FRESNO, Calif. – Following two days of multi-events in Chico, the full squad was in competition on Saturday as the outdoor season progressed at the Sunbird Invitational. Getting their first look at the site of the PacWest Championship, Jessup put forth a good showing in their first official outdoor meet as a Division II program.
 
Jessup exits Fresno with a fifth-place finish on the women's side out of 15 programs in the field. For the men, the meet was their first of the season.
 
"It was a great meet for us competition-wise," said head coach Jeff Magley. "There were a couple of PacWest schools here, which was great for us to get exposure to those schools right away at the beginning of the year."
 
One of the highlights of the day was Julia Pisenti making her discus debut in 2025. Pisent had not competed in discus at a meet since finishing as the national runner-up at the NAIA National Championship a year ago. Her mark of 46.74m placed first in the field, which was one of two events she won as she also claimed victory in the javelin with a mark of 39.88m.
 
"To come out the first meet of the new year and get the win in pretty dominating fashion was great," added Magley.
 
Paloma Baumert also had a big performance on Saturday as she claimed the victory in the pole vault with a top mark of 3.50m. Baumert then moved to third in program history in the 100m with a wind-legal time of 12.55.
 
The women's side also saw milestones set by freshman Aurora Osburn, who posted herself in the top ten for the program in the triple jump and high jump.
 
On the men's side, Derek Brown made his collegiate debut with a top-ten mark in both events he competed in, the shot put and javelin. The throws also saw a PR from Justin Heckman, who posted 33.32m in the javelin.
 
New PRs were also set by Chris Hackney in the long jump, and the day ended with PRs in the 3000m from Zachary Heberlein and Edgar Gutierrez.
 
The track & field season will continue next weekend, with the Warriors competing in the Kim Duyst Invitational in Turlock. Jessup will then compete in the Aggie Open at UC Davis from March 14 – 15.
   
Jessup University is a provisional member of the National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) Division II and the PacWest Conference. For additional information regarding Jessup Athletics, visit www.jessupathletics.com; visit www.jessup.edu for more information on Jessup University. Follow Jessup Athletics on social media: Jessup University Athletics (Facebook) and @JessupAthletics (Instagram & X).