SAN MARCOS, Calif. – The Cal State San Marcos men's and women's track & field teams will compete in two meets this weekend as it heads to Long Beach State for the Beach Opener on Friday and Saturday while also competing in the Occidental Distance Carnival and Spring Break Classic on Saturday.
 
LAST MEET

• At the RCC Invitational, CSUSM's men's team saw a school record and four top-10 program marks.
• Kalathan Laiwa-McKay broke his own program record with an NCAA provisional distance of 17.74 meters in the shot put - .39 better than his previous best.
• For his mark, Laiwa-McKay was named the FloCollege/CCAA Field Athlete of the Week.
• On the women's side, Samone Cable tied for the fourth-best high jump mark in team history with a winning mark of 1.65 meters while Dana Hasan recorded the 10th-best hammer throw mark in program history at 36.75 meters – 7.86 meters better than her previous PR.

 
BEACH OPENER

• CSUSM will compete in the Beach Opener for the third consecutive season and for the fourth time since 2006.
• The women's team posted four top-10 program marks and an NCAA provisional last season while the men's team saw two school records and a total of four top-10 program marks.
• The Cougars will compete against Long Beach State, UC Irvine, UC Riverside, UC Santa Barbara, UCLA, Cal State Bakersfield, Azusa Pacific, Cal Poly Pomona, Cal State LA and Concordia University Irvine.

OXY DISTANCE CARNIVAL & SPRING BREAK CLASSIC

• CSUSM hasn't competed in the Oxy Distance Carnival & Spring Break Classic since 2018.
• This will be CSUSM's 14th time competing in the meet.
• The field will consist mainly of NCAA Division II and III schools and NAIA competition.

THE OLSON FILE

• Head coach Torrey Olson begins his seventh 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 outdoor and three indoor USTFCCCA All-West Region honors.
• In 2023, the Cougars earned a combined five individual CCAA Championships, 19 All-CCAA selections, six outdoor and three indoor USTFCCCA All-West Region honorees under Olson's leadership.
• In 2024, CSUSM had a combined five individual CCAA Champions, 16 All-CCAA selections and five outdoor USTFCCCA All-West Region honorees.
• 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 for 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).