Pirates Make Improvements at Occidental College

The Pirates' men's and women's track and field programs traveled to the city of Eagle Rock Friday for the Occidental Spring Distance Classic, hosted by NCAA Division III Occidental College. The meet highlighted sprints, hurdles, jumps and throwing events in the early morning, followed by a distance carnival lasting until near midnight. Ventura's teams collected 14 lifetime best's, and an additional 15 Southern California minimum championship standards on the day.

The Pirates were lead by Tristan Griffith, Jordyn Vassaur, David Torres, and Macy Schmidt who all recorded efforts worthy of Top-10 all-time Pirate performances. Griffith started the day equalling his best time in the 400 meters of 47.82, placing second overall, equaling the sixth fastest mark in school history. Schmidt, running her first track 10k, recorded the seventh fastest all-time in 40:14.29. Vassaur moved to 10th fastest in the 5k, running 18:58.88, while Torres solidified his 10th place position in the men's 10k taking 33 seconds off his 2016 time, finishing in 34:11.36.

Sisters Dejahnae Brown and Aiyana Brown both scored PR's in the women's high jump placing tied for 2nd and 5th jumping the same height, 4'11 3/4". Both missed the VC Top-10 by only one-quarter of an inch.

"We had a pretty decent day at the track," commented head coach Tony Veney. "The young people have really started to pick up the performance pace after a slow start during the first two meets. This meet was a good indicator that the squad as a whole is moving in the right direction."

The Pirates will travel to Palmdale Friday March 17 for the Antelope Valley College Spring Break Challenge. Field events begin at 11:00 am, and running events start at noon.