RESULTS
(SAN DIEGO) PLNU Women's Track & Field earned its highest finish at the PacWest Championships since 2019, and since the conference expanded, by placing fourth at the PacWest meet hosted on its home track.
Maddie Reeves (1500 meters, 5,000 meters) and
Rowan Cebulski (heptathlon, high jump) each earned a pair of All-PacWest honors for the Sea Lions, while
Reagan Cole (400-meter hurdles) and the PLNU 4x400 meter relay team (
Angelica Gomes,
Sarah McGarry,
Abby Patton, Cole) finished as runner-up in their respective events.
Point Loma finished fourth as a team with 111 points, moving past fifth-placed Concordia after the final event of the day, the 4x400 relay.
"Our goal at the start of this season was to score 100+ points as a team and we thought doing so would put us in a great position to finish in the top four," Director of Cross Country and Track & Field
Jake Poyner said. "The team went out and did exactly that."
Reeves claimed All-PacWest recognition in both the 1500 meters and the 5,000 meters for the second-straight season, this time finishing second in the 1500 (4:32.65) before placing third again in the 5,000 (17:24.49).
Cebulski placed third in the heptathlon with 4,818 points, an NCAA Division II qualifying mark that ranks ninth in program history, with the help of her victory in the heptathlon long jump (5.58 meters).
The heptathlon bronze medalist then followed that up with another third-place finish in the high jump, clearing 1.62 meters on her third and final attempt to win a tiebreaker over fourth place because she needed fewer attempts to clear the previous height.
Cole, who also placed sixth in the 100-meter hurdles (14.56 seconds), cruised to a runner-up finish in the 400-meter hurdles with a personal best time of 1:00.78 that moved her up to third all-time in program history in the event.
She then ran the anchor leg on the runner-up 4x400 meter relay team that crossed the line in 3:49.15, just outside the top five relay times in program history. Gomes handed the baton to McGarry with the Sea Lions in second, before McGarry, Patton and Cole held PLNU's position.
Several other Sea Lions earned valuable points for the meet hosts, beginning with the 4x100 meter relay. The quartet of
Madison Simmers, Gomes,
Lillian Gomez and
Lola Wright finished fourth in a time of 47.80 seconds after holding off fifth-placed Concordia by .01 seconds.
Skyler Cazale also finished fourth in the triple jump with a mark of 11.84 meters, moving up a spot from sixth to fifth in program history in the event.
Nica Zsiros finished fifth in the heptathlon with 4,487 points, as did
Abby Patton in the 400 meters in a time of 56.55 seconds to jump up to sixth among Sea Lions all-time.
McGarry (1:02.75) and
LillyAnn Brewer (1:03.52) finished fifth and seventh in the 400-meter hurdles.
In the 1500,
Michelle Ramos (4:42.85) and
Jocelyn Gibson (4:43.63) moved up to cross the line in sixth and seventh respectively.
After her sixth-place spot in the 1500, Ramos then made an incredible surge on the second lap of the 800 meters, passing three runners over the final 250 meters to finish fifth (2:16.04), while
Mikayla Horning (2:16.50) was right behind in sixth.
"Their grit, competitiveness, and belief in one another made for some awesome memories and opportunities to glorify the Lord with the gifts He's given them," Poyner said.
Point Loma will have select athletes compete next at the Steve Scott Invite (May 1-2) and Franson Last Chance (May 8-9) in an attempt to qualify for the NCAA Championships (May 21-23).
"Our Strength & Conditioning coaches and our athletic training staff have been steady companions on an exciting season, and we're grateful for them," Poyner said. "Our coaching staff is grateful to the seniors for their leadership and dedication to this program and family over the last four years. They have left a profound impact on Sea Lion Track & Field."
