San Diego, CA – The men's track & field team travelled to San Diego, CA to compete in the Sea Lion Invite hosted by Point Loma Nazarene University on Saturday March 14.  Highlights included TaHaj Acoff, fresh off his All-American performance at nationals winning the shot put, freshman Isaac McKeowan set a program record in the javelin, and junior Brenton Szymanski getting second place in the 400 hurdles.

Throws
Acoff did not need his best throw to win this weekend as his toss of 55' 4.75" was more than enough to hold off his competition and importantly hit the "A" standard for the outdoor national championships in May.  Someone who did throw their best though was freshman Isaac McKeowan who set a new personal best and a program record of 187' 9" breaking the decade old record of 180' 6.5" set by alumnus Cale Campbell in 2016.

Sprints & Hurdles
Szymanski's second place finish was with a time of 54.01 which places him third all-time in program history and is currently tops in the GSAC.  Junior Thaddious Thurman performed in the 110 hurdles and finished just off his personal best with a time of 15.80.  Thurman currently ranks second in the GSAC for the 110 hurdles.

Middle Distance
Sophomore Isaac Linan ran the first 1500 of his career and did so with a time of 4:04.70 which places him third all-time in program history and currently places him second in the GSAC.  He would later follow that up with a fifth-place finish in the 800-meter race.

Long Distance
The long distance crew ran at the Oxy Distance Classic held at Occidental College in Los Angeles, CA later in the evening.  Junior Julian Salyer ran in his first ever steeplechase and finished with a time of 10:11.3 which places him fourth in program history and is currently the top time in the GSAC.  Also running a new race was sophomore Braxton Pingleton who raced the 10K for the first time with teammate Trevin Janssen.  Pingleton finished in 33:10.8 which placed him 17^th overall in a crowded field while Janssen finished close behind in 19^th with a time of 33:20.9.  Their times are second and third fastest in the GSAC.

Jumps
Senior Jase Carrasquillo finished fourth overall in the long jump with a leap of 22' 1".  While not his best jump, it places him at the top of the GSAC in these early season rankings.

Thoughts from Head Coach Brian Bell
"Everyone did fantastic today.  Isaac McKeown breaking the school record for the Javelin and TaHaj hitting the "A" standard for shot put were highlights."
 
Top Track Finishers
4x100M Relay: Brazier, Terry, Lieberman, Wright - 42.16
100 Meters: Nadayr Manard – 11.02
200 Meters: Markeese Wright – 22.04
400 Meters: Markeese Wright– 49.43
800 Meters: Isaac Linan – 1:59.30
1500 Meters: Isaac Linan – 4:04.70
10,000 Meters: Braxton Pingleton – 33:10.84 *Oxy Distance Carnival
110M Hurdles: Thaddious Thurman – 15.80
400M Hurdles: Brenton Szymanski – 54.01
3K Steeplechase: Julian Salyer – 10:11.34 *Oxy Distance Carnival
 
Top Field Finishers
Discus: Eitan Martinez – 109' 9"
Shot Put: TaHaj Acoff  – 55' 4.75" *NAIA "A" Standard
Javelin: Isaac McKeown – 187' 9" *Program Record
Long Jump: Jase Carrasquillo – 22' 1"
 
The Firestorm will stay local next week for a two meet at Paradise Valley Community College Friday and Saturday March 20-21.  The meet includes the first heptathlon and decathlon for the team's multi-event athletes.  Hep/Dec competition as well as throwing events will begin Friday at 12:00pm.  The rest of competition will be Saturday starting at 9:00am.
Roll Storm!