FULLERTON, Calif. – Men's track and field competed at the Ben Brown invite this past weekend, earning multiple NCAA Division II provisional qualifiers along with three Top 5 finishes.
 
Junior Darius Hill tied teammate Kailen Smith as the national leader in the high jump, reaching 2.06 meters to earn an NCAA provisional qualifier. That mark was good enough for a third place finish in the meet, while Smith's 2.01 meters gave him fourth place.
 
Alessio Sommacal continued to impress in the 110 meter hurdles, earning another provisional mark with a time of 14.19 and finishing in third place in the meet. Sommacal is coming off a 13.99 performance at the Beach Opener at the start of the month, one that still leads the nation by nearly four-tenths of a second.
 
CCAA Track Athlete of the Week Joshua Johnson placed ninth in the 200 meters with a time of 21.61, currently ranking first in the CCAA and eighth in all of NCAA Division II. Johnson had the highest finish among DII sprinters in the race, while Sommacal placed 16^th with a time of 21.89.
 
In the 400 meters, sophomore Leroy Crook set a personal record with a time of 49.17, placing seventh in the race and ranking sixth in the CCAA this season. Teammates Camden Patterson and Jake Tilford rank third and fourth in the conference, respectively, with times of 48.94 and 49.08 at the Beach Opener. Freshman Andrew Sayles also set a personal record at the Ben Brown Invite with a time of 49.54, placing 13^th in the race and 10^th in the conference.
 
Evan Franco saw an eighth-place finish in the 1500 meters out of 45 athletes, finishing with a time of 3:57.22 for a new personal record. Francisco Zavaleta also saw a Top 10 finish in the 5000 meters, finishing ninth with a time of 12:29.84.
 
Ian Strode had the third Top 5 finish for the Broncos in the pole vault, reaching 4.77 meters. That mark now ranks third in the CCAA, while Cal Poly Pomona occupies four of the top five spots in the conference in the pole vault.
 
Khai Redd set personal records in both the discus (14^th, 46.94m) and hammer throw (9^th, 47.04m), finishing the highest of the Bronco throwers. Thomas Tuff also set a personal best in the hammer throw, placing 11^th with a distance of 46.54 meters.
 
 
Up Next
The Broncos will compete at the Riverside City College Open on Friday, March 15th.