Mesa, AZ- Junior Marcus Howard was the highlight of Arizona Christian's participation in the Mesa Invitational as his time in the 400 meter hurdles claimed first place and qualified him for NAIA Nationals.

Howard was part of three events that saw him set a personal or relay season mark.  In the 400m hurdles, he set a time of 54.18 for the first place finish, personal best mark, and punching his ticket to Gulf Shores, AL.  In the two relay events, Howard teamed with Sophomore Justin Barnes, Sophomore Rodrick Griffin, and Freshman Jordan Leary to post a time of 42.91 and grab third place in the 4x100 relay.  In the 4x400 event, Barnes, Freshman Matt Castillo, Griffin, and Howard combined for a season low 3:33.72 to also take third.

Freshman Jordan Morris completed his 100 meter race in a time of 10.79- just .01 off the school record.  He doubled up with a 23.95 time in the 200m race.

In the 400m race, Freshman Tanner Hilton claimed eighth with a 54.01 finish. 

The Firestorm had a strong showing in the 110 meter hurdles with a third, sixth, and seventh place finish.  Howard was good for a 15.51 time.  Castillo ended at 17.00 exactly and Sophomore Karl Kleppe came in right behind at 17.01.

Along with his 110 meter hurdle result, Kleppe participated in three other events- all field events.  He produced eighth place results in the pole vault (12'7.5") and javelin throw (142'10"- his season best).  He chucked the discus 75'3" to place 12th.

Sophomore Steven James had a good showing with a second place finish in the triple jump (44'11.5") and fifth place result in the high jump (5'8").

The Mesa Invitational was the final tune up for the men before heading off to the GSAC Championships hosted by Westmont.  The GSAC Championships begin on Thursday in Santa Barbara and will carry over to Friday.