Fresno State Invitational
April 26-27, 2024 • Warmerdam Field (Friday) / Veterans Memorial Stadium (Saturday) • Fresno, Calif. (Friday) / Clovis, Calif. (Saturday)
Watch ($) | Live Results | Meet Schedule | Meet Program
FRESNO, Calif. – The Fresno State track and field teams will host the Fresno State Invitational this weekend, their final tune-up before hosting the Mountain West Outdoor Championships in two weeks.
The hammer throw and the invite sections of the long jump will be contested on Friday at Warmerdam Field. The long jump will be part of the program's annual alumni event. All other events will take place on Saturday at Veterans Memorial Stadium.
LAST TIME OUT
With a small group at the Mt. SAC Relays, the Bulldogs made some noise with runner-up finishes from Jordyn Bryant (discus) and Rachela Pace (triple jump) in invitational sections and Liz Tarczy winning the high jump in the A section.
Pace improved her program record to 13.26m/43-6 which ranks No. 11 in the NCAA this season.
Bryant moved to No. 3 all-time at Fresno State with a toss that registered 59.68m/195-9 and ranks No. 7 in the NCAA this season.
Tarczy jumped to No. 4 at Fresno State and No. 1 in the Mountain West this season with a clearance of 1.77m/5-9.75.
DOUBLE DIP
For the first time in its history, Fresno State earned two Mountain West weekly honors in the same week. Jordyn Bryant was named Women's Field Athlete of the Week while Liz Tarczy was selected Women's Freshman of the Week.
They are the second and third Bulldogs to earn the conference's weekly honor, joining Rachela Pace.
SHOT PUT HOLDER
At the Triton Invitational, Cierra Jackson broke the program's 38-year-old shot put record with a mark of 17.39m/57-0.75. Dot Jones held the previous record of 16.53m/54-2.75 since 1986.
By claiming the outdoor shot put record, Jackson holds both the indoor and outdoor records in the event.
ONE STEP, TWO STEP, THREE
Coming off breaking the school record in the triple jump during the indoor season, and earning Second Team All-America, Rachela Pace has competed in the triple jump twice during the outdoor season. Both competitions have resulted in a new school record.
At the Stanford Invitational, Pace jumped 13.12m/43-0.5 to claim the program's record. Two weeks later at Mt. SAC Relays, she improved on that mark to 13.26m/43-6.
SET FOR TRIALS
With Jordyn Bryant and Cierra Jackson both eclipsing 59 meters in the discus this season, both will head to the U.S. Olympic Trials this summer after earning the Olympic "A" standard. The standard for the women's discus is 58.50 meters.
IN THE MIX
Through three weeks of USTFCCCA conference rankings, Fresno State sits second in the Mountain West with 859.78 points. Colorado State leads with 958.12 while San Diego State is third with 766.22.
OPENING UP IN THE TOP 25
In the first USTFCCCA national rankings, the Fresno State women were ranked No. 24. It is one spot higher than the Bulldogs were to open the 2023 outdoor season.
Week 5 has the Bulldogs at No. 39.
DUELING THROWERS
After six weekends of meets, Fresno State's Jordyn Bryant and Cierra Jackson are showing why they are two of the top throwers in the country. Bryant sits No. 47 in the shot put and No. 7 in the discus in the NCAA, while Jackson is No. 13 in the shot put and No. 9 in the discus. In the Mountain West, the two rank 2-4 in the shot put and 2-3 in the discus.
Jackson ranks No. 1 all-time in the shot put and No. 2 in the discus at Fresno State while Bryant is No. 3 in the discus and No. 4 in the shot put.
LAST YEAR, BEST YEAR
The indoor season saw Ceonna Pipion claim school records in both the 200 and 400 meters. The first outdoor meet of the season saw the senior get closer to another. At the West Coast Relays, Pipion jumped to No. 2 in the 400 meters with a time of 52.89, just 0.09 back of the program record.
Pipion entered the year ranking No. 3 in the 200 meters.
Not only has Pipion posted all-time marks individually, she and her teammates (Chloe Sharp, Antoinette Stubbfield and Iyanna Ross) clocked the No. 2 time at Fresno State in the 4x100 relay (45.33) at the West Coast Relays.
NO PACING NECESSARY
In her first outdoor event after competing at the 2024 NCAA Indoor Championships, Rachela Pace showed no let up, winning the long jump at the West Coast Relays with the No. 2 mark in program history (6.30m/20-8). The junior entered the year with a PR of 5.97m/19-7.
THE TOP 10
Fresno State's current group of Bulldogs entered 2024 holding 15 spots on the program's all-time Top 10 lists.
Ten of those 15 come from five athletes who held two each. Ceonna Pipion in the 200m and 400m. Madison Hutton in the long jump and heptathlon. Cierra Jackson in the shot put and discus. Jordyn Bryant in the shot put and discus. Jocelynn Budwig in the shot put and hammer.
The Bulldogs have added eight more to the Top 10's this season.