On March 12, the CSUSM track and field men’s and women’s teams competed in the San Diego Collegiate Invite and despite the cloudy weather, the Cougars were able to bring some heat to the races.

The meet, hosted by UC San Diego in La Jolla, started promptly at 12 p.m. with hammer throwing. The hammer weighs 16 pounds and has a ball at the end, which the athletes try to throw as far as they can. Josh Maffei, a junior, was the only Cougar competing in the event.

“I hurt my elbow, so right now I can’t throw javelin,” Maffei said. “I wanted to pick up another event.”

Maffei, who normally competes in discus and javelin, threw 107 feet in the hammer throw.

“I have only been doing hammer throwing for a few weeks now. I focus more on discuses. Hammer throwing is more of a side event,” said Maffei.

Following the hammer throwing, events on the track started.

In the women’s 100-meter dash, Kamarria Rehn finished third with a time of 12.59 seconds, while Burtland Dixon finished fourth with a time of 10.98 seconds for the men’s 100-meter dash.

Student Athlete of the Month Lauren Wyckoff competed in two events. She finished third in the women’s 400-meter run with a time of 59.08 seconds and ran the 200-meter dash with a time of 26.14 seconds, finishing in sixth place.

Sophomore Elizabeth Buckle raced her first event of the season in the 800-meter, where she finished first in her heat and fifth overall.

“Coming off a hamstring injury, I was nervous going into the race and [didn’t know] how my hamstring was going to hold up,” Buckle said.

Buckle qualified for the CCAA Championships with her time of 2:21.18 in the 800-meter. At the end of her event, Buckle had a huge smile on her face and hugged Head Coach Steve Scott.

“I love how humble he is. When I think of Steve Scott, I don’t think of the Olympian or that famous guy. I see a coach that just roots for me and is there to assist me,” Buckle said.

The women’s track and field team took fourth place overall with 33 points and the men’s track and field team took third place with 36 points overall.

Track and field’s next race is at 9 a.m. on March 19 at the Point Loma Invitational.