The Loyola Marymount University Lions men's and women's track and field teams had a busy weekend participating in multiple meets in Northern California. The Lions had runners in the Stanford Invitational, West Coast Relays, and Mike Fanelli Track Classic.
 
The Lions men's team took to the track in Palo Alto and Estanis Ruiz competed in the 3000m steeplechase and placed fourth overall with a time of 8:37.51. Ruiz's time currently ranks him third in the NCAA in the event and now he holds the school record, eclipsing the old mark by over 18 seconds. 
 
With his performance over the weekend, Ruiz is now ranked third in the country in the 3000m steeplechase. His number three ranking in the country is the highest for any LMU Cross Country or Track and Field athlete in the history of the program. His accomplishment this season has him among some elite names in Lion history including 6-time All-American Tara Erdmann Welling, and All-Americans Sheree Shea, Weston Strum and Danielle Shanahan. 
 
Ruiz in 2022 is only behind the defending national champion and the ninth place finisher in 2021. The Lion men, as a team, rank 72nd in the country out over 320 programs across the nation.
 
On the women's side Samantha Barajas competed at the Stanford Invitational in the 5000m race in section four and posted a time of 18:09.20. 
 
The West Coast Relays saw a bulk of the Lion women participating in the 800, 1500m, and 5000m.
 
LMU's Lauren Wagner pulled a double on Friday competing in both the 800 and 1500m. She posted a time of 2:17.11 in the 800 (#7 LMU All-Time) and ran a top 10 finish in the 1500m with a ninth place mark of 4:44.28. 
 
The Lions had five runners cross the line in the top 26 at the West Coast Relays. Kaitlyn Childress posted a time of 4:55.08 for 18^th place, Stella Skovborg in 20^th at 4:58.46, and Raina Hines in 22^nd at 4:59.36. 
 
Grace Tully and Marina Soares were the remaining Lions to cross the finish line with times of 5:02.89 and 5:09.14, respectively. 
 
In the women's 5000m Trinity Tingey posted a sixth place finish when she crossed the line at 18:59.79, beating her previous personal record by over 30 seconds. 
 
The Mike Fanelli Track Classic saw the Lion men compete in the 3000m steeplechase, 1500m, and 5000m.
 
In the steeplechase, Cooper McCarthy posted a sixth place finish with a time of 9:12.16 followed by Christoph Wallner at 9:23.07 and Daniel Vaca at 9:33.41. McCarthy and Vaca improved on their personal best times by 5 seconds.
 
McCarthy also participated in the men's 1500m and was the first Lion to cross the line with a personal best time of 3:57.99. The next Lion with a top time was Shane Ely who posted a 4:04.10 followed by William Luders at 4:08.89 which was also a personal best. Vaca, also pulling a double, crossed the finish line at 4:10.52. 
 
The men's 5000m saw LMU's Adam Trafecanty finish as the top Lion with a time of 14:46.75 followed by Hunter Krasa at 15:09.84 and Jacob Villegas at 15:14.01. All three Lion's ran personal best times.
 
The Lions men's and women's teams will be back on the track Thursday April 14 through Saturday April 16 spanning across three meets, the Mt. SAC Relay, Bryan Clay Invitational, and Beach Invitational.