Both the men’s and women’s track teams at CSUN have worked all season to earn recognition and qualify for the Big West Championship. The women’s team are the nine-time Big West team score champions, getting their ninth at last year’s championship. The men’s team holds five winning team scores under their belts, their last in 2010.
Returning this season was Monique Griffiths, hammer throw and discuss champion for both 2014 and 2015. The 2015 1500 meter champion, Anass Zhoury, returned for the men’s team.
To start the season, Re’Quan Harley and Kiyoshi Johnson gave a top-performance in the 60 meter dash at the Cherry and Silver Invitational.
In the 200-meter, Isiah Cantu took first at 22.74. In the 800-meter, Frank Delong finished in 1:59.98, while Santiago Gomez took first in the one-mile at 4:28.57. In long jump, Harley took first at 6.71. Zach Rosales won the shot put with 13.33, while also bringing in the weight throw with 16.69.
In the MPSF Indoor Championship, Anass Zouhry set new CSUN record in the one-mile with a time of 3:58.87. He also placed seventh in the 800-meter. Zhoury represented CSUN in the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championship.
In the San Diego State University Aztec Invitational, Taylor Cudequest scored 6,728 points in the decathlon.
Taylor Cudequest, Jacob Harbin, Joshua Ji, James Knowles, Jared Cape and Charlie Nettle of the men’s team received notable awards for carrying a 3.0 GPA during their college career.
In the Track and Field Outdoor Season Junior McBride took fourth in the 100-meter dash in the Big West Conference.
For the women’s team, Samantha Dirks showed top performance in Big West competition in the 60-meter dash placing third with a time of 7.52 seconds. In the 200-meter dash, Dirks took fifth with a time of 24.26 seconds.
Also placing were Rachael Naumann finished second with a time of 5:24.20 in the one-mile. Kimberly Newton finished with 11:30.16 in the 300-meter. For the long jump, Niema Poindexter and Christina Cromer leapt 5.03. In pole vault, Alyana Nicolas hit a height of 370 and in the shot put, Jakayla Daniels threw 14.70.
In the MPSF Indoor Track Championships Dirks scored sixth in the middle distance while placing fourth in the 400-meter with 54.04 seconds. In the 200-meter, Dirks placed eighth with 24.07 seconds.
After the Bulldog Invitational in Clovis, Calif. both the men’s and women’s teams exhibited strong performances, bringing in Athlete of the Week honors on both sides.
Both teams have six more events until their season ends, including the Big West Outdoor Championship in Long Beach this Friday and Saturday.
