The Track and Field team took flight for the 2019 season at its first meet for the Rossi Relays at Claremont McKenna College.
Many Broncos earned high finishes at Saturday’s meet and some even earned a new personal record. For freshman Ayana Fields, this was her first college track meet.
“The difference between high school and college is the level of determination and willingness to compete,” Fields said. “In high school, it was just ‘I’m going to do this sport to get out of P.E.’ Pretty much not putting in the effort, but college is a higher level and higher standard.”
Fields began her collegiate career by running the second leg of the distance medley race where CPP finished third out of 29 teams with a time of 12 minutes, 18 seconds. She also competed in the 100-meter dash and placed eighth overall with a time of 12.37 just above her teammate sophomore Ryanne Napoleon, who placed ninth out of 61 runners with a time of 12.38.
“Before I was really nervous because I did not know my competition. Usually I know what the competition is like,” Fields said. “Afterwards I felt like I got the hang of this and I know what to expect … I was prepared for the 100 and knew what I was going against.”
The men’s distance medley teams also raced well with the A team, finishing third with a time of 10:16.62 and the B Team in sixth place at 10:24.93 out of 25 teams.
“We’ve got strong distance crews on both sides. Coach Ashford does a great job with them,” head coach Chris Bradford said. “It showed, especially with the men and having that kind of depth to have two teams right up there, it’s awesome. It’s a good start for their opener so they ran well but you know they are not anywhere near where they are going to be.”
Other major accomplishments for the team included the men’s 4×400 meters relay finishing in first place with a time of 3:19.55. Cal Poly’s B team for the race also placed third out of 23 teams with a time of 3:24.73.
“We are in a good spot so far. We have gotten a lot of really good marks and a couple of lifetime bests already,” Bradford said. “So, to have that in the first meet of the year is always really positive. I’m excited about where we are going.”
In the men’s 100 m hurdles, junior Kyle Lawson ran a 14.93, earning second place out of 20 runners. In the same event, sophomore Kaelin Moore placed fourth, with a time of 15.25, freshman Ryan Fields earned fifth running a 15.51 and sophomore Gabriel Zapata sixth at 15.56.
Cal Poly Pomona came in full force on Saturday, particularly in the women’s shot put with freshman Ana Tovi taking second place with a throw of 12.55 m. Freshman Miracle Maseuli placed fourth and threw 11.72 m, freshman Ashley McBean threw 10.49 m and placed tenth out of 29 throwers.
Highlights from the meet included junior Aaron Guerra-Garcia, who placed second in men’s hammer throw. In men’s long jump, freshman Almani Bishop placed third and jumped 6.51 m. For women’s long jump, junior Imani Williams also placed third and jumped 3.35 m. Lawson set a personal record in men’s pole vault, clearing 4.56 m and placing seventh. The Broncos made an impact in men’s discus with junior Ryan Peacock placing second, junior Gerardo Flores earning third, and freshman Aaron May finishing ninth.
“So far I have seen everything positive almost across the board,” Bradford said. “That makes me excited for where we are going to be in the future.”
The Broncos will compete at the Chico State Multi-Event Classic and the Long Beach Opener this weekend by sending competitors to both events.