STANFORD & SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. - It was a Northern California takeover this weekend for the Fresno Pacific Sunbirds as they competed at the Stanford Invitational on the campus of Stanford University and the Mike Finelli Classic at San Francisco State. 

Kicking it off strong for the women at the Stanford Invitational was reigning PacWest Track Athlete of the Week Brianna Green, who lowered her own school records and topping the nation in sprints and hurdles events. Green broke her own school record in the 400m hurdles by well over a second, clocking a 57.80, now just .01 of a second behind the national leader in the event. Green also lowered her school record in 100m hurdles to 13.77, good enough for another top ten ranking in the nation. In the 100 and 200, Sariyah Copeland ran a season's best in the 100m and finished second overall in the 200m. Copeland was also a part of the 4x100m relay team that finished second, as well as the 4x400m relay team that now sits third in the nation (3:39.47). Other standout performances from the Stanford Invitational included a third place finish from Nydia Chance in the 100m, clocking 11.84 seconds. Chance remains the third ranked sprinter in the nation in the 100m and is also a crucial part of the 4x100m relay. In the field, Lucianna Romeo also threw a PR in the hammer throw, moving into ninth all-time for the 'Birds at 148'2".

Further up the Bay at San Francisco State's Mike Finelli Classic, the Sunbirds shone bright and made history of their own. The distance medley relay school record was broken by over 17 seconds, a mark set back in 2017. The team of Maria Eir Magnusdottir, Gianna Menchu, Mattie Whipple, and Julia Martinez ran an incredible team performance, clocking a final time of 12:04.50. This event came on the heels of two days of distance running that harvested countless personal best and all-time top 10 performances. Freshman Mattie Whipple improved on her 1500m mark (4:33.37) by a full three seconds, continuing to chase the school record as she currently sits second all-time for the Sunbirds in the metric mile. Magnusdottir also had an incredible day in the 1500m, taking four seconds off her personal best (4:42.64) and moving into sixth all-time in the record books. The dynamic duo of Julia Martinez and Aly Chavez also cracked into the school record books in the 5K, now currently sitting fifth (17:48.64) and seventh (17:52.38) all-time, respectively. Other massive PR's for the team also came in this event, with freshmen Avery Gibson (18:19.39) and Gaby Ramirez (18:59.05) taking off significant time from their previous bests. A pair of freshman hurdles also ran lifetime best in the 400m hurdles with Cyan Haslip (63.71) and Milani Ward (64.26) now moving up in the PacWest rankings in this event. Haslip's time now ranks tenth all-time in the event for Fresno Pacific. The Sunbirds closed out the meet with a win in the 4 x 400 relay with the team of Kaitleigh Downing, Cyan Haslip, Gianna Menchu, and Clara Wagner. 

On the men's side, Shemar Palmer continues to be one of the best sprinters in the nation, winning both the 400m and the 200m events at the Stanford Invitational. Palmer lowered his own school record in the 200m dash in route to his win, now establishing the all-time mark at 20.49 seconds, a mark that ranks him second in the nation. The squad of Palmer, Zavian Cook, Jonathan Biffle, and Bo Olsen closed out the Stanford Invitational in a close second place in the 4x400m relay.  Chavez Grey shone for the Sunbirds in the field, spinning a personal best of 169'9" in the discus, moving him up to third all-time for the 'Birds. 

The Sunbirds' distance runners dominated at the Mike Finelli Classic. Emanuel Salas ran a pair of season's bests in both the 1500m (3:52.84) and 800m (1:51.99). Senior Bo Olsen also ran well in the 800m (1:50.98), finishing fourth, continuing to lead the PacWest. Freshman Monte Moore ran a competitive lifetime best in the 800m of 1:54.17, and teammate Aidan Ransom was a double winner in his heat of the 1500m and the 800m. Ransom was also a part of the 4x400m relay winning squad comprised of teammates Jerome Brown, Estevan Gonzalez, and Jackson Paramo. The squad of Monte Moore, Emanuel Salas, Aidan Ransom, and Daniel Galvez also ran a solid race in the distance medley relay to earn tenth all-time in the Sunbirds' record books at 10:26.93. 


UP NEXT
The Sunbirds will be the Bryan Clay Invitational and the Long Beach Invitational April 16-18th. These will be the final meets for the Sunbirds before hosting the PacWest Championships at FPU's Steinert Athletic Complex April 25-26th. 
 

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