RESULTS

HAYWARD, Calif. -- The Cal State East Bay track and field team turned in several excellent performances over the course of the last three days at the Tom Fanelli Classic, hosted by SF State at Chabot College.

"The men's team finished off a near-perfect weekend today with a few more personal bests after Friday's outstanding effort," praised head coach Tony Nicolosi. "And the women who competed today really showed how resilient and competitive they are as a group."

On Saturday, Jeremy Shaw turned in a personal best time in the 800 meters to lead the men's team. He finished in 2:01.80, which ranks just inside the top-25 in the conference. Israel Sotelo represented the Pioneers in the 1-Mile run one day after a strong effort in the 1500 meters. The senior took fourth in his heat and 12th overall with a time of 4:28.03.

The men's distance medley foursome of Bryan Llopis, Sotelo, Shaw, and Melvin Esteva closed out the weekend by finishing sixth with a total time of 10:37.21 in an event that consists of 10 total laps (1200, 400, 800, 1600).

The women's squad was led by Brittney Duquette, who fell just fractions of a second shy of her personal best in the 800 meters (which is No. 2 in the CCAA). The junior nonetheless had an impressive more to finish third in her heat and 24th out of more than 100 participants. 

Alondra Castro Ortiz had a strong performance for CSUEB in the 1-Mile run, placing third in her heat with a time of 5:31.13. Jodi Go was the only other Pioneer to compete in an individual event Saturday and turned in a time of 13:13.23 in the 2-Mile run.

The East Bay women wrapped up the meet and highlighted the weekend with an outstanding showing in the distance medley relay. They led Chico State for several laps before the Wildcats pulled away at the end, but the quartet of Caitlin Amburgey, Duquette, Angelina Ronquillo, and Andrea Romero nonetheless notched a runner-up finish out of 17 teams. Their time of 12:16.60 is the sixth-best in school history and the fastest mark by a Pioneer squad in 32 years.

"The distance medley relay was one of the most exciting races I've seen our team run during my tenure at East Bay," Nicolosi commented.

On Friday, the men's team was particularly impressive with seven of East Bay's nine participants hitting personal bests. Leading the way was Esteva with the sixth-fastest 3000 meter steeplechase time in program history. He finished 49th overall in the event with a mark of 9:39.10 that ranks No. 5 in the CCAA this season.

In the 1500 meters, Julian Johnson and Sotelo placed second and third in their heat. Both posted personal best times with Johnson crossing the finish line in 4:01.58 and Sotelo checking in at 4:02.54. Llopis ran the 1500 as well, clocking in at 4:09.78.

Xavier Smith led the way for the Pioneers in the 5000 meters, taking fifth place out of 26 runners in his heat. The freshman lowered his personal best time in the 5k by six seconds with a mark of 15:21.10, moving up to 15th in the conference rankings. John Bradshaw (15:47.01) and Oscar Mora (15:50.45) both turned in strong times as well to take fourth and seventh place, respectively, in their heat.

Brett Fuchs notched a solid effort in the 400 meters to finish in 61st place overall in 53.89 seconds. 

Rookie thrower Austin Sanders had his best day of the season as well. He placed 13th in the shot put Saturday with a throw of 12.15 meters (30 feet, 10.5 inches) after taking 27th Friday evening in the discus with a distance of 34.24 meters (112 feet, 4 inches).

On the women's side Friday afternoon, Ronquillo lowered her personal best time in the 1500 meters to place 40th out of more than 140 runners. The sophomore crossed the finish line in 4:40.60, which ranks fourth in the CCAA this spring.

Amanda Navarro notched a time of 4:53.52 for East Bay in the 1500 meters, while Alex Cholometes finished in 5:09.02. 

Gisel Juarez (16.63 seconds) and Maddie Hulse (15.73 seconds) both representing the Pioneers in the 100 meter sprint. 

Jamie McPherson performed well in the shot put, placing 28th overall with a top distance of 9.07 meters (29 feet, 9.25 inches).

"This is a high caliber meet -- one of the best in the country," Nicolosi said Friday night. "We have an incredibly young group that's inexperienced in meets like this, but were are proving we can compete in our heats and handle the pressure. We have built some momentum to head into the final stretch and the postseason."