FULLERTON -The Gauchos’ second meet of the outdoor season took place at CSU Fullerton with the hammer throw taking place on Thursday and the rest of the track and field events on Saturday as part of the Ben Brown Invitational.
On Thursday, Senior Jean Lightfoot finished fourth overall with a throw of 181’0″and Alex Francis finished 15th and throwing 143’1″. On the men’s side, Adam Shigem took 15th overall with a throw of 163’6″.
On Saturday of the two day meet, the remainder of the track and field events took place with several strong performances for the Gauchos.
Maureen Ajoku had a strong performance in the long jump and won the event with a mark of 18’1.75″.
“I think I did pretty well considering how early on in the season it is. However, for the rest of the year I want to work on qualifying for the NCAA Nationals in the Heptathlon but I’m excited for the season to finally start.”
Veronica Gines finished fourth with a jump of 17’6.25″, Tayler Williams placed 11th overall with a mark of 16’11.5″. Williams also had a great performance in the triple jump to place second overall and her best jump at 39’2.25″. Symone Evans placed 11th with a leap of 36’1.25″ and Jaimie McCormack placed 13th with a mark of 35’9.5″.
Helena Montin and Maureen Ajoku finished tied for third in the high jump, with both jumpers highest mark measuring 5’3″. In the men’s shot put, Julian Samson finished 14th with his throw of 45’9″ and Josh Scherer throwing 44’4.75″ to place 20th overall. Jennifer Melton represented the Gaucho’s in the javelin throw with a mark of 113’5″ to place 8th overall. Mitchell Haag and Max Villaba finished tied for first in the high jump at a height of 6’6.75″. Josh Codding finished 18th with a mark of 5’8.75″
Sprints
The women came out with a win in the 4x400m relay with Jessica Johnson, Daniele Fessenden, Sheniece Vargas, and Jennifer Carey contributing to a winning time of 3:51.39. The men’s 4x400m relay team composed of Andre Pinon, Alvin Go, Marquis Caldwell and Jimmy Martin also had an impressive performance finishing second in 3:12.47.
Sean Johnson finished eighth overall in the 110m hurdles with a time of 15.25 and Josh Codding placed 20th overall running 16.08. The men’s 4x100m relay team composed of Beidi Beer, Jacob Vowels, Evan Walker and Nate Harvey placed third and running 41.76 despite having a relatively young team. Snita Ashford, Kelsey Bolden, Megan Vyenielo and Grace Esslinger helped the women’s 4x100m relay team to a fourth place finish with a time of 48.15.
Camille Petty finished fourth in the 800m run and clocking in 2:18.64. Teammates Jennifer Carey and Cherelle McMillion took 11th and 12th place with times of 2:21.44 and 2:21.52 respectively. Jordan Scott took third in the 400m running 48.50. Jimmy Martin placed seventh with a time of 48.90 and Winton Nguyen ran 49.53 for 11th place. Sheneice Vargas and Danielle Fessenden ran in the women’s 400m to finish ninth and 21st overall. Vargas ran 58.28 and Fessenden ran 60.32.
Jacob Vowels ran 10.92 to take eighth in the men’s 100m. Beidi Beer finished 10th with a time of 10.95. Evan Walker came in 12th with a time of 11.01. Nate Harvey placed 15th with 11.05.
On the women’s side, Jessica Johnson represented the Gaucho female sprinters well with her seventh place finish in the 100m with a time of 12.26. Johnson also took seventh in the 200m with a time of 24.89. Andre Pinon earned third place in the men’s 400m hurdles with a time of 52.66 and Alvin Go placed 10th by running 54.48. Aislynn Mueller and Emily Gordon both had strong performances in the women’s 400m hurdles to take second and third. Mueller ran 63.84 and Gordon followed closely with a time of 64.03. Evan Walker placed 18th in the men’s 200m run clocking in 22.30. Sean Johnson ran 23.80 and James Flynn 24.44.
Rusty Parker finished strong in the 1500m run to place second with a time of 3:54.33.
“It was a good day in general with great competition–Greg Dotson and Ryan Martin both ran well. Even though I ran a personal best time in the 1500m I hope to improve even more throughout the course of the season but concentrate mainly on the 800m.”
Dotson came in seventh running 3:58.41 and Ryan Martin placed 12th with a time of 4:01.81. Cassie Brooker took third in the 1500m for the women by running 4:41.08. Callie Mulgannon clocked in 4:43.97 while Justine Diaz and Sarah Vitug finished ninth and 10th with times of 4:45.74 and 4:45.96 respectively.
The Gaucho’s next meet will be in Irvine at the All-Cal Challenge on Saturday. Barbara Nwaba will be competing in the NCAA Indoor Championships in College Station, Texas the same weekend.
