ALISO VIEJO, Calif. – The University of California, Merced swept the California Pacific Conference Men's and Women's Outdoor Track Championships for the third consecutive season on Friday afternoon at Soka University Track Complex.
The Bobcats combined for 13 event titles in the dominant team title sweep. UC Merced women's outdoor track finished with 134 points - while the men's squad recorded 122 points.
Jonathan Chavez was named Male Athlete of the Year for the third year in a row. Clarisel Lopez Obeso earned Female Athlete of the Year. Both Bobcats won two individual gold medals on Friday.
Vicente Velarde was named Cal Pac Coach of the Year after the Bobcats women's team beat the runner-up Simpson by 109 points and the men's team beat the runner-up Soka by 56 points. Velarde's major honor is his third in as many track seasons.
Lopez Obeso won the 100m dash and 200m dash for the second straight year. She broke her own program-record in the 100m with a time of 12.12. The 12.12 time is also a Cal Pac Championship record. She dashed to a 25.45 time in the 200m.
Chavez ran his way to the 1500m title in 3:54.81 and the 5000m title in 15:23.25. He has defended his title in each of those events for the third straight Cal Pac Championship meet.
Martel Fields and Irene Martinez also won a pair of gold medals.
Fields won his first career 100m (10.60) title and repeated as the Cal Pac 200m (21.40) champion.
Martinez brought home her first two career titles in the 1500m and 5000m. The freshman turned in a personal-best time of 18:51.10 in the 5000m. Her Friday began by winning the gold with a time of 5:12.40 in the 1500m.
Jalen Morales won the men's 800m registering a time of 1:56.59.
Kasia Holland earned gold in the women's 800m crossing the finish line in a personal-best time of 2:26.60, which is good for the No. 4 spot on the program's all-time record list.
Julianna Luchsinger earned her first gold in her first opportunity in the 100m hurdles with a 16.85 time.
Sinthya Duran dashed a 1:03.54 in the 400m to earn her first career win.
UC Merced swept the podium in the men's 1500m, women's 800m, and the men's and women's 5000m.
Additionally, the Bobcats went 1-2 in the women's 100m, men's and women's 200m, women's 400m, men's 800m, and women's 1500m.
Naseem Hassaan (200m/21.40 & 400m/49.86), Joyce Nichet (100m/12.43 & 200m/26.02), and Jaydah Aguilar (800m/2:16.26 & 1500m/5:23.79) earned a pair of second place finishes. Hassaan's 400m time of 49.86 is a program-record. Nichet set a personal-best in both silver medal finishes.
Other medalists include:
Joshua Riley
1500m | 2nd | 4:02.11
5000m | 3rd | 15:56.42
Jailyn Batis
400m | 2nd | 1:05.92
800m | 3rd | 2:37.06
Elijah Lawrence
400m | 3rd | 54.84
400m hurdles | 1:07.70
Alberto Guevara
800m | 2nd | 1:59.51
Kasia Holland
5000m | 2nd | 21:52.81
Sharvin Manjrekar
5000m | 2nd | 15:31.80
Lyra Barton
100m hurdles | 3rd | 17.29
Jorge Mandujano
1500m | 3rd | 4:05.19
Mia Abonza
5000m | 3rd | 22:07.81
Men's 4X400m Relay Team | Hassaan, Morales, Cole Rommelfanger, Justin Noble
2nd | 3:27.96
On Thursday, the men's 4x800m relay team won the Bobcats first gold of the championship and hit the NAIA "A" Standard in 7:36.82. The record-setting quartet of Bobcats featured Manjrekar, Rommelfanger, Chavez, and Morales.
Also of note though the event wasn't scored, but both the men's and women's 4X100m relay team set program-records.The men's team of Hassaan, Fields, Medard Idi, and Noel Simon ran 42.30. The women's team of Lopez Obeso, Nneka Egbuziem, Luchsinger, and Nichet hit 49.41.
Up next, UC Merced will look to earn NAIA Standards at the Oxy Invite in Los Angeles, Calif., on May 3. It is the final meet before the NAIA Outdoor Track National Championships.
