NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. – Daniel Ybarra became the fifth member of the Cal State San Marcos track & field team to qualify for nationals in the marathon this morning at the 2015 Orange County Half Marathon.

Ybarra finished fourth overall, completing the course with an "A" standard time of 1:08:59, 11 seconds shy of CSUSM's school record of 1:08:48 (Juan Mejia, 2009). Ybarra posted a "B" standard time of 1:12:36 at the Surf City Half Marathon in Huntington Beach, Calif. in February.

Seventeen student-athletes have now posted "A" standard times this outdoor track & field season. Overall, 25 Cougars have posted "A" or "B" standard marks.

The men's "A" standard for the 13.1-mile race is 1:12:00, which automatically qualifies racers for the full 26.2-mile marathon at the 2015 NAIA Outdoor National Championships later this month.

Kate Bouvatte (1:19:40), Lauren Morabito (1:27:41) and Bethany Gracia (1:29:24) posted "A" standards at the Surf City Half Marathon, topping the women's "A" standard of 1:30:00.

On the men's side, Ybarra will be joined by Enrique Ramirez, who posted an "A" standard time of 1:10:46 at the Surf City Half Marathon. Michael Waltrip posted a "B" standard 1:13:32 in the same event.

The Cougars have one more week of competition before heading to Alabama for the NAIA National Championships May 21 to May 23. The women's squad will compete at the Claremont Classic Multi-Event Competition on the campus of Claremont-Mudd-Scripps in Claremont, Calif. On Thursday and Friday. On Saturday, both the men's and women's squads will compete at the Oxy Invitational at Occidental College in Los Angeles.