School Record Falls as CSUN Track & Field Opens Outdoor Season

Saturday, March 11

Fullerton, Calif.

All Day

California State University at Northridge

Ben Brown Invitational

Photo by: Juan Ocampo

School Record Falls as CSUN Track & Field Opens Outdoor Season

3/14/2017 2:32:00 PM | Men's Track & Field, Women's Track & Field

Daniel Swarbrick Wins Discus to Open 2017 Campaign

By: by Geoffrey Herberg

Complete Results in PDF Format

FULLERTON, Calif. --- Monique Griffiths broke the school record in the hammer throw as the CSUN men's and women's track & field programs opened their 2017 outdoor season at the Ben Brown Invitational at Cal State Fullerton. The women also saw Courtney Robinson win the 100m-hurdles, Gardenia Centanaro win the pole vault and Brianna Cueva win the shot put while the men's side witnessed Daniel Swarbrick win the discus throw and Kurt Felicitas and Nathan Washington place second and third in the triple jump.

On her second throw of the competition, Griffiths unfurled a throw of 63.11m (207-01) to set a new school record and win the event by over 2.5 meters. In the shot put, Cueva went 14.93m (48-11.75) on her opening throw of the competition to hold off the field en route to a first-place finish. She also placed second in the discus at 52.28m (171-06) while Griffiths placed third in the event at 48.76m (160-00).

"This was a big accomplishment for Monique to open her season with a new CSUN record," said CSUN head coach Avery Anderson. "She's worked extremely hard and has earned this mark in the program's record book."

Centanaro continued her outstanding 2017 season by clearing 3.88m (12-08.75) on her first attempt to win the pole vault on jumps. In the 100m-hurdles, Robinson ran a 13.82 to win the event, edging rivals from UC Santa Barbara and UC Irvine. She then posted a sixth-place finish in the 200m dash at 25.15 seconds.

Other notable women's performances saw Rachael Naumann place third in the "A" race of the 5000m in a time of 17:18.88 while in the "B" section of the race, Katie Alvarenga placed first in a time of 18:33.85 and Rachel Duriez was second at 18:34.27.

Alyana Nicolas placed fourth in the pole vault on jumps, clearing 3.73m (12-02.75) on her third and final attempt at the bar. Tiarah Umu placed second in the shot put at 14.34m (47-00.75) and sixth in the discus at 44.71m (146-08). Cydney Leath took seventh in the "A" section of the triple jump with a leap of 11.31m (37-01.25) and Kim Dargel placed eighth in the 200m at 25.32 seconds.

On the men's side, Swarbrick won the discus on his third of five throws. The 2016 Big West Champion in the discus, Swabrick unleashed a toss of 53.87m (176-09) to claim the event title. He also placed ninth in the hammer throw at 56.51m (185-05) and competed in the shot put.

In the "A" section of the triple jump, Felicitas placed second with a mark of 14.69m (48-02.50) while Washington finished third at 14.49m (47-06.50). Matthew Arnold added an eighth-place finish in the event at 14.02m (46-00).

In the "A" section of the shot put, the Matadors boasted three of the top-six finishers. Dawaun Lucas led the group with a third-place finish at 17.24m (56-06.75) while Clint Meyer was fourth at 16.66m (54-08) and Zachary Rosales was sixth at 16.41m (53-10.25).

Lohnnie Tape-Jackson took home fourth in the "A" section of the high jump by clearing 2.05m (6-08.75) on his third and final attempt at the bar. Mark Nicolas took seventh in the pole vault by clearing 4.58m (15-00.25) on his second attempt at the bar.

Joshua Turner took fourth in the 110-meter hurdles, finishing in 14.74 seconds and Mario Ramirez placed sixth in the 800m at 1:54.28. Charlie Nettle took sixth in the 3000m steeplechase in a time of 9:58.37 while Ricardo Garcia placed sixth in the "B" section of the 5000m in a time of 15:45.05.