SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – The PacWest Track and Field Championships wrapped up on Saturday evening, with the Sunbird men finishing in second place as a team and the FPU women ending the weekend in fifth. The Blue and Orange added wins in seven more events on Saturday, totaling ten for the weekend.
"I've said a number of times over the last few years that we have had historic days as a program, but this meet was the finest among them. In particular, our men's and women's sprint and hurdle squads proved they are one of the finest programs in the country," head coach
Ray Winter said. "We are so proud of the work our student-athletes have put in to become what they are, and they are eager to continue to strive for even more."
Sophomore
Shemar Palmer was named the Male Track Athlete of the Meet after a big day on Saturday, taking home first place in both the 200 (20.66) and the 400 (45.89). Palmer turned in career-bests in both races, and his 400 time is a new program record and the national lead. Additionally, his 200 time broke a program record, breaking a mark that stood for 57 years, and lowered his own stadium record he earned earlier this season.
Palmer had some company in the 400, as teammates
Jerome Brown (49.81) and
Garrett Fox (52.12) finished in sixth and seventh respectively, giving FPU 15 total points for the event.
Over in the women's 400,
Ariana Vera took home third place with a NCAA provisional-qualifying time and season-best of 54.61, while teammate
Kenadhi Haslip finished the event in sixth at 56.09. The 200 saw three 'Birds earn their way to the podium, as
Sariyah Copeland (23.58) snagged second with a mark that is second all-time at FPU, while Vera came in sixth at 24.44 and
Nydia Chance rounded out the top eight at 24.70.
The men's 4x100 relay team of
Zavian Cook, Palmer,
Noah Jimenez and
Mark Smith picked up second place with a time of 41.14. The Sunbird women followed with a conference crown, as Chance,
Brianna Green, Copeland and Vera teamed up for a program record time of a 44.60, the best mark in the NCAA this season. The time also set a new conference and stadium record. The previous conference record was held by the Sunbird relay in 2022.
The Blue and Orange dominated the hurdles in both genders, as
Cullin Bates (14.35, 2nd place) and
Kalobe Jimenez (14.42, 3rd place) both turned in provisional qualifying times in the short hurdles, while
Tamar Archie (14.80, 5th place) gave FPU three of the top five in the event.
Alexis Ranger-Dunbar qualified with a first-place time of 14.18 (PR) in the women's race to add another 10 points to FPU's total.
In the 400 hurdles, Jimenez (50.59) ended atop the podium with meet-record time of 50.59 and program record previously set in 1972, while Bates (52.92) took fourth place and joined Jimenez with a provisional time for Nationals. Green narrowly missed a PR with a 59.40 in the women's 400 hurdles, grabbing her second event win of the afternoon.
Copeland (11.60) and France (11.68) were part of a group of five individuals who broke the facility record in the women's 100 while taking third and fifth in the event respectively.
Bo Olsen (1:50.61) added another NCAA provisional qualifying performance with a third-place finish in the men's 800, while teammate
Emanuel Salas grabbed seventh with a time of 1:56.21.
Jacob Resendez turned in a fifth-place finish in the men' 1500, doing so with a time of 3:50.25, narrowly missing his best mark of the season. After winning the 10K on Friday,
Bryan Banuelos (15:06.55) gave FPU a second-place finish in the 5K, while Resendez (15:12.84) came away with sixth.
In the decathlon,
Jackson Paramo (6,206 points) closed out in third place after turning in second-place finishes in both the javelin and 1500.
Both Sunbird teams collected second in the 4x400 relay, with the men's team of Cook, Palmer, Bates and Olsen with a time of 3:09.12, which was lower than the previous meet and stadium record. On the women's side, Green, Vera, Haslip and Shaniya Randolph turned in a runner-up time of 3:43.66.
The field events saw more strong performances from FPU, as
Chavez Grey (16.88m/55' 4 ¾") collected the conference crown in the men's shot put and teammate
Jesse Franco (13.95m/45' 9 ¼") finished in eighth place despite an injury.
Hope Erwin finished the women's shot put in fifth place, doing so with a distance of 13.03m/42' 9".
Erwin added a sixth-place finish in the women's discus, turning in a throw of 39.65m/130' 1". Grey came up with second on the men's side with a second-flight throw of 50.44m/165' 6".
FPU put three individuals in the top six in the men's triple jump, with
Adrian Hodges (14.04m/46' ¾") coming in third,
Tamar Archie (13.75m/45' 1 ½") earning fifth and
Elijah McDowell (13.73m/45' ½") picking up sixth.
Jaiden Newsome produced a high jump effort of 1.97m/6' 5 ½"), landing himself in fourth place.
The Sunbirds will turn their focus to two remaining meets with the aim of qualifying individuals for the National meet. The Oxy Invite is set to take place on May 4, with the APU Last Chance Meet being held May 10-11.
"The PacWest Championships are always a preview of the National meet," Winter said. "I would encourage track fans to tune in and enjoy what is coming a month from now."
The NCAA Division II National Championships are slated for May 23-25 from the campus of Emporia State University in east-central Kansas. Stay tuned to FPUAthletics.com for further updates.
