Albuquerque, N.M.----- There were multiple San Jose State University track and field "firsts" on the program's opening day of the 2019 indoor season.
There were two "firsts" on the women's side. Junior Silvia Gutierrez became the first female Spartan to throw the weight throw in competition. She placed 12th with a throw of 49-feet-11.75.
Sophomore Sarahvaughn King won her heat in the 200 meters by .004 and finished 21st overall in a field of 72 with a time of 25.46.
Senior Savanna Perez was the leading Spartan runner in the 600 placing 15th with a 1:38.55 clocking.
For the men's team, it was a return to action after a 31-year hiatus. A program that was the 1969 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field team champion with 16 more top-10 team finishes was discontinued after the 1988 outdoor season.
Sophomore Jacari Bearden, a second-generation Spartan track and field team member, and freshman Richard Dang, were the first two San Jose State competitors competing in the long jump. Bearden's dad, Jerome Bearden was a hurdler on the 1979 through 1981 Spartan track and field teams. Jacari became the first San Jose State men's track and field athlete to post a mark and went on to finish ninth in the long jump with a 19-feet-8.25 leap.
Jeffrey Page became the first San Jose State men's track and field athlete to finish first in a race with his win in the third heat of the 600-meter run. Overall, he finished 11th with a 1:22.65 clocking.
Brendan Manigo, a reserve halfback on the Spartan football team, was the fastest of five San Jose State entries in the 200 meters with his 23.04 time.
The two-day meet concludes on Saturday, January 19, with the Spartans competing in the men's triple jump, men's and women's 60-meters, women's 60-meter hurdles, men's and women's 800 meters and 1-mile run, and the men's and women's 4x400 relay.
Dr. Martin Luther King Collegiate Invitational indoor track and field meet
Convention Center, Albuquerque, N.M.
January 18, 2019
Women's Weight Throw ----- 1, Alyssa Wilson, UCLA, 69-feet-3.50. San Jose State finisher – 12, Silvia Gutierrez, 49-feet-11.75.
Women's 600 Meters ----- 1 Jamima Russell, USC, 1:29.95. San Jose State finishers – 15, Savanna Perez, 1:38.55. 22, Mikayla Akers, 1:40.58.
Women's 200 Meters ----- 1, Twanisha Terry, USC, 23.31. San Jose State competitors – 21, Sarahvaughn King, 25.46. 31, Daja Johnson, 25.86. 55, Nyana Wright, 27.34. NP, Alicia Johnson, did not start.
Men's Long Jump ----- 1, Josh Farmer, Colorado, 22-feet-9.0. San Jose State competitors – 9, Jacari Bearden, 19-feet-8.25. NP, Richard Dang, no mark.
Men's 3000 Meters ----- 1, Daniel Estrada, Unattached. San Jose State finisher – 6, Evaristo Mateo, 9:10.01.
Men's 600 Meters ----- 1, Isaiah Jewett, USC, 1:15.95. San Jose State finishers – 11, Jeffrey Page, 1:22.65. 15, Javier Ubaldo, 1:23.90. 17, Peter Handy, 1:25.56. 18, Nicholas Armas, 1:32.40.
Men's 200 Meters ----- 1, Jamiel Trimble, unattached, 21.05. San Jose State competitors – 23, Brendan Manigo, 23.04. 24, Mikael Tyler, 23.15. 27, Aidan Jardon, 23.33. 28, Jacari Bearden, 23.49. NP, Dominic Tanner, did not start.