CLAREMONT, Calif. –The Fresno Pacific men's and women's track and field teams took a step towards being postseason ready on Saturday, as the Sunbirds lowered another school record and recorded several season-best marks at the 32nd Annual Pomona-Pitzer Invitational.
 
"We always enjoy going down to the Pomona-Pitzer Invitational because it seems to like us," said head coach Ray Winter. "It's actually championship season now, and we are going into every competition with high expectations at this point. We are looking for season and lifetime bests, while also keeping our eye on national standards. We are definitely rounding into form and very pleased with the progress in the field and on the track."
 
The women's 4x100 relay team highlighted the meet, as Kyra Bailey, Danae Manibog, Brie Courseault and Kala McClain crossed the finish line at 46.29. They were the second team to finish and broke their own record that was set last weekend. The group is currently ranked second in Division II.
 
Sticking with the sprints, Manibog impressed in the 100m (12.36) and the 200m (24.69). She moves to fifth all-time at FPU in the 100m and second in the 200m with the finishes. McClain also had a strong day individually, as the sprinter went 12.04 in the 100m as the second collegiate finisher and also went 25.01 in the 200m to jump into the FPU record book. 
 
Collectively in the 200m, the Sunbirds now own six spots in the top-10 and are one of the deepest teams in the nation in the event. 
 
The 400m crew also ran well, as Courseault (55.58), Bailey (58.95) and Sydney Rhoads (1:00.11) all picked up season bests. Bailey jumps to ninth all-time at FPU.
 
Bree Montoya highlighted the distance runners, as the sophomore closed the 5000m with a time of 18:30.45 to take 16th overall. In addition, Gracielita Bastidas went 19:18 and Karina Vidrios-Gallegos took 24 seconds off in 19:27 for PR's.
 
On the field, Faith Jensen had a breakout meet with strong marks in the triple jump (37-03.75) and the long jump (17-04.75). The triple mark breaks her into the school record book at 10th. The discus crew also threw well, led by Kaylin Garcia's mark of 136-04.
 
For the men, Andrew Morin continued his stellar season with another PR in the pole vault. He cleared 15'9" to move to fifth all-time in program history.
 
Also in the field events, Elijah McDowell had a season bests in the triple jump (44-07.50) and the long jump (20-01.50). Jaeden Herms had a strong long jump (20-02.50), while Tim Holmes threw a season best in the discus (138-10).
 
On the track, transfer Andre Woodson went 10.85 in the 100m and 22.14 in the 200m to lead the sprint crew. Teammate Armon Plummer finished at 22.20 in the 200m and 15.88 in the 110 hurdles. 
 
Tamaj Johnson jumped to another level for the 'Birds, as the freshman had season bests in the 110-hurdles (15.54) and the 400-hurdles (53.87). The 400h was extremely impressive, being seventh in program history.
 
A trio of distance runners broke 2 minutes in the same heat of the 800m, won by sophomore Jonathan Matson (1:58.52).
 
The final highlight came from the consistent 400m duo of Michael Taylor (47.90) and Scott Hickam (49.25), as both continued to improve as the postseason approaches. Taylor picked up the victory in his race.
 
"There were so many excellent performances throughout the day that it is difficult to point to just a few. They are all remarkable, but Tamaj in the 400 hurdles and Andrew's big day in the pole vault really jumps off the page for us," noted Winter. "It is also exciting to see Michael rounding into form in the 400m. Tim is also really showing a lot of consistency and progress in the throws."
 
"For the women, the improvement on a school record and particularly when it is such a significant amount of time taken off the clock, which is what happened today in the 4 x 100m relay, is what stands out. Our sprinters, especially Kala, are on fire right now and ready to break through 12 seconds and 25 seconds respectively in the sprints."
 
FPU takes a week off before heading to the Mt. Sac Relays in Torrance, Calif. from Thursday, April 19 to Saturday, April 21.