IRVINE, Calif. - After days of rain and clouds covered the Irvine skies throughout the week, Concordia University Irvine's track & field team was blessed with incredible weather for the seventh annual Team 4 Titus & Ely meet. This meet is an excellent opportunity for our athletes to impress and perform in front of a home crowd while remembering the greater purpose of why this meet is held.
This meet holds a special place in the hearts of all CUI track & field athletes due to the immense meaning behind the day of competition. This gathering of athletes is named in honor of Bowman's incredible sons, Titus and Ely, both of whom have battled a rare genetic disease called Batten's. To read more about the Bowmans and how strong their family is, CLICK HERE.
Two school records were set for Concordia but there were many highlights across the board. The throwers started the day off strong for the Golden Eagles, with many first and second-place finishes in all of the events.
Sarah Fajer improved on her current nationally-recognized shot put mark with a strong throw of 14.14m. She solidified her spot in the top national rankings for the event for another week and is still chasing a chance to attend the national meet at the end of the season.
There was a roar after Hunter Hornaday threw for a new personal best in the shot put and took the first-place finish with a mark of 14.25m. He improved his best mark in the shot put by .75m from last season. Ryan Santana and Jaylen Newman finished in the top three behind Hornaday but were proud of their fellow Golden Eagle after his electric throw.
Sophomore Khaiya Simpson followed suit after Fajer, taking the win in the discus throw after setting a new personal record of 14.62m.
Lili Jones and Ian Patton both won their javelin events while setting new personal bests in other events later in the day. Jones set a new best in the discus throw, and Patton set two new records in the shot put & high jump.
One Golden Eagle that had herself a day was Romane Baudin. She competed in four separate events and won two of them, the long jump and the 4x100m relay, setting a new record in the 200m race with a time of 25.03m.
One of the major highlights of the day was Dylan Fox setting the new school record in the long jump event with a new record of 7.22m. His first attempt set the record at 7.20m, but he was able to add an additional .02m in his fourth jump! This record had been longstanding for over a decade, and Fox broke it by over 13 meters.
Maria Sartin followed suit by rewriting the record books with an unbelievable performance in the 400m hurdles. Sartin earned a national provisional qualifying mark and set a school record! She blazed to a second place finish in the event with a time of 1:02.16 to eclipse the previous school record in the 400m hurdles! She broke her own record that she shared with Sam Gomez of 1:02:39 after both had achieved that mark over the past two seasons. It was originally held by Tamia Prince when she ran 1:05:46 in 2018.
Ryann Beverridge, Makayla Butler, and Maurinique Avery took all three of the top spots in the 100m hurdles race, separated by .50 seconds between each spot. Beveridge took home the top spot, with Butler and Avery coming in after, respectively.
In the 5000m event, Adrianna Gil and Angelique Antonini recorded outstanding performances, with Gil crossing the finish in second and recording a new personal best time. She ran a sub-eighteen race with a time of 17:57.
Gabe Jones won the triple jump, setting a new personal best with a mark of 14.05m and a new personal best time in the 100m race after qualifying for the finals race with an identical time of 11.16.
Another Golden Eagle standout was Bryce Tondryk, who took the victory in the 800m race while setting a new personal best in the event with a time of 1:56.27. He pulled ahead in the final stretch with a strong finish down the lane.
The 1500m event had two men's team members securing top-three finishes, Angel Aguirre and Noah Plaza, both running sub-four minute times. Immediately following those two crossing the finish line, six other Golden Eagles were on their heels, all of their times separated by a single second.
This annual event is an incredible opportunity for friends and family to support their loved ones while honoring a courageous family with strong ties to the Concordia University Irvine community. The CUI track & field team athletes compete with heart and grit, making this meet special each year, showing their support of the Bowman family by leaving it all out there.
The Golden Eagles will stay in Irvine this weekend to compete at neighbor UC Irvine to start April off strong.
CLICK HERE for the entire list of results
CLICK HERE for the updated women's track and field schedule
CLICK HERE for the updated men's track and field schedule
