LONG BEACH, Calif. – CSU Long Beach hosted the first open track meet of the season at the Jack Rose Track. Over a dozen different schools with over a hundred different students came to the campus of Cal State University Long Beach on March 1 and March 2.
The meet was an opportunity for some of these athletes to show everyone where they stand right now at the start of the outdoor season.
The meet started in the morning and went on through the early afternoon. For the first two to three hours, the meet was interrupted by the on and off rainy weather. Apart from having the challenge to compete against each other, the competitors had the rain as an additional obstacle.
The meet started with the men’s 5,000, where Long Beach State’s Antonio Carbajal and Quinn Garity both won by a big lead. Long Beach State was also to secure a win in the 400 relay, where sprinters Naythn Scruggs, Tristyn Flores, Malik Harness, and Caleb Roberson hit the tape in a swift time of 41.2.
As the skies were starting to clear up, the women’s 1,500 was gearing up. Tracy Towns from USC came in second place with an impressive time of 4:37.92. However, Abby Hong from Angel City Elite took first place with a time of 4:31.92.
Around noon when it was time for hurdles to begin, the rain slowly stopped, and the sun started to shine a little brighter. I think the sun knew that two athletes in particular were going to shine with their impressive performances.
Simon Ballard from USC won the women’s 100 hurdles with a personal record of 13.41. Ballard’s teammates, Kiara Strayhorn and Alexandra Chan, finished fourth and sixth respectively.
Alessio Sommacal, a junior from Cal Poly Pomona, recorded a personal and meet record with his 13.99 time in the men’s 110 hurdles. In the women’s 400, USC completely dominated, having their three participants occupying all top three spots at the finish line.
Senior runners Rae-Anne Serville and Alyssa Block Burger finished first and second for the Trojans ahead of their teammate, Gigi Maccagnini.
In the men’s 400, USC also placed their mark with the three participants earning a Top 5 spot. Sophomore students Darius Rainey, Max Thomas, and Charlie Jefferson got first, fourth, and fifth place. Darius ran the race with a time of 48.07 seconds, just .02 seconds away from breaking the meet’s record.
Alex Kalmar from Long Beach State was able to secure an impressive time of 1:52.61 in the 800.
The meet was interrupted by the rain on many different races, but the runners didn’t give any excuses and some even took the opportunity to hit personal records. USC’s next track meet is going to be indoors away at Boston Massachusetts for the NCAA championships.
I’m Daniel Herrera, a native of Los Angeles. I’ll be graduating from Cal State University, Dominguez Hills in May 2024. I’ve developed a profound interest in storytelling, broadcasting, photography, and sports, particularly soccer and basketball. My aspiration is to get a career that allows me to travel the globe covering soccer matches. With the skills and expertise I’ve cultivated, my ultimate goal is to become an on-the-field sports reporter.
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