FLAGSTAFF, ARIZ. -- Cal State LA's women's indoor track and field team turned in some outstanding performances Friday at Northern Arizona's Lumberjack Team Challenge.

Mya Ferguson reached the finals in the 60-meter hurdles for the second straight meet and set a new personal record in the process. Javany McDermott improved her marks while taking fifth in the high jump and sixth in the triple jump, Ja'Narie Rhambo was sixth in the weight throw and also set a new season's best and newcomer Eden Hahn impressed with a seventh-place finish in the 200 in her Cal State LA debut.

Cal State LA was seventh in the team competition with 20.5 points. Host Northern Arizona was first, Cal State Fullerton and Sacramento State finished in a tie for second, Arizona was fourth and UC Riverside was fifth to round out the top-five.

"Each time we compete at Northern Arizona, the elevation is always challenging," Cal State LA head coach Tina Fernandes said. "Overall, I see the team starting to settle down and allowing themselves to compete. We had a few breakthroughs and PR's. We also had three new Golden Eagles join us that were missing from the first meet, so they were a bit anxious. The team embraced them through their first meet and guided them through each performance. I'm excited about us continuously working and moving forward!"

Said assistant coach Erica Cosby: "This weekend's competition was exciting to be a part of. The group fought harder on the field and on the track. The personal and seasonal best performances earned by much of the team this weekend show that we are moving in a positive direction."

Ferguson ran a pair of fast times in the 60 hurdles to highlight the meet for the Golden Eagles. She qualified for the finals by placing seventh in the prelims with a time of 9.00. She improved to fifth in the finals with a personal best of 8.93.

"This was my best performance at Cal State LA. I'm grateful and super proud of myself for being able to finish the race and qualify for finals," Ferguson said. "When I saw that I had run 9.00, I knew I could break nine seconds since I didn't have the best start from being nervous. When I came back with my coach to warm up, we corrected what needed to be fixed and I executed the race like I should have. Running 8.93 is the building block I needed to get closer to the national qualification time and that's all I've been working on, trying to drop each week.

The national provisional qualifying standard is 8.83. 

McDermott also had an outstanding meet posted new season's bests while finishing fifth in the high jump with a mark of 5-3 and sixth in the triple jump with a mark of 37-3.

"My emotions were running extremely high. I was excited to go back NAU after two years and I was glad I had time to focus on each of my events," McDermott said. "I made big strides in my events and mentally I felt like a real jumper at this meet and I could see my potential beginning to come out. I am happy and healthy and ready for the next meet."

Rhambo showed great improvement from the season opener and was sixth in the weight throw with a mark of 52-10.25.

"What helped me in this meet was going in with the mindset that I was there to achieve one goal: .to compete with myself, and to be better than my last meet. I went in and did just that, and ended up with another PR. As a team, we focused on leaving it all on the track and 'getting out of our heads' and I'm so proud of everyone and how hard they push themselves at practice and showing that on the track." 

Hahn ran in a pair of races in her first competition for the Golden Eagles, taking seventh in the 200 with a time of 25.66 and finishing 14th in the 60 with a time of 7.89.

"For my first indoor meet of the season with Cal State LA, I believe I am off to a great start. For the next upcoming meets, I expect myself to not only get better and PR in the 60 and 200 meters, but also to have a more positive and confident mindset," Hahn said. "Despite the elevation and cold weather at NAU, our women's team definitely stepped the bar up and showed out. They all persevered through every challenge and every event and I am so proud of everyone from their performances, to their positive attitudes. As the season goes on, I am excited to see the team excel and for everyone to see what our women's team is capable of."

Cal State LA will return to action next Friday at the University of Washington Invitational.

NORTHERN ARIZONA LUMBERJACK TEAM EVENT
At Northern Arizona University
Cal State LA Results
60 -- 14. Eden Hahn 7.89; 25. Sanaia Woods 8.09; 40. Alyssa Johnson 8.46; 41. Javany McDermott 8.49; 44. Rachel Trunnel 8.58
200 -- 7. Eden Hahn 25.66; 17. Sanaia Woods 26.27; 28. Dericka Braden 27.41; 30. Alyssa Johnson 27.73; 36. Rachel Trunnel 29.44
400 -- 9. Dericka Braden 61.39; 17. Aazalet Danage 68.01
60 Hurdles Prelims -- 7. Mya Ferguson 9.00q
60 Hurdles Finals -- 5. Mya Ferguson 8.93
4x400 Relay -- 4. Cal State LA 4:15.23
High Jump -- 5. Javany McDermott 5-3
Long Jump -- 13. Aazalet Danage 15-6.25; 18. Alyssa Johnson 14-4.50
Triple Jump -- 6. Javany McDermott 37-3
Shot Put -- 12. Imani McGee 37-2.50; 13. Pamela Grissom 36-9.75; 15. Ja'Narie Rhambo 35-1.75; 17. Sophia Hatum 29-9.50
Weight Throw -- 6. Ja'Narie Rhambo 52-10.25; 21. Imani McGee 36-9.75; 22. Sophia Hatum 32-5.75; 23. Jordyn Wyatt 31-0.50