IRVINE, Calif. – There were two events last week for PacWest student-athletes with the majority competing at the APU Invitation and Distance Carnival, while Fresno Pacific competed at the Cal Poly 4-Way. Along with this week’s four PacWest Athletes of the Week Jenny Sandoval, Marie-Jeanne Ourega, Elliot Slade and Jermel Jones II, there were several noteworthy performances by PacWest student-athletes.
 
Amanda Fassold broke her own record in the pole vault with another automatic qualifier, clearing 4.27 meters this time. Fassold started the event at 4.10 meters and cleared it on her second attempt to win the event. She then cleared 4.27 meters on her first attempt, breaking her own record.
 
In the women’s 100-meter dash, two Sunbirds recorded provisional qualifiers as Kyla Richardson finished in 11.65 seconds and Kyra Bailey was right behind in 11.84 seconds, which are the second and third best times in the event for the PacWest this season.
 
In the women’s 200-meter dash, it was two Cougars who finished with provisional qualifiers. Jaylah Walker finished in 23.75 seconds and Mechaela Hyacinth finished in 23.99 seconds for the top-2 times in the PacWest this year. Walker also recorded the conference’s best time in the 400-meter dash with a provisional qualifier of 54.76 seconds.
 
In the men’s 400-meter dash, Daniel Bessolo placed a provisional qualifying time of 47.07 seconds. Then in the 800 meters, Abdelouakil Mustapha recorded a provisional qualifier alongside Slade at 1:51.74, just two seconds behind Slade.
 
In the distance races, there were a number of notable performances. Natalia Novak won the 1500 meters for Academy of Art with a provisional qualifier of 4:22.71. James Young for Academy of Art and Patrick Kiprop for Fresno Pacific each posted provisional qualifiers in the 5000 meters for the top-2 times in that event for the conference.
 
In the women’s 100-meter hurdles, Azusa Pacific’s Jordan Hammond placed the second provisional qualifier in the PacWest this season with a time of 14.19 seconds. For the men, Cullin Bates had a provisional qualifier of 14.45 seconds for Fresno Pacific.
 
The final provisional qualifier left to be mentioned belongs to Raymon Harper from Azusa Pacific, who cleared 2.06 meters in the high jump on his third attempt for the best mark in that event in the PacWest this year. He had also cleared 2.01 meters on his third attempt after winning the event with a jump of 1.96 meters.

WOMEN'S TRACK ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
Jenny Sandoval, Azusa Pacific
GS – Fontana, Calif.
Sandoval recorded the third automatic qualifier this year in the 5000 meters for NCAA Division II. She won the race with a time of 16:01.41 which is the best time in the PacWest this year. She is only four seconds behind the best time in NCAA Division II by Eilish Flanagan from Adams State.
 
WOMEN'S FIELD ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
Marie-Jeanne Ourega, Academy of Art
Fr. – L’Hay-les-Roses, France
Ourega earned recognition as the USTFCCCA DII National Athlete of the Week as well after a stellar performance in Azusa on Saturday. The freshman recorded one automatic qualifier and two provisional qualifiers. In the long jump, Ourega recorded a mark of 6.58 meters, which is the best mark all year in NCAA Division II by 22 centimeters, and the fourth-best all-conditions jump in NCAA Division II history. As if that record book worthy performance wasn’t enough, the freshman also recorded a mark of 12.00 meters in the triple jump, which merited a provisional qualifier. She then formed part of Academy of Art’s 4x100-meter relay team, which placed the sixth-best time in NCAA Division II this year at 46.59 seconds.
 
MEN'S TRACK ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
Elliot Slade, Academy of Art
GS – Cardiff, UK
Slade took second place in the 800 meters at the APU Invitational and Distance Carnival. He finished with a time of 1:49.78, which is a provisional qualifier and the best time in the PacWest this year. It is also the sixth-best time in the nation for Division II.

MEN'S FIELD ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
Jermel Jones II, Azusa Pacific
Jr. – Los Angeles
Jones recorded provisional qualifiers in the long jump and triple jump at the APU Invitational and Distance Carnival. In the long jump, his best jump was 7.59 meters on his final attempt, which is the third-best jump in the nation this year. In the triple jump, Jones registered a distance of 14.72 meters.