The Cerritos College women's track and field team kept very busy over the weekend, as they competed in the Occidental Distance Carnival and UC Irvine 4-Way Meet. The Falcons sent nine runners to Occidental on Friday, while they entered a full squad on Saturday against three Division I schools in Irvine. Next up will be be the UNLV Invitational, where they team will take on more four-year competition.

Occidental Distance Carnival: In the 800 meters, the duo of sophomores Ariel Melendez (St. Paul HS) and Joselyn Orozco (Downey HS) finished in the top two places in their heat. Melendez posted a time of 2:19.72, which was the 13th fastest time overall, while Orozco was 14th overall in 2:20.04. Freshman Maria Orosco (Katella HS) ran in the same heat and posted the 16th best time in 2:20.44 to come in fourth place in the heat. Freshman Maria Castaneda competed in the 1500 meters and finished in a time of 5:44.03, while freshman Elsa Vazquez (Warren HS) completed the 3000 meters steeplechase in 13:19.49 to come in 13th place.

UC Irvine 4-Way Meet: Although the Falcons lost all three dual meets, they won four events on the day. The team came up short against the host Anteaters (107-60), Cal State Long Beach (94-67) and Army (94-69). Being at UC Irvine, the team was able to meet up with former Cerritos track stars Munir Kahssay, Lily Trinh and Kelly Magana (pictured, left). Freshman Nylia Hudspeth (Kennedy HS) captured the 200 meters with a time of 25.30, while twin sister Najia Hudspeth (Kennedy HS) posted the third fastest time in 25.62, with freshman Brandy Navarro placing fourth in 25.69. It was Najia Hudspeth who posted a faster time in the 100 meters with a clocking of 12.51, with sophomore Ariel Thomas (Warren HS) taking sixth in 12.65. In the 100-meter HH, sophomore Jordan Agnew (Los Alamitos HS/Cal State Long Beach) finished in fifth place in a time of 15.31, with Navarro in sixth place in 15.58.

Freshman Breanna Curry won the high jump with a height of 1.65 meters, which also places her in a tie for one of the top five marks in school history. In the long jump, Agnew bested the field with a distance of 5.50 meters, while sophomore Raiven Ellis (California HS) took third in the triple jump at 11.31 meters. The 400-meter relay team of Shukura Tyler (Warren HS), Nylia Hudspeth, Thomas and sophomore Lauryn Ballard (Narbonne HS) posted a first place time of 48.66.