IRVINE Calif.- Day three of the Golden Eagle Invitational concluded late Saturday evening leaving the teams both proud of what they accomplished, but hungry for more. Almost all the open events were contested throughout the thirteen-hour day rendering highlights from all the event groups.
 
ON THE TRACK: Outstanding sprints performances came from Senior Donovan Wilson on the men's side and sophomore Nataleah Yanez in the 60m dash for the women. Wilson broke seven seconds for the first time in his 6-year career which came to an end (at least at home) tonight as Wilson only had indoor eligibility for the 2024 season. He is seeded to compete next weekend when the team travels to Seattle, Washington which will be his final collegiate track meet. Yanez also crossed the line in PR time moving down from a 7.96 to 7.85. Other highlights on the sprints side were Jaela Thornburg's PR in the 400m dash, inching closer to the 60 second barrier, and Veronica Campbells double PRs in the 60m and 200m dashes from her performances at the team's intrasquad in December.
 
The distance crew was led by performances from freshmen Taylor Becker and Spencer Handorf as well as senior Angelique Antonini. Becker made her career debut as a Golden Eagle running the mile in an impressive 5:23.87 to take third in the event. Handorf made his track debut for CUI and, just like his female counterpart, he stunned his teammates by crossing the 3000m finish line in 8:39.67 as the fastest Golden Eagle in the event, edging out six of his teammates. Antonini returned to the track after two years of working her way back from some major injuries but asserted her dominance right away with a 10:29.72 in the 3000, also the fastest time in a gold jersey today.
 
IN THE FIELD: Many Golden Eagles made their collegiate debuts including freshmen Hannah Wons and Ashley Heyer. Wons competed for the first time in almost a year after working her way back to the high jump apron since her senior season was cut short, and Heyer hit a lifetime PR in the shot put by over a meter (9.36m). Senior, Jaylen Newman, completed his trio of solid opening marks as he threw the shot put 14.18 meters, which is farther than he has ever opened up before.
 
A small crew will travel to Seattle next weekend to compete at the University of Washington while everyone else trains through the next three weeks. Then, on the second weekend in March, a few Golden Eagles will hope to travel to Pittsburg, Kansas for NCAA DII Indoor Nationals while the rest of the team continues their outdoor seasons in Fullerton, Calif. at the Ben Brown Invitational.
 
For the Golden Eagle Invitational results CLICK HERE
For the entire schedule CUI track and field CLICK HERE