CLOVIS, Calif. – The University of California, Merced men's and women's outdoor track teams had a stellar day and recorded multiple program-bests at the West Coast Relays on Friday at Veterans Memorial Stadium.

Jonathan Chavez shined the brightest for the Bobcats by hitting the A standard time in the 5000m race and turning in a trifecta of program records overall.

Chavez ran the 5000m in 14:35.11, the 1500m in 3:56.93, and the 800m in 1:54.88. His 5000m A standard time was 20+ seconds faster than his previous best and punches him a ticket to the NAIA National Championships in Marion, Ind., later this spring. Also of note, Chavez took fourth or better in all three events on Friday.

Elizette Ysais was the talk of the women's team as she won the 5000m event with a program record time of 18:10.43. She's ran back-to-back-to-back sub-19 times in the 5K and this time around she was 39 seconds faster than her previous best time.

Favour Nnaji and Sinthya Duran also sprinted their way to multiple program records. Nnaji ran 11.02 in the 100m dash and 22.59 in the 200m dash, while Duran clocked solid times of 27.76 (200m) and 1:02.10 (400m).

Alberto Alves (16:21.15/5000m) and Sharvin Manjrekar (4:03.46) registered personal bests and top ten finishes.

Here's what head coach Vicente Velarde said:

"March couldn't have ended better for us. Especially after the weather we faced the last two meets with 15-20mph winds and a heavy downpour at the next.
 
"Elizette Ysais opened with a 39 second personal best in the 5000m and she won the event with a huge kick that closed a 15 meter gap in the final lap. We're working on getting comfortable with the paces she needs to hit for a national qualifying standard and today she took a big step closer to that goal so it's definitely got her feeling more confident."
 
"Next up was Jonathan Chavez in the 5000m who clinched a spot at the national championships with his personal best and A standard qualifying time of 14:35. Before this weekend that would put him at third overall in the nation. He went on to triple with personal bests in the 1500m and 800m races and almost hit B standard times missing both by 1 second each. His times today show the range he's capable of but also show that he can be a real threat at nationals if the race goes to a sit and kick type of race."
 
"Across the board we had just about everyone hit personal bests. A few notable personal bests would have to be Carissa Estrada and Derrick Pickrel in the Steeplechase, Jaydah Aguilar and Elizette Ysais in the women's 1500m, Sharvin Manjrekar in the 800m, Favour Nnaji and Mahogany Grissom in the 200m, and our women's 4x400 team improving their Cal Pac leading time to 4:19. We have a good amount of time left until Cal Pac Championships but we are trying to stay focused on things we can still improve over the next two weeks. Everyone is feeling good and we're just starting to hit workouts that will really sharpen everything up."
 
"We're hoping for nice weather in April and even faster times."
 
UC Merced will return to action on Saturday, April 15 at the Johnny Mathis Invitational in San Francisco, Calif.