M. TRACK & FIELD: OEC CHAMPIONSHIP RUN
The Orange Empire Conference Track and Field Prelims were held at Sherbeck Field on the campus of Fullerton College this past week, with the Hornets competing and advancing to next weeks OEC Track and Field Finals.
Rudy Membrano qualified in both the 400 meters and the 400-meter hurdles, has he continues to improve and concentrate on just a handful of events rather than the decathlon.
Rudy ran 51.99 in 400 meters qualifying 7th and 57.28 in 400 meter hurdles qualifying 4th, respectively. Also qualifying for the 400 meter hurdles, was Mr. consistency Jonathon Baek grabbing the 7th qualifying position in a time of 58.58
Middle distance specialist Pablo Perez needed a blazing kick to finish in the qualifying spots as he continues to improve running 1:59.85 finishing 6th and advancing to this week final.
In the sprints Lonnie Washington will advance in the 100 meters, with a strong showing of 11.17, grabbing the 8th and final spot.
In the finals contested on May 18th.
The Hammer throw was contested at 8am Friday morning at Cal State Fullerton, with the Hornet men competing respectfully and seeing Adrian Aguayo eclipsing his PR by just over a foot.
The Shot Put saw Deimitris Nelson-Robbins throw a PR of 38-11 ¾ &
Jeff Pulcher throw a PR of 38-01.1/4 while they weren't enough to qualify, both men finish with respectable personal records.
First year pole-vaulter Javier Weatherspoon, finished13th in the finals of the men's pole vault with a jump of 11-01 ¾.
The day started and ended with distance races.
Miles Nossett competing in only his 2nd steeplechase showed great progress as he set a PR by over 30 seconds, running 10:43 to place 8th in the race, to add a point to the Hornet points total, standing at 5, with the majority of the finals to be held this coming Friday.
In the final race of the evening, the 10,000 meters (25 laps), freshman Brandon Velasco broke open the race by rebelling against a very pedestrian first mile and throwing in a 5:08 second mile to keep the pace honest. At mile 3, the elite that were working with each other to bring Velasco back, had caught him, and continued the strong pace. While Velasco continued to race tough, the early pacesetting caught up to him, and he faded to 8th over all and adding to the hornet point total.
When asked how he felt about Velasco's bold move, Men's Head Coach Wade Watkins said, " It takes a lot of courage and guts to take the lead and make the leaders earn their places. Without Brandon's efforts they may not have finished with any daylight left at the pace they went out at."
Up Next: Brandon will keep the competition honest this Friday as he competes in the 5,000 meters, this Friday night when the OEC Track and Field Finals will be held on the campus of Fullerton College. The Discus will be contested at Cal State Fullerton at 8:30am, with the running events beginning at 2:00 at Sherbeck Field.