EAGLE ROCK -- Cal State LA's men's and women's track and field team competed with a limited amount of athletes at the Oxy Distance Carnival and Spring Break Classic on Saturday.

The highlight of the day came in the men's 4x400 relay where the Golden Eagles won the race with a provisional qualifying mark of 3:11.07. Cal State LA's winning team consisted of Drew Hill, Jaylend Howard, Nicholas Aninze and Wallace Aflamah.

Freshman Charles Chatman was fifth in the men's 400 with a time of 49.58, Nicholas Delgado was ninth in the 3,000 steeplechase and Raye Duarte was 16th in the 1,500.

For the women's team, Dalia Romo finished sixth in the 400 with a time of 57.65, which is the team's fastest time of the season. Mikaela Holguin ran in a pair of events for the Golden Eagles, posting a season's best time of 2:29.38 in the 800 meters while finishing 39th and coming back to place 45th in the 1500 with a time of 5:14.81.

Cal State LA will return to action next Friday at the Redlands Invitational.

Quotes:

Marina Zeferino: "Oxy was such a great race. What makes it unique is running at night. The difficult part was leading the entire race and maintaining my first place.  But I trusted my training and went in with the mindset of breaking 19:00, which has been a goal of mine for a very long time. I just missed it by 0.66 seconds (19:00.66), but that's what makes me excited for the next races and to keep working. I know I can do it! Thank you to my teammates that stayed to cheer me on and to my coaches for believing in me."
 
Mikaela Holguin: "Today went well for me and the team. I finally got to break 2:30 in the 800 and it felt good. I was tripped at the last 150, but I was still able to hold on. And then having the 1500 in less than hour, I was still able to push through. I'm excited to see what the season holds. I'm grateful that coach O called out my splits when I was running, it helped out a lot. Also, I had my supportive teammates motivating me."
  
Nicholas Delgado: "Today went well for me and the team. Going into the steeple, I felt really good mentally. I watched the earlier races and stayed focused, and Coach O helped a lot by calling out my splits during the race. When the race started, I got out strong and at one point took the lead while hitting good splits. Unfortunately, when I got to the water barrier I tumbled and lost my focus a bit, which dropped me from first to third. Even with that setback I was still able to PR by a second. I was a little bummed because I felt like I could have done more, but it showed me that there's still a lot of room for improvement. Overall, it was a solid day for the team and I'm grateful for the support from my coaches and teammates. I'm looking forward to getting back to practice, improving from this race, and being ready for the upcoming meets."
 
Coach Tina Fernandes: "We always enjoy attending the Oxy Distance Carnival due to the supportive atmosphere and the fast track. Our team has achieved numerous breakthroughs in nearly all of our events. Each of our student-athletes competed with confidence and determination. The presence of our parents, fans, and the crowd motivated our group to perform exceptionally well. Our men's 4x400m relay team secured a top ranking in the nation. Additionally, we achieved several CCAA Championships qualifying marks. We concluded our evening by watching Marina Zeferino dominate and win her heat in the women's 5k. We are extremely pleased with our group for attaining multiple personal records, yet we remain eager for even greater accomplishments."

OXY DISTANCE CARNIVAL AND SPRING BREAK CLASSIC
At Occidental College
Cal State LA Results
Men
400 -- 5. Charles Chatman 49.58; 11. Jackson Traynham 50.96
800 -- 76. Joshua Lovato 2:05.91
1500 -- 16. Raye Duarte 4:04.71; 40. Yahir Giron 4:13.13; 66. Christian Perez 4:20.92; 68. Trent Osburn 4:21.92; 83. Miguel Morales Lopez 4:27.48; 89. David Bonds 4:28.12; 100. Antonio Mendoza-Lopez 4:32.29; 115. Damian Bonds 4:41.04
3000 Steeplechase -- 9. Nicholas Delgado 10:12.0
4x400 Relay -- 1. Cal State LA (Drew Hill, Jaylend Howard, Nicholas Aninze, Wallace Aflamah) 3:11.07

Women
400 -- 6. Dalia Romo 57.65; 10. Georgia Gaylor 59.48; 13. Jaylin Morgan 60.29
800 -- 39. Mikaela Holguin 2:29.38
1500 -- 45. Mikaela Holguin 5:14.81; 53. Priscila Haro 5:24.96
5000 -- 71. Marina Zeferino 19:00.66.