TURLOCK, Calif. – The University of California, Merced men's and women's track teams competed at the Kim Duyst Invitational hosted by Stanislaus State on Saturday.

Jonathan Chavez and Elizette Ysais started out the day with Cal Pac Championship caliber times in the men's and women's 5000m, respectively. Chavez placed sixth overall posting a time of 14:58, while Ysais registered a fifth-place finish in 18:49. Both times were close to a full minute faster than the 2022 Cal Pac champions a year ago. Chavez's mark was also a top ten mark at nationals last season.

In the 800m, Chavez (4th/1:57) was joined by Jaydah Aguilar (3rd/2:24) with a Cal Pac championship time.

Favour Nnaji made his collegiate debut and bested the conference standard in his first event of the day, clocking a time of 11.13 in the men's 100m dash. Nnaji followed with a time of 23.13 in the men's 200m dash. The Patterson, Calif., native placed in the top third of his field in both events. His two events saw two of the biggest fields of the day.

Sharvin Manjrekar, Alexandra Lopez, and Sinthya Duran also fared well for the Bobcats at the Kim Duyst Invitational. Manjrekar took fifth in the men's 1500m with a time of 4:07. Alex Lopez placed seventh in the women's 1500m with a time of 5:03, while Sinthya Duran placed ninth in the women's 400m with a time of 1:04. Saturday marked Duran's collegiate debut.

Also of note, UC Merced recorded its first ever times in the men's and women's 4X400 relays and the women's 4X100 relays. Mahogany Grissom, Emily Gonzales, and Jonathan Gallo recorded UC Merced's first ever long jump marks.

Looking ahead, UC Merced will compete at the Aggie Open in Davis, Calif., on Saturday, March 11.