Track and field set school records at Stanford Invitational
Navtej Hundal wrote this article for Cal State Fullerton’s Daily Titan. It is available for republication or reference. If you think their work is important, you can support it here.
After placing first in seven events in Los Angeles last week, Cal State Fullerton’s track and field team added three more first-place finishes at the Stanford Invitational this past weekend.
Christian Wood continues his sensational season as he narrowly finished in first place in the men’s long jump invite after passing UC Berkeley's Hakim McMorris by .01 meters with a leap of 7.59 meters. Wood won his third overall event in the outdoor season thus far.
Despite a slow start, Justin Lowe sprinted towards a substantial lead to come out with back-to-back wins in the men's 400-meter dash, dating back to last week. He finished with a time of 47.20 seconds, 0.14 seconds ahead of Rikuya Ito.
Maya Occiano barely secured top placement in the women's 400-meter hurdles after slowing down significantly toward the finish line, finishing with a time of 1:00.31. Her time for the event is now the third-best in the Big West Conference this season.
The Titans failed to place first in any events afterward, but those shortcomings would be overshadowed by new personal records set by athletes who made their way into the program’s record books or the conference’s best this season.
In the men's 400-meter hurdles, Matt Cohen recorded a new personal best time of 52.62 seconds to secure a second-place finish. His time is also now the eighth in the Titans' all-time list for the event.
The men’s 4x400 meter relay team finished second for the event in heartbreaking fashion for the Titans.
Leading for the majority of race, it was the Titans' to win until North Dakota’s Cody Roder turned up the heat in the final 100 meters to stay neck and neck with Justin Lowe. With both runners falling to the finish line, it seemed a tie was possible but North Dakota was declared the victor as Fullerton’s time of 3:09.78 was outpaced by 0.02 seconds.
In the women's 4x100 meter relay, the Titans finished in third place despite a slip-up during the first baton handoff. Ending with a time of 46.56 seconds, Fullerton holds the conference’s fourth-best time for the relay event.
In her second-place finish in the women's triple jump, Sela Pastrana’s jump of 12.58 meters now ranks the second-best in the conference.
Coming off of a win in the men's 400-meter hurdles last week, Charles Kelly finished in second place in what was a highly contested men’s 110-meter hurdles from start to finish.
Shallamar Poole leaped 2.05 meters for second place in the men’s high jump, while Alexis Vincent-Walker hopped 1.60 meters for second place in the women's high jump.
Alonzo Floriolli continues to add to the Titans' shortcomings with a third-place finish in the men's 100-meter dash. Kyleigh Wilkerson threw to third place in the women's discus throw, reaching 44.32 meters.
Fullerton will travel to Long Beach State for the Challenge Cup Classic on April 8.