The Long Beach City College men's track and field program displayed the potential of a top caliber squad on Saturday at the Cal State Northridge Invitational. Amongst the elite community college programs and dozens of universities the LBCC men showed they can match up with anyone. The Vikings turned out season bests and several noteworthy performances, many of which rank in the coveted list of top 10 in the state.
Starting things off for the Vikings was the men's 4x100m relay. A team of Speight, Jabril, Bowden, and Sanders sped to a season-best time of 42.60 (13th in the state) on their way to a victory.
The next race for the Vikings was the 400IH that featured Bejon Bryant of LBCC finishing second in a time of 56.14, a mark that places him 14th in the state. In the 110HH, LBCC again showcased their hurdle strength by placing two hurdlers higher on the state list. Marquan Jackson raced to a season-best mark of 14.98 placing him 9th overall in the state. He was followed by Bryant running only his second 110HH race of the year in a time of 15.55 which was good enough for 24th in the state.
In the men's 800, three Viking members ran impressive marks including Jonathan Smith, Trevan Harris, and Dakota Beavers, all whom were separated by less than a second at 2:03.02. In the 3000m, Anthony Fierros paced to a 9:13.13 a mark that places him 27th fastest in the state.
One of the most impressive performances of the day was turned in by a pair of Viking sprinters in the 400 meters. Kiree Jabril blazed to a 48.77 heat victory (#3 in the state) followed by LBCC's Derek Speight at 49.58 (#9 in the state).
In the triple Jump, Jackson improved his season-best mark to 45 feet 4 1/2 inches (#14 in the state).
The best race of the day saw a pair of rivals squaring off in the 4x400 relay, Mt. San Antonio College vs. Long Beach. Earlier in the season when these two teams met, it produced the top two performances in the state with Long Beach edging out Mt. SAC. This race proved to be just as spectacular as the last meeting as the LBCC team of Speight (50.6), Jabril (48.60), Rosevelt (48.80), and Sanders (48.50) won with a come-from-behind victory on anchor leg with a time of 3:16.61, which was just short of their own state leading mark. Saturday's race produced the three top marks in the state.
For the Long Beach City College women, freshman Ashley Craddock had a busy afternoon. Craddock finished 12th overall (third among community college runners) in the 100 with a time of 12.63. Craddock teamed with Stephanique Brown, Jessica Sheffield, and Phillisha Nunley to take fifth overall (first among CC's) with a season-best time of 49.82.
The team of Craddock, Brown, Nunley, and Valerie Nettles finished fifth among community colleges in the 4x400 meter relay with a season-best time of 4:14.15.
In the 100, Brown clocked in at 13.35 for 44th place. In the 400, Nunley was third among community college runners with a season-best time of 59.89.
In the 800, Jessica Ayala ran 2:40.12 for 43rd place, followed by Carissa Kildall in 45th at 2:41.85.
The Vikings will continue to look for improvement next Friday (Mar 18) at Cerritos College for the California Relays. The event is set to being at 2 p.m.