Men’s Track Capture Fifth Consecutive Conference Title

Men’s Track Capture Fifth Consecutive Conference Title
Posted: Apr 20, 2024

The San Diego Mesa College men's track and field team continues to make history by winning their fifth consecutive Pacific Coast Athletic Conference title. The streak started in 2018 and continued through 2019, 2022, 2023, and 2024, with 2020- 2021 being canceled due to COVID-19.

The Olympians displayed their dominance early on in the competition and continued to build on their lead throughout the day. Ultimately, they amassed a total of 367 points, with San Bernardino Valley College securing second place with 85 points, followed by Southwestern College with 52 points and Cuyamaca College with 30 points. The team won 16 out of the 20 events held during the day.

Lamar Smith, one of the team's standout performers, ran the 100-meter dash in a remarkable 10.40 seconds, which ranks fourth all-time, and the 200-meter dash in 21.55 seconds.

Kaleo Donaldson also contributed with his impressive  Shot Put of 12.19 (40'0) and Discus 40.55 meters (133'0).

Luke Yruretagoyena completed the 400-meter race with a time of 48.75 seconds, while Chris Jackson jumped an impressive 7.30 meters (23'11.5) in the long jump.

Other noteworthy performances included Jude Giolitto, who completed the 1500-meter race in 3 minutes and 59.39 seconds; Victor Rosas, who finished the 5000-meter race with a time of 15 minutes and 10 seconds; and Kyle Wood, who threw the javelin 61.05m (200'4).

Balamber Izsold completed the 110-meter hurdles in 14.73 seconds, while Jaden Dasher dominated the 400-meter hurdles in 55.40 seconds.

Joe Forte cleared 1.90m (6'2.75) in the high jump, and Armando Castillo made a successful pole vault of 4.40m (15'5.75). Joe Delong also contributed with his hammer throw of 37.65m (123'6).

The team's 4x100m relay, consisting of Chris Jackson, Lamar Smith, Erik Lerner, and Akai Mills, crossed the finish line with a time of 41.94 seconds. The 4x400m relay of Nathen Murrell, Jaden Dasher, Luke Yruretagoyena, and Lamar Smith finished the race in 3 minutes and 20 seconds.

The team's next event is the Steve Scott Invitational on April 26 at UC Irvine. On Friday, May 3, they will travel to Cerritos College for the 2024 3C2A SoCal Prelims.