Senior Casey Monoszlay hit a career-best time of 4 minutes, 27.68 seconds in the 1500-meter, taking first place at the Point Loma Invitational over the weekend.
Monoszlay was one of eight athletes who took first place at the Point Loma Invitational.
She improved on the provisional mark she hit earlier this season at the Oxy Distance Carnival.
“It was a great meet,” head coach Chris Bradford said. “In almost every event we had new personal bests … definitely very, very happy with how today went.”
A provisional mark in track and field means the athlete is in contention for a place at the national championships but is not guaranteed a place.
Out of 14 schools, the women’s team placed second overall.
Freshman Ayana Fields, senior Nia Vance and freshman Miracle Maseuli hit personal bests.
Freshman Ana Tovi won the discus event with a throw of 45.52 meters, earning the team’s second provisional mark of the meet.
Maseuli won the hammer event with a throw of 40.44 meters.
Sophomore Zaria Francis took first place in the 100- and 200-meter races. In the 100-meter, Francis ran a 11.96 and in the 200-meter event ran a 24.87.
Fields’ personal best came in the 400-meter race where the freshman placed first with a time of 57.45 seconds.
The men’s team placed third overall out of 13 schools.
Personal best performances included junior Kenneth Hamel in the 100-meter race, freshman Kyle Johnston in the 200-meter and sophomore Kaelin Moore in the 110-meter hurdles.
All three men placed second in their races.
Juniors Ben Anderson and Ryan Peacock took first place in the triple jump and discus events, respectively.
Anderson won with a throw of 14.05 meters, and Peacock won with a throw of 46.20 meters.
In addition, the men’s 4×400-meter relay team of freshman Nicholas Guajardo, senior Chris Uzoma, senior Keeon Thomas and Moore placed first with a time of 3:18.75.
Competing in his first collegiate decathlon, freshman Thomas Prata not only earned multiple personal bests, but he also placed eighth out of 12 competitors at the Aztec Invitational at San Diego State.
“He’s got a lot to improve on so to have the success he had and put up a really solid score, it’s exciting to see where he’ll be end of this year,” Bradford said.
This week, both teams earned a top 10 spot in the NCAA Division II Outdoor Track and Field Rating Index.
The men’s team was ranked sixth and the women’s team placed eighth.
“I’m really proud of how they’ve done so far,” Bradford said.
“Obviously it’s early in the season and a lot can change, but we’ve been working really hard and I think that shows.”
The team will once again be split up this weekend as it heads to the Bay Area.
Distance athletes will compete at the Mike Fanelli Track Classic at Chabot College, while sprinters and field athletes will be at the Stanford Invitational.
“I’m never somebody who’s going to be satisfied; I know we’ve got a lot of work ahead of us if we’re going to reach our goals, but I feel good about where we’re at right now,” Bradford said.
