FRESNO, Calif. – The Fresno Pacific track and field programs hosted the 2018 Sunbird Invitational on Saturday, as the top talent across the Valley converged upon the track at FPU under perfect weather.
 
"We had the biggest invitational I think we've ever had today, which made for a higher level of competition and a lot of fun for our student-athletes and our supportive fans," said head coach Ray Winter. "Perfect weather and competition always make for a good early track meet. Our throwers represented very well with some big personal records in multiple events, and we jumped pretty well to round out our field performances. Our two decathletes, Andrew and Julian, put down great early marks, and Andrew also had a personal best in the pole vault which was very exciting. On the track, we had a fairly well-rounded performance from our runners. The early-season and heavy training loads did show more in some places than others, but overall I feel good about the early effort."
 
On the track for the women, the Sunbirds impressed in the 200 meters as Brie Courseault finished with a time of 24.73 to win her heat. Kyra Bailey finished in second (25.73) and Alyssa Emerson was third (25.86). Bailey sprints into the FPU record book at seventh all-time and Emerson in ninth with the early-season marks.
 
In the women's 100m, Kala McClain picked up the win (12.26) and Danae Manibog was second (12.44). Manibog's mark ties her for sixth all-time in program history.
 
McClain, Manibog, Bailey and Courseault started the day off with a winning time of 47.35 in the 4x100m relay, which is second quickest at FPU. The 4x400m relay of Cathrin Wicke, Courseault, Bailey and Manibog also won with a time of 3:56.04, good for 10th all-time in the record book.
 
Jojo Zorn put together a strong finish in the 3000m as the junior took third with a time of 10:39.60. She moves to 10th in the record books as well.
 
In the pole vault, Allie Austin was just off her school record with a clearance of 3.50m. Nikki Crouch cleared 3.35m, which is second all-time at FPU, and Kristie Yorke had a season PR of 2.90m, good for eighth in program history.
 
Wicke also excelled in the long jump at 5.57m to win. The jump moves her to fifth in program history.
 
The women also impressed in the throwing events, as Grace Bruschi moved to 10th all-time in the hammer (42.48m). The Sunbirds also swept the top-five spots in the discus, led by Kaylin Garcia's PR of 40.37m.
 
For the men, Andrew Morin cleared 4.40m in the pole vault to highlight the day. His clearance jumps him to fifth all-time at FPU. Norman Napolitano and Chris Orange also both cleared 4.35m to jump into the record book at ninth.
 
Julian Gonzalez won the decathlon with a score of 5,524, while Morin followed in third with 5,022 points.
 
On the track, Alex Torres won the 3000m at 8:53.42. The time jumps him to eighth all-time at FPU.
 
The Sunbirds also hosted their annual alumni dinner and fundraiser following the meet on campus.
 
"It was also very humbling to have such a great representation of family, friends, and alumni at our annual fundraiser dinner, who spent the day at the track with us and then celebrated the team afterwards," noted Winter. "Our program is very humbled by the support we get from those who have come before us."
 
FPU continues action on the season at the Rossi Relays on Saturday, Feb. 24.