IRVINE, Calif. -- The men of Azusa Pacific track & field were in action on Friday, competing at the Team for Titus Invitational hosted by Concordia Irvine. The Cougars had a strong showing, with several athletes hitting personal bests, and Jermel Jones II posted a provisional mark for the second consecutive week in the long jump. To see the complete results, click HERE.

Jones II matched his provisional leap of 24' 3" (7.39m) from the Battle for SoCal a few weeks ago, highlighting a day in which he competed well in three different events. In both the triple jump and the high jump, Jones turned in career-best marks of 45' 6 ½" (triple jump) and 6' 2 ¾" (high jump). He finished first in both the long and triple jumps.

Weston Ellis also had a day of multiple personal bests on Friday. In the discus, Ellis reached a distance of 150' 7", which is over 10 feet further than any of his previous collegiate marks. He also had a strong showing in the hammer, an event in which he added this season. On Friday, he had a mark of 145', which was nearly 11 feet further than his distance of 134' 2" at the Battle for SoCal. 

On the track, Azusa Pacific was sharp in both distance and sprints. Dider Sandoval, a true freshman for the Cougars, ran a personal record by over a minute and finished fifth in the 5k, crossing the finish line with a time of 15:33.99. "Dider had the most impressive race of the night," said distance coach Sean Smith, "He is going to be really, really good in the future." The Cougar distance team also rose to the occasion in the 1500 run, an event in which they finished one-two-three. Nathaniel Tamminga ran a first-place time of 3:59.46, Marcus Dawal Jr. was right behind in second place at 4:00.17, and Josh Nyberg rounded out the top three with a time of 4:01.12. 

In the sprints, it was Daniel Bessolo who turned in a great day. Bessolo took first in the 200 with a personal record of 21.55, and was also second in the 100 with another personal record time of 10.82.