Meet Information

LOS ANGELES – The Loyola Marymount University Lions men's and women's Track and Field teams return to competition on Friday, March 12th with the Ben Brown Invitational on the campus of California State University Fullerton. This meet is the second of three scheduled competitions for the Lions Track and Field teams for the 2021 season.
 
The Lion men will hit the track at 4:30 p.m. for the 1,500 meters. Zach Arias, Shane Ely, Joseph Garcia, and Tiras Pie will all toe the line for LMU in the event.
 
The women will line up for the 1,500m at 4:45 p.m. Competing for LMU are Rebecca Collins, Maya Kalach, Ann Kelly, Stella Skovborg, Grace Tully, Lauren Wagner, and Lilly Schmidt. Schmidt, who owns a personal best of 4:33.61, is competing in her first track race for LMU. If she can match that mark on Friday, she'll rank 11th on the Lions All-Time List in the 1,500m.
 
"Opportunities are limited this spring, so we are looking forward to some quality competition on Friday," said Head Coach Scott Guerrero. "We're grateful to Cal State Fullerton for hosting this meet and putting together such strong fields, especially in the 5,000m. If we run smart and put ourselves in position early in each race, we have a chance to run some impressive times."
 
The Lion men return to the track for the 5,000m at 6:05 p.m. Yonathan Amare, Andrew Biehl, Nolan Getchell, Hunter Krasa, Roberto Ruelas, Max Smith, Jacob Villegas, and Estanis Ruiz will all see action in this event.
 
Guerrero and his staff will keep their eyes on Ruiz as he already owns the ninth best time in LMU history in the 3,000m at 8:30.38, and has yet to run in the 5,000m for the Lions. Ruelas will also be one to watch, as he was the Lions' top finisher at the West Coast Conference Cross Country Championships two weeks ago. This will be Ruelas' first 5,000m race for the Lions.
 
The Lion women will finish the day with the 5,000m at 6:25 p.m., with Sophia Cortina, Avery Doan, Raina Hines, Dani Rowlinson, Marina Soares, and Samantha Barajas representing LMU. When Barajas toes the line for the 5,000m it will be her first outdoor 5k in an LMU jersey. She has a personal best of 17:20.40, which was set on the same track, at the Ben Brown Invitational in 2019. Barajas will look to eclipse that mark tomorrow night and write her name into the LMU record books.
 
The Ben Brown Invitational is only open to competitors, coaches, and trainers. No spectators will be allowed.

For more information on LMU Cross Country and Track and Field, follow the program on Twitter, like the Lions on Facebook, and join them on Instagram by searching for "lmulionstraxc."