Azusa Pacific is the PacWest Champion for the fifth-consecutive time, as both the men's and women's programs have swept the team titles every year since 2016. At the 2021 Championships, the Cougars produced a combined 16 event champions (10 field, 6 track) and had 38 athletes with podium-worthy performances.

 

WOMEN'S RECAP

 

Azusa Pacific, the No. 1-ranked team in the nation, defended its crown once again with a 235.5 point-effort, which is the Cougars' highest point total over their five conference titles. The Cougars won 11 events, highlighted by Elle Alexander's individual titles in both the discus and hammer. Alexander was named the Women's Field Athlete of the Meet, as she not only claimed her fourth and fifth PacWest titles of her career, but her career-best mark of 53.68m (176' 1") in the discus broke her own meet record and met automatic qualifying standards for Nationals. Her performance ranks her third in the nation this season in the event. Alexander also set a personal-record in the hammer (57.44m/188' 5") with the eighth-best mark in the country. 

 

The Cougars had three more athletes set meet records with their first-place performances, as Amanda Fassold did it in the pole vault (4.20m/13' 9 ¼"), Chin Agina in the high jump (1.73m/5' 8"), and Mechaela Hyacinth repeated in the 100 (11.57). Hyacinth's meet record was one of two championships for the sprinter, as she was victorious in the 200 as well with a time of 23.98.

 

Jaylah Walker also won two event titles on the track for Azusa Pacific in the 100 hurdles and 400 hurdles. In the 100 hurdles, Walker ran a career-best time of 13.86, which is a provisional time and the fifth-fastest race in the nation this season. Walker, who entered the meet as the nation's leader in the 400 hurdles, won the event by nearly three seconds with a time of 59.86.

 

The Cougars' 4x100 relay team picked up another first-place finish on the track, as the quartet of Meagan Warwick, Walker, Kiayra Holmes, and Hyacinth ran an automatic qualifying time of 45.34, which breaks their own school record that was set earlier this year, and is the second-fastest race in the country this season. 

 

In the javelin, Kirstin Mury won the event with a career-record distance of 43.00m (141' 1"), which also met provisional standards. Mury's victory highlighted a group of seven Cougars who combined to score 36 points in the event, sweeping first through sixth-place and also grabbing eighth (see below).

 

Alysa Henry is the PacWest's heptathlon champion, scoring a provisional 4,902 points. Over the eight events, Henry had career-best performances in the 100 hurdles (15.40), 200 (26.55), and the 800 (2:29.74).

 

Women's Scoring Performances

$ - automatic qualifying mark | ^ - new or improved provisional mark | * - personal best mark

     

MEN'S RECAP

 

Jermel Jones II helped lead the way for the Cougars, winning an individual title in the long jump on Friday, and then winning the triple jump on Saturday. In the triple jump, he delivered a career-best performance with a distance of 15.29m (50' 2"), which ranks him fourth in the nation. Raymon Harper added a third title in the field events for Azusa Pacific, as he cleared 2.00m (6' 6 ¾") in the high jump to earn the distinction of PacWest high jump champion for the second-consecutive year.

 

On the track, Nixon Korir and Daniel Bessolo finished atop the podium. For Korir, his title came in the 3000 Steeplechase on Friday, where he overcame a late deficit to take the lead and hold off Fresno Pacific's Patrick Kiprop. Korir finished with a time of 9:08.31, which was a personal-record and met provisional qualifying standards. Bessolo won the 400 title on Saturday, crossing the finish line at a time of 47.69.

 

Lincoln Krog captured the PacWest decathlon championship with a provisional score of 6,835 points. Krog had personal-best performances in two events, as he ran a time of 15.82 in the 100 hurdles and had a distance of 49.59m (162' 8") in the javelin. It was a busy weekend for Krog, as he not only won the decathlon, but he also competed and scored in a few non-multi events, placing fifth in the pole vault (4 points - 4.10m/13' 5 ¼") and seventh in the javelin (2 points - 47.10m/154' 6"). 

 

Weston Ellis scored the most points for the Cougars, as he totalled 26 points over four events: hammer (2nd - 8 points - 50.66m/166' 2"), javelin (3rd - 6 points - 52.41m/171' 11"), discus (3rd - 6 points - 44.52m/146' 1"), and shot put (3rd - 6 points - 15.26m/50' ¾"). 

 

Men's Scoring Performances

$ - automatic qualifying mark | ^ - new or improved provisional mark | * - personal best mark

   
Up Next: The Cougars are continuing to gear up for Nationals, which will occur May 27-29 in Michigan. To view the current list of automatic & provisional qualifiers, click HERE. The final meets on the Cougars' schedule are the Last Chance Twilight and the Last Chance Multi. Both of those meets will be hosted at Azusa Pacific on May 14 & 15, and it is an opportunity for athletes to either gain qualifying marks or improve on their current provisional standing.