San Diego, Calif. - ACU Men's Track and Field maximized their competitive opportunity on Friday with 20 personal records rewritten by 12 athletes at the Arnie Robinson Invitational. The Firestorm shared the stage with some of the top colleges in California, including Riverside City College, East Los Angeles College and Orange Coast College.

For the second straight meet, Alonzo Paul was the leading sprinter for ACU, the sophomore setting personal bests in the 100 meter dash (11.17 seconds) and 200 meter dash (22.77 seconds). Both times secured top-20 finishes among fields of 65 and 75 respectively.

Malaki Cowan established a personal record in the 200 meter dash (23.11 seconds) and in long jump (6.58 meters), his leap seventh on the all-time list for ACU men. Besides landing in the program's top-10 performances, the freshman's long jump ranks second in the GSAC.

Brandon Ericson led the Firestorm in the 5000 meters, clocking in at 14:58.12 for a fourth-place finish out of 41 runners. Freshman Nick Valle notched a personal-best time of 15:15.88, ranking third in ACU's record book.

Drew Gertenrich posted personal bests in both discus throw (45.89 meters) and shot put (11.82 meters), his discus effort the second-farthest in program history. 

EVENT DETAILS

Arnie Robinson Invitational (March 29th)

Location- San Diego, CA (Hosted by San Diego Mesa College)
Start Time- 9:00 AM

Full Team Results: https://milesplit.live/meets/590433 

RESULTS

100 Meters

• Alonzo Paul - 11.17 sec (PR and 14th/65)
• Lionel McPhaull- 11.28 sec (PR and 17th)
• Tyrus Allen- 11.71 sec (34th)
• Manny Valenzuela- 12.33 sec (PR and 53rd)

200 Meters

• Alonzo Paul- 22.77 sec (PR and 16th/75)
• Lionel McPhaull- 23.04 sec (21st)
• Malaki Cowan- 23.11 sec (PR and 25th)
• Zachary Holland- 24.17 sec (43rd)
• Zephaniah Powell- 24.60 sec (49th)
• Xuru Ren- 25.17 sec (PR and 59th)
• Tyrus Allen- 25.63 sec (64th)

400 Meters

• Zachary Holland- 53.15 sec (PR and 24th/38)
• Xuru Ren- 56.11 sec (32nd)
• Randall Evans III- 56.12 sec (PR and 33rd)

800 Meters

• Randall Evans III- 2:18.41 (29th/36)
• Brady Ferris- 2:33.84 (34th)

1500 Meters

• Manny Valenzuela- 4:49.31 (PR and 37th/43)

5,000 Meters

• Brandon Ericson- 14:58.12 (4th/41)
• Nick Valle- 15:15.88 (PR, 9th, 3rd all-time for ACU men)
• Gabriel Gastelum- 15:55.78 (20th)
• Trent Janssen- 16:01.08 (PR and 21st)
• Trevin Janssen- 16:11.56 (25th)
• Julian Salyer- 16:24.05 (30th)
• Brady Lambrecht- 17:21.54 (39th)

110-Meter Hurdles

• Jase Carrasquillo- 16.73 sec (9th/20)

Javelin Throw

• Drew Gertenrich- 45.80 m (6th/29)
• Trent Janssen- 40.25 m (14th)
• Manny Valenzuela- 33.94 m (PR and 22nd)

Shot Put

• TaHaj Acoff- 14.36 m (4th/33)
• Drew Gertenrich- 11.82 m (PR and 18th)
• Tully Farmer- 11.72 m (19th)
• Harrison Still- 10.93 m (PR and 23rd)
• Manny Valenzuela- 7.88 m (PR and 30th)

Hammer Throw

• TaHaj Acoff- 31.80 m (20th/23)
• Tully Farmer- 30.71 m (21st)
• Harrison Still- 30.04 m (PR and 22nd)

Discus Throw

• Drew Gertenrich- 45.89 m (PR, 6th/36, 2nd all-time for ACU men)
• TaHaj Acoff- 42.48 m (8th)
• Harrison Still- 34.41 m (24th)
• Tully Farmer- 33.19 m (29th)

Triple Jump

• Brent Nelson Jr.- 12.83 m (7th/10)

Long Jump

• Malaki Cowan- 6.58 m (PR, 7th/26, 7th all-time for ACU men)
• Brent Nelson Jr.- 5.75 m (PR and 20th)
• Xuru Ren- 5.05 m (PR and 26th)

High Jump

• Jase Carrasquillo- 1.95 m (3rd/13 and 2nd all-time for ACU men)
• Zephaniah Powell- 1.65 m (11th)

THOUGHTS FROM COACH BRIAN BELL

"The coaching staff and I were very pleased to see how well the entire team performed at Arnie Robinson," Coach Bell said. "It was exciting to see how the confidence our athletes have in their training is translating to their performance at the track. There were too many exceptional performances to count and our relay teams are really starting to click. We will continue to build on these results as we prepare for the GSAC Track and Field Championships at the end of April."

NEXT UP FOR THE FIRESTORM

The Firestorm's final tuneup before the GSAC Championship will be the GCC Invite (Hosted by Glendale Community College) on Saturday, April 13th. 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!