SAN MARCOS, Calif. – Cal State San Marcos will host the 2023 CCAA Track & Field Championships for the very first time on May 4-6 at Mangrum Track & Field.
 
The action will get underway on Thursday and Friday at 10 a.m. before wrapping up at noon on Saturday.
 
General admission for the meet will be $10 while seniors (60 and older), children (ages 3-12) and active military (with ID) will be admitted for $5. Students with a school ID will be admitted for $3.
 
Parking in lots X, Y and Z near Mangrum Track & Field will be free of charge for the duration of the meet. Parking in other CSUSM lots will require a paid parking pass.
 
There will be bleacher seating in various locations of Mangrum Track & Field, but fans are welcome and encouraged to bring their own seating for the meet.
 
LAST WEEK

• Nick Melanese tallied the second-fastest mile time in program history at 4:06.73. When converted to a 1500-meter time, his time of 3:48.45 is an NCAA provisional. Already the school record holder in the event, Trevor Boaz had a time of 4:08.50. Matt Frey and Sankalp Shastri recorded the fifth- and sixth-fastest times in program history at 4:10.51 and 4:10.58, respectively. Renton McGregor's time of 4:13.18 was the seventh fastest in program history.
• Jeremy Rack was .01 shy of his PR in the 110-meter hurdles at 15.44. Isaac Thomas had the program's ninth-fastest time at 15.69. Thomas later recorded a 400-meter hurdles time of 58.50.
• Chris Lee has .01 shy of his PR in the pole vault with a mark of 4.37 meters.
• Juan Leyva had CSUSM's top hammer throw mark at 47.29 meters. Will Prouty recorded the ninth-best toss in program history at 46.16 meters.
• Devin Yarbrough tallied an NCAA provisional in the long jump with a mark of 5.83 meters.
• Luz Mercado tied her sister Ana Mercado's school record in the 800-meter run with an NCAA provisional time of 2:09.68 while finishing fourth out of 64.
• Rasha Badrani and Mia Salinas recorded a pair of NCAA provisionals in the 400-meter hurdles with times of 1:01.62 and 1:01.95, respectively. Badrani's time was the second fastest in program history while Salinas' time was the fourth fastest.
• Lilly McGraw had the second-best pole vault mark in team history at 3.66 meters. Lauren Meredith tied for the program's fifth-best mark at 3.36 meters.

 
CCAA TRACK ATHLETE OF THE WEEK

• Nick Melanese earned his second CCAA Track Athlete of the Week on honor on Tuesday.
• Melanese tallied the second-fastest mile time in program history with a mark of 4:06.73 at the Steve Scott Invitational. 
• When converted to a 1500-meter time, his time of 3:48.45 is an NCAA Provisional Qualifying Standard. It also moved the sophomore from Scripps Ranch into the top spot on the CCAA Performance List a week before the CCAA Championship in San Marcos. 
• This is the second CCAA Track Athlete of the Week award for Melanese in April. He collected his first career honor for the week of April 3-9 after posting an NCAA Provisional Standard in the 800m (1:50.58). 

 
CCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS

• This will be the 80th iteration of the CCAA Track & Field Championships since beginning in 1939. The meet did not occur 1943-45 due to World War II and 2020-21 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
• The three-day meet will result in 38 individual champions with four relay teams earning the title, as well as team championships being crowned.
• Last season, both of the Cougars' men's and women's teams finished third as Cal Poly Pomona won both championships.
• On the men's side, Isaac Muanza will be looking to defend his championship in the triple jump as he put up a winning mark of 14.36 meters one year ago. He currently has the top mark in the CCAA this season at 14.26 meters.
• On the women's side, Devin Yarbrough will defend the long jump title as they put up a mark of 5.86 meters last year. Yarbrough posted a mark of 5.96 meters earlier this season.
• There will be a new women's 800-meter champion this season with the exit of back-to-back champion Clarissa Garcia. Luz Mercado will enter the event with the CCAA's top time at 2:09.68.
• Nick Melanese has the CCAA's best time in the 1500-meter run at 3:48.45 and ranks second in the 800 at 1:50.58.
• With the men and women combined, CSUSM has 13 performances this season that rank in the top 3 of the CCAA across all events.

THE OLSON FILE

• Head coach Torrey Olson begins his fifth season at the helm of the men's and women's track & field programs after taking over in the summer of 2018.
• In 2019, Olson's men's and women's squads tallied three individual CCAA Championships for outdoor competition while the men's team earned five USTFCCCA All-West Region selections.
• In 2022, Olson guided both teams to a combined three individual CCAA Championships, 13 All-CCAA selections and five USTFCCCA All-West Region honors.
• Olson came to CSUSM after spending three seasons as the Director of Track & Field and Cross Country at the Academy of Art University where his teams earned 50-plus All-American honors.
• Olson served as the head cross country coach the previous three years at Academy of Art.
• In addition to the Academy of Art, Olson has also worked with the University of San Francisco and Pomona-Pitzer College.
• A graduate of Pomona College in 2009, Olson also holds an MFA from St. Mary's College (2012).