With the CSUSM Indoor Track & Field team finishing up competition at the National Championships, the outdoor team began its season on Saturday at the San Diego Collegiate Challenge, hosted by UCSD.
The event featured 8 men's teams and 9 women's teams from local colleges. CSUSM placed fourth on the women's side with 75 points, and fifth on the men's side with 50 points.
Suzanne Cornwell tied for the highest finish among the CSUSM women, taking second place in the 3,000-meter run with a time of 10:09.65. Also posting a second place finish was Marissa Daly, who cleared 1.51 meters in the high jump.
Other top five finishers included Jessica Sandoval in the 3,000-meter in fourth with a time of 10:14.70; Aimee Rassavong finished 5th in the 100-meter dash with a time of 12.85 seconds. Heidi Swanson placed 4th in the 1,500-meter run at 4:48.08, and 5th in the 800-meter run at 2:22.66.
On the men's side, the Cougars had a pair of winners. Brandon Baker won his inaugural 100-meter dash with the Cougars, beating the field easily with a time of 10.94 seconds. And cross-country All-American Western Nelson won the 3,000-meter by 10 seconds, posting a time of 8:37.72.
Also finishing in the top-five were Rolland Slade, fifth in the 200-meter dash at 23.33 seconds; Evan Laveist, who finished fourth in the 200-meter, placed third in the 400-meter at 51.96 seconds; Jonathan Alpizar, who ran 8:52.20 in the 3,000-meter to take fifth; and Dylan Kirchberg, third in the javelin with a distance of 51.17 meters.
The Cougars will be in action next week at the Occidental Distance Carnival.
