mark of 104-04 in his first collegiate meet.
Michael Lovato posted a time of 4:11.71 in the 1500, the first attempt at the event for the senior since transferring to CSUB last year. His time is already five seconds faster than Bakersfield's season-best from 2015.
Sophomore Anthony Jones improved his PR by .01 seconds in the 100-meter dash to 11.27. Freshman Gabe Gaeta made his 'Runner debut with a time of 2:01.52 in the 800 to finish 21st overall.
Next Saturday, the 'Runners will stay in town but return to action when CSUB competes at the Bakersfield College Relays. The meet will be held on Mar. 12 in North Bakersfield. Full results from this weekend's meet will be linked in this article when they are made available by Cal State LA.
~GoRunners.com~
