RIVERSIDE, Calif. – Several track and field Yotes set personal bests, led by long jumper Journie Alexander's record setting long jump, as the Yotes finished third in a tough field of competitors at the 2023 Riverside City College Invitational on Saturday.
 
Alexander's leap of 18-feet and a quarter inch set a new program record while Payton McCartney moved up to No. 5 on the all-time list with her best jump of 16 feet, 9.25 inches in the same event. Alexander's previous best was 17 feet 2.25 inches set in March 2022.
 
The Yotes finished in third place in the women's division with 106.50 points, behind Division 1 UC Riverside and the 2022 state community college champion Mt. San Antonio College team. RCC finished fourth in the field of 12 with 48 points.
 
In other action:

• Kyndahl Carter, a junior, became the program's No. 2 all-time hurdler with a time of 14.91 in the 100 meter hurdles.
• Danielle Lister led three Yotes to win points in the discus throw with a toss of 124 feet 5 inches, the program's No. 3 all-time best. Melissa Fongod threw 112 feet, 4 inches, good for seventh on the all-time list. Miranda Owen's toss of 108 feet, 8 inches was good for No. 8 all-time.
• Sophomore sprinter Sariyah Copeland won the 200 meters in 25.26 seconds, just off her program-leading 24.58 time set in 2022. Hailey Hunt was right behind her in second place in 25.62, good for No. 4 all-time. Payton McCartney was sixth and Alexander was seventh as the Yotes racked in 23 points in the event.
• Graduate student Alexis Wallace, the top runner on the 2022 cross country team, showed she's ready for the spring season with a 10:21.4 clocking in the 3000 meters, earning the No. 4 spot on the all-time Coyote record list.
• Three 800-meter runners finished in the top eight to garner 10 team points, led by Kai Marroquin in fourth place at 2:28.47, just ahead of teammate Joanna Lopez, timed in 2:28.75. Tayonna Hargrove was eighth in 2:35.03. Lopez came back to finish fourth in the 1,500 meters in 4:59.20.
• Abby Venglass finished fifth in the hammer throw with a heave of 132 feet, 11 inches, well off her best mark, but good enough for No. 4 on the team's all-time list. Elizabeth Rushing had a throw of 115 feet, 4 inches, good for eighth place but moving into the No. 6 position on the all-time team list.
• McCartney finished fifth in the high jump at 4 feet, 10.25 inches.
• Caty Gaynor took second and Samantha Avila took third in a small field of runners in the 3000-meter steeplechase. Gaynor finished in 12:45.61 while Avila finished in 13:25.68, good for 14 points.
• The Yotes entered two quartets of runners for the 4x400 relay and the A team finished second in 4:05.44 while the C team was fifth in 4:23.79.

 
 
Up Next
The Yotes have two meets coming up this weekend. The Astro A1 Distance Classic at Cal State Fullerton will take place over the course of two days – Friday, March 10^th and Saturday, March 11^th. Concurrently, the Yotes will be at the Occidental College Distance Carnival and the Spring Break Classic on Saturday, March 11^th. To keep up with all things Track and Field, follow along with the live stats which can be accessed on their season schedule here.