AZUSA/LOS ANGELES, Calif. – Jonathan Chavez broke the 1500m school record and hit the NAIA "A" Standard to cap off two days of performances at Bryan Clay Invitational and the Cal State LA Twilight Open.
Chavez's time of 3:48.90 lowered his own record by nearly three seconds as he qualifies for the NAIA National Championship in the 1500m for the third consecutive season. He also won his heat and took 13th in the open division out of 135 finishers at Bryan Clay Invitational. Additionally, Chavez ran 14:44.90 the day prior in the 5000m.
Jalen Morales and Cole Rommelfanger ran the 800m at Bryan Clay and set personal bests with times of 1:54.04 and 1:55.53, respectively. Both Bobcats lowered their own second and third fastest times in program history.
Martel Fields, Leslie Aquino, and Sharvin Manjrekar also competed at what is known as the fastest track meet in the country.
Fields won his 200m heat in 21.59. Aquino crossed the line in the 1500m run in 4:55.27, while Manjrekar turned in a 1500m time of 4:04.58.
The men's 4x400 relay team of Fields, Rommelfanger, Morales, and Naseem Hassaan highlighted the Cal State LA Twilight Open breaking the program-record in 3:23.72.
Freshman Irene Martinez made her track debut winning the 5000m run while posting the third fastest time in program history in 19:16.50. She also placed fifth in the 1500m with the sixth fastest time in program history, 5:11.58.
Five more Bobcats placed top ten in Los Angeles, including Jaydah Aguilar who took seventh in both the 800m (2:29.90) and 1500m (5:20.67). Kasia Holland took fifth in the 800m (2:28.46) while winning her heat.
On the men's side, Joshua Riley was fourth in the 1500m (4:04.71). In the 800m, Sharvin Manjrekar was fourth in 1:59.45 and Derrick Pickrel was tenth with a personal-best time of 2:05.78. Also of note, Pickrel was the only finisher in the 3000m steeplechase posting a time of 9:49.25.
Looking ahead, the Bobcats will attempt to three-peat as California Pacific Conference Outdoor Track Champions April 27-28 in Aliso Viejo, Calif. The Cal Pac Outdoor Track Championships will be held at Soka University Track Complex.
