Final Results (PDF)
HAYWARD, Calif. -- The Cal State East Bay women's track and field team turned in several impressive performances at Saturday's Chico State Wildcat Invitational, particularly in the distance and relay events.
"Today was a positive step forward for our program as we continue to preach execution and work to instill consistency," said head coach
Ralph Jones. "Today was a big test for us; we wanted to go into a hostile environment and perform at a high level, and I think we accomplished that."
A trio of Pioneer women set personal bests in the 1500m, as
Camille Hansen (4:49.1),
Oddessy Tapia (4:49.9), and
Sarah Perrin (4:50.4) all finished within one second of each other. Hansen also had a strong showing in the 800m, taking fifth place with a time of 2:21.20.
Cynia Sapp (2:33.88) and
Samira Foy (2:42.76) competed in the 800m as well, placing 22nd and 30th, respectively.
Coach Jones sent three groups to run in the 4x400 relay and received a solid performance from the "A" team of Foy,
Sydney Johnson, Perrin, and
Ravyn Miller, who finished in third place in 4:09.34.
The "B" foursome of
Suzanne Bateson,
Corryn Barney, Hansen, and
Talia Cox took sixth with a time of 4:25.89, and the "C" squad of
Donnisha Brown,
Vanessa Mares, Celina, Vera, and
Iris Martinez placed eighth in 4:29.98.
Individually, Bateson ran well in the 400m, crossing the finish line in 1:00.41 to take fourth place.
In the sprints, East Bay competed well in the preliminary rounds, but a couple of minor injuries made it a bittersweet afternoon. Johnson qualified in both the 100m hurdles (16.09) and the 100m dash (12.89), but a slight strain
kept her from racing in the finals. Brown did compete in the 100m finals and ran a strong race, finishing fourth in 12.99 seconds.
The 4x100 relay team had a nice showing with a third place finish. The quartet of Johnson, Barney, Miller, and Brown circled the track in 48.78 seconds.
Miller placed second in the 200m with a time of 26.54 seconds.
Kiera Bethley also competed in the 200m, taking sixth place in 27.22. She ran the 100m as well, posting a 10th place showing in 13.33.
"The women finished in the top five of every race they contested," Jones noted. "We continue to grow and improve with the goal of being a much better team at the CCAA championship meet in May."
Next week, the Pioneers travel north to compete in the Hornet Invitational, hosted by Sacramento State on Saturday, Mar. 21.
