Your CSUSB Coyotes competed at two different meets this last weekend with the distance group competing at the prestigious Occidental Distance Carnival and the other event groups competing at Cal State Fullerton's Ben Brown Invite. The Yotes added 4 CCAA Qualifiers this week of athletes who will attend the CCAA Conference Championships held at San Francisco State University in May.

Yotes started off the Saturday portion of the Ben Brown meet with the first event of the day in the women's 4x100m by setting a school record of 47.86 seconds. This time puts the team of Journie Alexander, Sariyah Copeland, Maame Banahene, and Maya Price second in the conference and 7^th in the nation as of this writing. They bettered their mark from the Rossi Relays earlier this season by 0.69 seconds.

Copeland was also one of three Yotes who made their mark in the 100-meter sprint. Alongside Alexander and Alexandria Owens, they managed to earn top 10 performances on CSUSB's all-time lists. Copeland ran a school record wind-legal time of 12.11, which puts her 2^nd in the CCAA and currently, 4^th in the Nation. She was the top Division-II time at the meet where she finished 3^rd out of 37 runners.

"I am beyond grateful for receiving the opportunity to run here at Cal State San Bernardino. Being a freshman and already breaking records is truly a blessing. With the preparation from my coaches and love and support from my friends and family, I know that my track career will be very exciting. I know this is only the beginning and from here on out, all I can do is train to get better and learn from my mistakes." – Sariyah Copeland

Alexander crossed the line in a time of 12.48 which earned her 6^th all time at CSUSB, this time also puts her currently 8^th in the CCAA. Owens crossed the line in a time of 12.93 which earned her 10^th all-time at CSUSB. This is the 4^th event Owens owns a top 10 spot at CSUSB's all time list (200m, 4x100m, 4x400m).

Alexander also competed in the long jump where she achieved the 4^th longest jump in school history to the distance of 5.24 meter (17'2.25"). This mark is good for 5^th in the CCAA. Her jump placed her 3^rd overall in the meet out of 22 jumpers. Destiny Colton and Kaleigh Giannone also jumped in the competition, jumping out to 4.79m (15'8.75") and 4.34m (14'3'') respectively.

Maya Price earned two CCAA qualifying marks with her work in the 200 meters and high jump. Her time of 25.64 earned her 3^rd all-time in CSUSB history and has her currently 6^th in the CCAA. This was also a lifetime best for her in the event. Price also achieved a CCAA qualifying mark of 1.50m in the high jump, putting her 5^th in the conference rankings.

Kaleigh Giannone competed in the 100 hurdles and recorded a personal best time of 16.71, improving her all-time top 10 mark from 7^th to 5^th. Ladaijah Wright and Maame Banahene competed in the 400-meter run clocking in times of 1:01.44 and 1:00.97 respectively, both were seasons best for each. Wright improved her CSUSB top 10 time and remains 8^th all-time. Giannone and Banahene, along with Copeland and Owens, competed in the 4x400m crossing the line in a time of 4:01.61, placing them 6^th all-time at CSUSB.

Over at the Occidental Distance Carnival, the distance group competed well with several personal bests and season's bests. Tayonna Hargrove ran a personal best time in the 800-meter with a time of 2:28.51. In the 1500-meter run, the trio of Joanna Lopez, Genesis Obispo and Lindsay Calderone all ran in personal best times of 5:07.71, 5:28.02, and 5:48.99 respectively.  Nicole Renteria competed in her first 5000-meter run on the track, crossing the line in a time of 19:08.62. Caty Gaynor competed in the 3000-meter steeple chase, running in a time of on a difficult course of 13:19.67.

"The team performed well at Oxy, many athletes posted PRs and seasons bests. We focused on our race strategy for each event and executed according to plan. The future looks bright for the coyotes as we continue to work towards our late season goals at conference." – Coach McDonald

The throws group continued their strong work on the year with some Friday action in the hammer and Javelin. Tayler Salley (50.54m, 165'10''), Abby Venglass (42.84m, 139'4'') and Victoria Soto (35.36m, 116'00", a new personal best) started off the meet in the hammer on Friday afternoon. Salley finished 8^th overall in the meet and was the top Division-II athlete in the event. Venglass also competed in the Javelin on Friday improving her 8^th best mark in school's history to 26.79m (87'1''). Soto and Salley competed in the discus in the first event for the team on Saturday, throwing to 39.07m (128'2'') and 35.34m (115'11'') respectively. 

The CSUSB Coyotes CCAA Conference Qualifiers:

Sariyah Copeland – 100m

Journie Alexander – 100m, Long Jump

Maya Price – 200m, High Jump

Tayler Salley – Hammer, Discus, Shot put

Abby Venglass – Shot put, Hammer, Discus

Victoria Soto – Discus, Hammer

Kaleigh Gianonne – 400m Hurdles

4x100m Relay

4x400m Relay

The CSUSB Coyotes compete next at Point Loma Invitational in San Diego on March 26^th. Kaleigh Giannone will compete in her first heptathlon of the season earlier that week at the Aztec Invitational at San Diego State University March 24^th and 25^th.

Come out and support your Yotes!