TMU Track & Field completes successful GSAC Championships

Four Mustangs won individual events on Saturday on the second and final day of the Golden State Athletic Conference Championships. The Master's men placed third overall as a team with 105 points, while the women finished fourth with 95 points.
 
Ellen Palmgren won the women's 800 meters in a time of 2:19.94 after qualifying for Saturday's finals with the third-best qualifying time in Friday's preliminaries.
 
"I went into today with confidence in my ability to win," Palmgren said of her mentality after Friday's prelims. "I decided to just sit off the front for most of the race and make a move to kick in to the end. The race itself was pretty physical and I got bumped around a lot, but I stayed right where I wanted to be."
 
Palmgren was cut off on the second and final lap by a group of runners, but she was able to make a move around her competitors to claim victory.
 
"The Lord was really good to me this weekend and gave me the opportunity to run well after some good work in practice," Palmgren said. "The love everyone has on this team really helps to elevate everyone to a higher level and that's a big reason I was able to perform as well as I did today."
 
Arianna Ghiorso won the women's 1500 meters, crossing the line in 4:42.01 to qualify herself for the NAIA National Championships with a provisional qualifying time.
 
"Coach and I talked about two goals going into the 1500 today – win and hit the national standard," Ghiorso said. "Praising the Lord I was able to accomplish both."
 
Megan Carbajal took home first place in the women's heptathlon with 3,455 points, 299 ahead of her next-closest competitor. She placed first on Saturday in the heptathlon long jump (4.74m) and javelin (22.10m) and second in the 800 meters (2:37.27).
 
"During the meet I focused on being in the moment and I kept reminding myself about how blessed I was to be competing again after COVID had shut down everything last year," Carbajal said. "I had very close competition that led me to making a new lifetime best in both the javelin and 800.
 
"I was also surrounded by the most supportive and caring teammates, who pushed me even harder."
 
Daniel Rush won the men's 5,000 meters in a time of 14:51.66, with teammate Wesley Methum finishing right behind in second place (14:56.63) to also earn All-GSAC honors. Colton Low (fifth – 15:41.84) and Zach Garey (sixth – 15:43.59) earned points for TMU.
 
"I want to thank first and foremost the Lord for giving me a great race after a disappointment at nationals a couple weeks ago," Rush said. "I couldn't have done it without my great teammates and supporters. I felt pretty good from the gun and ultimately just held on until the end."
 
Seanna Nalbandyan finished second in the women's 400-meter hurdles to earn All-GSAC honors in the event. She crossed the line in an NAIA "B" standard time of 1:03.85, just a half-second behind the first-place finisher.
 
Timmy Sterkel earned All-GSAC recognition with his second-place finish in the men's 1500 meters (3:59.20), just over a half-second behind first place.
 
Kevin Pacheco also earned All-GSAC honors by finishing third in the men's 800 meters in a time of 1:54.49. Cameron Fooks placed sixth in the event (1:57.41).
 
Sterkel, Fooks and Pacheco teamed up with Davis Boggess to finish third in the men's 4x400 meter relay, crossing the line in a time of 3:27.09.
 
Bethany Pouliot tied for fourth in the women's high jump (1.39m), while also placing sixth in the women's triple jump (9.62m).
 
Mariah Hildebrandt (19:33.54) and Brooke Milam (19:35.43) earned points for the Mustangs in the women's 5,000 meters in seventh and eighth place respectively.
 
The Mustangs who have qualified for the NAIA National Championships are scheduled to compete at the Last Chance Twilight, hosted by Azusa Pacific University, on May 14-15. That meet will serve as a tune-up for nationals, which are scheduled for May 26-28 in Gulf Shores, Alabama.