Track Team Off to Strong Start; Two Women's Relay Teams, One Individual Qualify for Nationals
February 27, 2007

Coach Steve Scott’s track team got 2007 started on the right foot on Saturday, qualifying two teams and one individual for Nationals at the 11th Annual Rossi Relays.

It was the first competition of the year for the Cougar team, and Coach Scott was pleased with how it went. Though the athletes are still in heavy training, the team’s performance was definitely a positive.

“Everybody competed well for the first event of the season,” comments Scott.

The highlights of the day were those who qualified for Nationals. Leading the way was junior Ashleigh Davis. Competing in her first event in Cougar blue since her freshman year, Davis took 6th in the 100-meter hurdles and 4th in the 400-meter hurdles. Her times of 14.51 and 64.63 (respectively) qualify her for Nationals in both events.

“Ashleigh had an unbelievable day,” remarks Coach Scott. “She was just outstanding, especially for the first meet.”

Davis also helped CSUSM to a great performance in the 4x100-meter relay. The team, which consists of Sarai Ivory, Namadhjlah McIntosh, Marshea Wilson, and Davis, finished 5th, and their time of 48.40 was good enough to qualify them for Nationals.

Not to be outdone, the women’s 4x400-meter relay team joined the qualifiers on the day. The group of McIntosh, Bonghabih Shey, Samantha Showns, and Lucia Asbury finished 3rd, posting a time of 3:51.34.

On the men’s side, no athletes qualified for Nationals, but many came close and certainly should before the season ends. Dominique Younger came up just a few tenths of a second short in the 400-meter hurdles, Sergio Gonzalez performed well in the 3,000-meter run, and Ronnie McFadden was not far off the qualifying standard in the javelin.

Coach Scott expects the men to step up their performance at the next competition, as more runners will be competing. Also, a “500-mile fundraiser” event from last week may have got the team a little ‘heavy-legged,’ and they should be recovered in time for this weekend at the Bruin Invitational.