ULV track battles D-I rivals in Irvine

by Brian Ortega
Staff Writer

A few members of La Verne's track and field team made their way to UC Irvine this past weekend for the Steve Scott Track and Field Invitational.

The Invitational, which hosts more than 20 schools from across the Southwest, showed off some of the best talent from Division I track and field competition.

Even with top Division I schools like San Diego State and University of Nevada Las Vegas, La Verne was still able to hold its own and make its presence felt.

"The races are different; it's a big adjustment you have to make, but we were satisfied with the level of competition," Alexis Candelaria said.

Will Lawson, Demetric Brown, Dimitri Watson and Eric Thomas took first-place honors in the 4x100 Relay with a time of 42.35

Lawson also took second place in the 400 hurdles with a time of 53.96. His running partner, Thomas, took the first-place prize in the 100m with a time of 10.96.

Standouts for the women were headlined by Lori Waters and Adrianna Ramirez. Waters walked away with third place in the shotput with a distance of 13.62m. Ramirez left with a distance of 11.30m, earning her an eighth-place slot.

"It was a whole new caliber for me I had never seen. But we held our own against D-1 schools as a team," Candelaria said.

"As a team, I feel we did well," Lawson said.

The next step for the team is a trip to Los Angeles to compete in the Occidental Invitational on May 10, where a few members of the La Verne track and field team will be given their last chance to qualify for the upcoming Division III Championships.