STANFORD and HAYWARD, Calif. – The Fresno Pacific men's and women's track and field programs split up to compete in two meets this weekend up north. A large majority of FPU student-athletes traveled to compete in the San Francisco State Distance Carnival, while the remaining Sunbirds raced at the prestigious Stanford Invitational.
 
The highlight of the weekend came at Stanford, as the FPU women set four new school records against top Division I competition.
 
"Once again, our sprint squad on the women's team elevated to new heights, having a four school record weekend -- with two individuals and two relays. I think one of the most exciting parts of that is their youth," said head coach Ray Winter. "It's definitely the earliest in the season we've ever had this kind of run on school records, which makes us very excited and motivated to keep working and not put a ceiling on what's possible in the next two months."
 
Brie Courseault continued her assault on the record book in 2018, as the sophomore improved her 200m record with a finish of 24.10 (B-cut). She took fifth overall and was the second collegiate finisher of all divisions. Teammate Danae Manibog also continued her torrid freshman season, as the Clovis North product set a new school record in the 400m with a time of 55.50 (B-cut) on Friday afternoon.
 
The two other program bests came in form of team efforts, as the women's 4x100 relay (46.68) and the women's 4x400 relay (3:45.76) reordered the record books. The 4x100 relay consisted of Kala McClain, Kyra Bailey, Manibog and Courseault, while the 4x400 relay was Cathrin Wicke, Courseault, Bailey and Manibog.
 
The Sunbirds also continued to progress on the year in a few other events at Stanford. Wicke improved her season best in the 400m hurdles, as the newcomer closed at 1:00.87 (B-cut, second all-time at FPU). Michael Taylor bettered his season time in the 400m dash, closing at 48.45 to finish second. The men's 4x400m relay of Armon Plummer, Scott Hickam, Lawrence Cairo Jr. and Taylor also had a season best time of 3:13.41, as the group only finished behind Stanford.
 
Across the Bay in Hayward at the SF State Distance Carnival, which was taking place at Chabot College, the 'Birds had a solid couple of days in the pole vault and the grueling running events.
 
The vault crew, under the leadership of coach A.J. Blackburn, continued to rewrite the all-time program best list. Andrew Morin had a PR to highlight the group, as he cleared 15'3" to move to sixth all time at FPU. Norman Napolitano also recorded a PR, clearing 14'10" to move up the record books.
 
On the track, Vicki Arevalo was the star for the women's distance grouping, as her breakout 2018 campaign jumped to another level on Saturday. The senior went 38:53.29 in the 10000m, which improves her PR and moves her to sixth all-time at FPU. Other highlights came from Brianna Guerrero, who crossed the finish line at 4:55.72 in the 1500m, and Araceli Mancilla, who had a season best of 18:29.62 in the 5000m.
 
The men's distance crew had a solid showing across all disciplines. Adam Gonzalez-Angulo went 4:00.87 in the 1500m, Connor Nolen finished at 15:25.69 in the 5000m and Chandler Maciel went 33:57.00 in the 10000m (season bests for each).
 
"The individual records set by Brie and Danae of course stand out the most on the weekend, but a number of other lifetime bests and program historic marks were also accomplished," noted Winter. "Among them was Vicki's 10K, which was a PR by over 32 seconds. In the other distance events, Araceli's 5K win in her heat was also pretty special, being that it was also a 25 second personal best. Finally, the men's pole vault crew also had a couple of lifetime bests from Andrew and Norman, who continue to impress."
 
The 'Birds continue their prep for the postseason at the end of the month by visiting the Pomona-Pitzer Invitational on Saturday, April 7.