The San Francisco men's track and field team used the approach of “divide and conquer”, competing in both the Stanford Invitational and SF State Distance Carnival on Friday.
At Cobb Track and Angell Field on the Stanford campus, USF redshirt senior
Steven Garboden used a strong finishing 200 meters to pass the competition in section 4 of the 1,500 meters to run away with a win in 3:47.79.
In the 5,000 meters, the Dons were represented by two athletes in Section 4, with
Jose Madera's 14:19.27 earning second place in the section, and setting a new personal best.
Concurrently,
Eric Causey was racing in the 5,000 meters at Cox Stadium in the SF State Distance Carnival. His time of 14:07.15 smashed the school record by more than 15 seconds en route to a fourth-place overall finish out of 132 athletes. This marks the first time the freshman from Encinitas, Calif., has competed in this distance collegiately.
The previous school record of 14:22.25 was set by
Ganbileg Bor on Feb. 7, during the indoor slate of this season's competition. Though Causey's time is indeed the latest number to go in the USF record books, had the record not fallen at his hands, Madera's mark at Stanford would have earned top billing.
Another highlight of competition for the men at SF State came as
Gustavo Mena posted a collegiate best in the 800 meters. The junior from Oxnard, Calif., finished his race in 1:53.93 to earn 10th overall in the field of 73 competitors. Teammate
Sean Gomes came in 17th after posting a time of 1:55.28.
Back at Stanford, field athletes
Robert Parker and Alex Fowler both earned solid marks in their respective events. Parker's javelin throw of 57.99 meters on his second attempt of the day earned third place. Fowler took fourth in the long jump, after posting a mark of 6.79 meters in his final effort of the competition.
The weekend's action concludes Saturday as
Nile Norwood competes in the triple jump at the Stanford Invitational. Follow the action online at flotrack.org.
Watch Steven Garboden's 1,500 meters at the Stanford Invitationa (via flotrack.org):
USF Results:
Stanford Invitational –
1,500 Meters
1.
Steven Garboden – 3:47.79 (Section 4)
5,000 Meters
2.
Jose Madera – 14:19.27 (Section 4)
10.
Ganbileg Bor – 14:31.20 (Section 4)
Long Jump
4. Alex Fowler – 6.79 m
Javelin
3.
Robert Parker – 57.99 m
SF State Distance Carnival –
400 Meters
13.
Cameron Farrell – 53.29
800 Meters
10.
Gustavo Mena – 1:53.93 (collegiate best)
17.
Sean Gomes – 1:55.28
42.
Robert Leija – 1:59.45
47.
Carl Janvier – 2:00.16
5,000 Meters
4.
Eric Causey – 14:07.15 (school record; collegiate best)
68.
Nick Hicks – 15:08.50
3,000 Meter Steeplechase
7.
Adam Smith – 9:26.55
