Highlanders Rack Up Big West Qualifying Marks at Ben Brown Invite

Friday, March 11

Fullerton, Calif.

All Day

UC Riverside

Ben Brown Invitational

Highlanders Rack Up Big West Qualifying Marks at Ben Brown Invite

3/13/2022 7:59:00 AM | Track and Field

FULLERTON, Calif. - The University of California, Riverside Track and Field team traveled the short distance to Fullerton, Calif. to compete in the Ben Brown Invitational/AstroAI Distance Classic across two days, March 11 and 12. The event was peppered with nine Big West Qualifying marks and personal bests for numerous Highlanders.

WOMEN

Samantha Velasquez won her heat and earned a big lifetime best in the 1500m run, winning the Finals Section two heat with a time of 4:47.18. Teammate Andrea Pearson earned a lifetime best in the same heat, with a time of 5:35.94.

The Highlander Distance Women had a tremendous showing in the 5000 meter final, with Collette Lowengrub placing fourth overall with a time of 16:30.66. Carolinh Calvert and Linda Perez finished shortly behind her in sixth and seventh, with times of 16:33.81 and 16:38.62 respectively. Dariana Miramontes finished in 18^th overall with a time of 17:16.92. All four women earned lifetime bests and places in the All-Time record books at UC Riverside. Victoria Ervin and Lydia Forsyth also earned lifetime bests in the event, with times of 18:18.6 and 19:47.94 respectively.

Haley Cabrera had an outstanding performance in the 3000 steeplechase, her first time competing in the event since the 2019 outdoor season. She placed third overall with a Big West Qualifying time of 11:38.80.

MEN

Andrew Parkinson opened his outdoor season in the 800m run and earned a lifetime best time of 1:54.86, placing 11^thoverall.

Zachary Cadima and Felix Diaz ran in the 1500m and placed 14^th and 15^th overall, with times of 4:07.43 and 4:07.76. Diaz's time of 4:07.76 is a lifetime best.

The Highlanders had another tremendous showing in the 5000m run on the men's side, with Aiden Davis leading the pack finishing first with a time of 14:25.97. Joshua Mendoza finished seventh with a time of 14:29.43. Sean Caster placed ninth with a time of 14:42.83, followed by Noah Murasmith with a time of 14:53.92. All four men smashed their lifetime bests and earned Big West Qualifying marks.

On the team's performance, Distance Coach Zach Newsom said, "We're starting to see the culmination of a lot of hard work for this group paying off with some big time performances. To have nine Big West qualifying marks in our first true outdoor effort speaks to the months of training they have put in. The key now is to not get complacent and to continue to build off this foundation. It's going to be an exciting season for UCR track and I'm thrilled to be a part of it!"

Final Results HERE
Video Recap HERE