SAN DIEGO, Calif. – Vanguard Men's Track and Field took a trip to San Diego for its second-ever appearance in the Pacific West Conference Championships. The Blue and Gold left the three-day event with 34 points, placing sixth out of the seven competing teams, locking down two medals and sourcing a large sample of top 10 program results.
Ommar Arroyo became the second ever VU men's track and field competitor to clinch PacWest All Conference, sporting a podium spot in the 3000SC.

Championship favorites Fresno Pacific outpaced Azusa Pacific for the team title, boasting 22 medals and 265 points overall to hoist the trophy on the campus of Point Loma.

What Happened? The 3000m steeplechase was Vanguard's most successful event with nine total points, as junior Ommar Arroyo locked in a podium spot in third place with a 9:36.05 time. Caleb Dickerson picked up another three points for VU, taking sixth place in a career-best 9:57.22 run.

The 110H was VU's next best outing with Joab Vela and Chris Watson taking fourth and seventh place, respectively. The freshman in Vela fueled a personal-best 14.52 for five points. It was the fourth-fastest time in school history, just clearing Watson's record from March 2024. Watson was no bystander on the afternoon, however. The senior snatched a 15.04 time, which stood as a new season best.

The remaining hurdlers, Landon Torres and Cohen Swift, came in seventh and 11th in the 400H for a point apiece. Torres ran a 56.11, and Swift was eye-to-eye with his career-best time of 57.55.

The Blue and Gold's 4x100 relay team (Deyton Ford, Lenier Pitts Jr., Brandon Pereria, Andre Hackett) was fifth with a 54.31 time. Pereria was also a member of the 4x400 relay team and was joined by Cooper Anderson, Jayden Sanchez, and Feaver. The group ended in seventh, combining for a 3:27.40 result.

The Lions also saw a vast field of competitors in the 800m prelims with its busiest sample of runners. Isaiah Feaver led VU's group in eighth at the prelims, clocking a personal-best 1:55.38. Donovan Ralls also racked a PR by two seconds to plot a 12th-place spot (1:56.36). Anderson was just two-tenths of a second shy of a new career-best, putting up a 1:56.50 time on the board for 13th. The rest of the Lion runners were made up of Slavin (2:00.38), Sanchez (2:02.63), and Josiah Kirby (2:07.04).

Feaver was the only Lion to break through the 800m prelims and secured a personal-best 1:55.62 run in the 800m, placing him in fifth and adding another four points for VU.
 
The distance runners were rounded out in the 10,000m run by Jesse O'Campo and Rylan Starnes, who finished eighth (Campo - 32:56.63) and 14th (Starnes - 36:14.51). Arroyo also featured in the 5000m and crossed the line at 15:49.84, which was 17th-best.

Beau Swett equaled a personal-best 6'4 3/4" leap in the high jump, clearing the metric in his second attempt to finish in fourth place at the tournament and collect another five points for the Lions. Freshman Addison Altermatt also tied his career-best (5' 8¾"), which placed him in ninth.

Swett continued to lead Vanguard's jump team, guiding the Lion trio in the long jump. His sixth and final attempt launched him into ninth place (22' 3"). He was followed by Trevor Bode, who propelled past 21' 6" to take 10th, and Ford, who found himself in 12th (21' 3½").

The remainder of the field group was made up of Blake Bazaldua and Josiah Kirby. Bazaldua was involved in a trifecta of throws, taking 14th in the discus (125' 2") and 15th in both shot put (39' 7¾") and hammer throw (118' 7"). His shot put tally was a new personal-best, and penciled in the sixth-best showing in school history, overtaking Winston Lawsom's haul in 2018 by over a foot. The third attempt was the charm for Kirby, who covered 92' 9" in javelin, which was 16th.

What Was Said? "I'm so proud of our athletes!" started Head Coach Brian Wilkins. "They competed their hearts out this weekend with grit, sacrifice, joy, and the desire to glorify God. They didn't hold anything back. It's been a great season and this weekend was very special ending for the majority of our team."

What's Next? The Lions end the season at the Franson Last Chance Meet on May 8-9.