Mesa, Ariz. - Split between Thursday and Saturday, the Firestorm competed in the Cody McBride Invitational and continued to progress in their trek toward the GSAC Championships. Arizona Christian established 22 season bests/personal records and saw 11 top-10 performances in program history when all was said and done. Besides the host Thunderbirds, ACU lined up against Central Arizona, Glendale Community College, and others. 

Alonzo Paul was among those who shone brightest in sprints, placing third out of 24 with a personal-best of 22.85 seconds. Seven of the nine athletes who competed in the 200 meters either set a season best or personal record.

In the distance discipline, Nick Valle ran the fourth-fastest 1500 meters (4:10.20) in program history on his way to an eighth place finish out of 22 athletes. Trent Janssen posted another top-five performance with the third-fastest 3000-meter steeplechase (10:18.43) in Firestorm history.

There were three top-10 showings in hammer throw, Drew Gertenrich leading the way with the third-best (35.32 meters) and a sixth-place finish out of 13. TaHaj Acoff had quite the discus throw, unleashing a 44.98-meter bomb that secured the third-farthest throw in program history.

In the jumping events, Jase Carrasquillo cleared 1.92 meters in the high jump, good enough for the second-best in program history and also had a season-best (6.64 meters) in long jump. Brent Nelson Jr. established a personal best in triple jump (13.15 meters) and inserted his name in the program history books with the seventh-best performance.

EVENT DETAILS

Cody McBride Invitational (March 14th & 16th)

Location- Mesa, AZ (Hosted at Mesa Community College)
Start Time- Distance events on Thursday evening (Paradise Valley Community College), remaining on Saturday (Mesa Community College)

Full Team Results: https://results.wingfootfinish.com/meets/31377/teams/788028 

RESULTS

100 Meters

• Lionel McPhaull - 11.44 sec (3rd/24)
• Alonzo Paul- 11.69 sec (12th)
• Malaki Cowan- 11.85 sec (17th)
• Tyrus Allen- 11.86 sec (18th
• Zephaniah Powell- 11.91 sec (PR and 19th)
• Brady Ferris- 23.11 sec (24th)

200 Meters

• Alonzo Paul- 22.85 sec (PR and 3rd/24)
• Lionel McPhaull- 23.01 sec (SB and 6th)
• Brady Ferris- 24.10 sec (PR and 32nd)
• Malaki Cowan- 23.24 sec (PR and 9th)
• Zephaniah Powell- 23.70 sec (PR and 13th)
• Tyrus Allen- 24.00 sec (19th)
• Randall Evans III- 24.83 sec (PR and 22nd)
• Brent Nelson Jr.- 25.41 sec (PR and 23rd)
• Xuru Ren- 25.41 sec (24th)

400 Meters

• Zachary Holland- 53.19 sec (PR and 8th/16)
• Xuru Ren- 55.75 sec (PR and 13th)
• Randall Evans III- 57.10 sec (14th)

800 Meters

• Julian Salyer- 2:05.54 (6th/14, 9th all-time for ACU men)
• Trevin Janssen- 2:08.48 (PR and 10th)
• Brady Lambrecht- 2:12.55 (PR and 12th)

1500 Meters

• Nick Valle- 4:10.20 (8th/22, 4th all-time for ACU men)
• Trevin Janssen- 4:22.03 (PR and 14th)
• Julian Salyer- 4:23.77 (16th)
• Brady Lambrecht- 4:46.20 (19th)

3000-Meter Steeplechase

• Trent Janssen- 10:18.43 (PR, 3rd/5, 3rd all-time for ACU men)

10,000 Meters

• Gabriel Gastelum- 34.57.09 (8th/8, 6th all-time for ACU men)

Javelin Throw

• Drew Gertenrich- 44.28 m (4th/9)
• Trevin Janssen- 42.43 m (PR and 5th)
• Trent Janssen- 40.40 m (6th)

Shot Put

• TaHaj Acoff- 14.09 m (3rd/11)
• Tully Farmer- 12.50 m (6th)
• Drew Gertenrich- 11.50 m (8th)
• Harrison Still- 10.23 m (11th)

Hammer Throw

• Drew Gertenrich- 35.32 m (PR, 6th/13, 3rd farthest all-time for ACU men)
• Tully Farmer- 32.86 m (PR, 8th, 8th farthest all-time for ACU men)
• TaHaj Acoff- 31.92 m (9th, 9th farthest all-time for ACU men)

Discus Throw

• TaHaj Acoff- 44.98 m (PR, 2nd/14, 3rd farthest all-time for ACU men)
• Drew Gertenrich- 41.86 m (5th)
• Harrison Still- 35.77 m (9th, 9th farthest all-time for ACU men)
• Tully Farmer- 26.38 m (14th)

Triple Jump

• Brent Nelson Jr.- 13.15 m (PR, 2nd/5, 7th all-time for ACU men)

Long Jump

• Jase Carrasquillo- 6.64 m (SB and 3rd/10)
• Malaki Cowan- 6.12 m (PR and 8th)
• Manny Valenzuela- 5.77 m (PR and 10th)

High Jump

• Jase Carrasquillo- 1.92 m (1st/3 and 2nd all-time for ACU men)
• Zephaniah Powell- 1.72 m (2nd)

THOUGHTS FROM COACH BRIAN BELL

"It was a great day for both the women's and men's programs," Coach Bell said. "Several athletes had either season best or personal best all-time marks and times. Our assistant coaches are doing an outstanding job of preparing each student-athlete for competition and today's results are the fruit of everyone's hard work. We are excited to see where everyone will be when we get to the GSAC Track & Field Championships in about five weeks."

NEXT UP FOR THE FIRESTORM

The Firestorm have one week off before heading to San Diego, California for their penultimate meet before the conference championships. San Diego Mesa College hosts the Arnie Robinson Invite on Friday, March 29th. Keep up with ACU Men's Track and Field this 2024 season by following @acufirestorm on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram and check out @firestorm_xctf on Instagram for additional content.


Roll Storm!