SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. – It was quite possibly the best day on the track for the Warriors this season, as with two meets going on in the Bay Area, a duo of tickets to Alabama were punched. Two Warriors will be heading back to nationals after meeting the NAIA A-standard in their respective events.
"We have been talking a lot about this week as a team," said head coach
Jeff Magley. "We're beginning to wrap up our season and make the push into the championship portion of our schedule here in the second half."
Four Warriors were in San Francisco on Thursday, competing in the Mike Fanelli Track Classic at San Francisco State's Cox Stadium. The meet was centered around distance events, with PRs coming in the 10k and 3000m Steeplechase.
"Our distance runners have had this meet circled on their calendars all season," added Magley. "This is one of the top distance competitions in the state of California every year, and it's important for our distance runners. They have been working towards this all season, and the hard work paid off today."
The highlight moment from San Francisco came via
Azalea Prince, who met the A-standard in the 10k, securing a spot in the NAIA Outdoor Track & Field National Championship. Her time of 37:23.07, moving her to second all-time in the event, is nearly a two-minute improvement on her previous PR from last season's conference championship.
It will be Prince's second nationals appearance this year, as she also qualified for the Cross-Country National Championship in the fall.
Moving over to Hayward, the remainder of the Jessup roster was in action at the Chabot Invitational.
Securing another trip to nationals Thursday was
Rachel Travis. Travis has already competed on the national stage once this season, earning All-American status at the Indoor National Championship earlier this month. Her mark Thursday of 3.65m is a new outdoor lifetime PR and breaks the Jessup pole vault record.
The 2022 NAIA National Championship will take place May 25 -27 from Gulf Shores, Alabama.
"Today was a big step forward, and we had a great day," added Magley, who now has five athletes to meet at least the NAIA B-standard for outdoor nationals.
Joining the duo in Alabama is the reigning GSAC Athlete of the Month,
Jessica Pedretti. Pedretti set new PRs in the hammer (38.30m) and javelin (35.43m). Her mark in the javelin is number two all-time in the Jessup records.
Michelle Flint is closing in on joining the list of national qualifiers as she broke her own Jessup shot-put record.
The Warriors saw highlight marks across the board on Thursday, with
Alexandra Banducci (discus),
Alexis Jones (long jump),
Jacob Richmond (discus),
Kamil Jones (200m), and
Vivianna Gardea (5K) all posting PRs.
Complete results from the Chabot Invitational can be viewed online
HERE.
The highlights from San Francisco are not done, as
Logan Dodge and
Ryan Hanks each posted a new PR in the men's 10k. In hisfirst time running the event this season, Dodge sets a new school record with a time of 33:06.98.
Noah Claasen was also in the city and moves into third all-time in school history with his time of 10:11.89 in the Steeplechase.
Hanks and Doge will be back in action tomorrow as action wraps up in San Francisco. The remainder of the roster will return to action next weekend at the Sacramento State Invitational.
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William Jessup University is a member of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), and the Golden State Athletic Conference (GSAC). For additional information regarding Jessup Athletics, visit www.jessupathletics.com; visit www.jessup.edu for more information on William Jessup University. Follow Jessup Athletics on social media: William Jessup University Athletics (Facebook) and @JessupAthletics (Twitter & Instagram).
