LA JOLLA, Calif. – Azusa Pacific took a partial squad to the UC San Diego Spring Break Invitational and despite the limited number of participants, the Cougars showed quite well.

With just 7 athletes the Cougar women tallied 84 points to finish third among 12 competing schools, trailing only Cornell (213) and UC San Diego (172.5). The Cougar men and their 18-member team recorded 75 points to finish fourth out of 10 men’s teams.

On the women’s side, juniors Niema Golphin and Vivian Chukwuemeka were winners in their respective events. Golphin took the 200 with a hand-time of 24.4 while Chukwuemeka, a 9-time NAIA champion, captured both the discus (176’ 10”) and the hammer (181’ 7”). Meanwhile freshman Rene Eckley (124’ 6” in the javelin) and sophomore Barbara Sugar (171’ 6” in the hammer) took second place finishes in their respective events along with the 4x100-meter relay team of Sarah Jackson, Janessa Goodfellow, Lorraine Swaby and Golphin which posted a fine 48.10 for the fourth fastest time in Azusa Pacific history.

As expected, junior Mike Mitchell led the Cougar men with a winning sweep of the 100- (10.61) and 200- (21.9) meter races. Mitchell came to back anchor the Cougars to a victory in the 4x100 with a 41.48, teaming with Rob Jarvis, Matt Parish and Brett Bultje. Freshman Tony Ramirez won the 400 (47.62), while fellow rookie David Bond was second in the shot with a put of 47’ 2½”.

After competing just 2 days earlier in a triangular at Azusa Pacific, the Cougar men’s and women’s distance runners opted not to compete at UC San Diego. The entire teams will be back in action on Saturday (April 3) when Azusa Pacific returns to San Diego to compete in a 4-way meet at Point Loma Nazarene that will also include Cal State San Marcos and Concordia.