The men's and women's track & field teams traveled to Flagstaff, Arizona this past weekend to compete at the Ron Mann Classic in their opening meet of the season. The Beavers logged a number of strong performances on the track and in the field events as they competed against Division I, II, and III athletes.

Two of the most impressive performances for Caltech came from junior Meg Robertson and sophomore Daniel Amelinez-Robles in the throwing events. In the women's weight throw, Robertson set a school record with a throw of 12.69 meters, putting her 12th among the 17 competitors. The distance placed her ahead of multiple athletes from Division I programs.

Robertson was not done doing damage as she also competed in the shot put. Robertson's throw of 10.56m placed her tenth among 16 competitors, again topping multiple athletes from Division I programs. The throw was just shy of her personal record of 10.71m, the third best all-time in the Caltech record books.

Amelinez-Robles also set a school record in the weight throw over in the men's competition. The sophomore recorded a distance of 14.26m, good for 11th place overall. Like Robertson, he also competed in the shot put, where he recorded a throw of 11.72m.

In the sprint events, sophomore Josh Saha logged a time of 51.66 seconds in the 400-meter dash, good for tenth among 17 athletes in the men's 400-meter B-section. The time was .18 off his personal best.

The women's 200-meter dash featured a host of Beavers, with sophomore Isabela Ceniceros leading the way. Ceniceros crossed the line in 28.98 seconds, good for 22nd place in the B-section. Sophomore Lily Randall followed soon after, finishing in 29.15 seconds (23rd). Randall also recorded a solid time in the 400-meter dash later in the meet (1:05.28).

The men's 200 meter race was contested by sophomore Cason Shepard and senior Malik Paulino, who recorded times of 24.79 and 24.93, respectively.

In general, head coach Kelli Blake was pleased with the team's performance.

"The returners made some improvements which were really encouraging to see," said Blake.

Both teams will be looking forward to Saturday, Feb. 18 as they head to Claremont, California to compete at the Pomona-Pitzer All-Comers meet before they run at the Rossi Relays on Saturday, Feb. 25. They will then return home for their first official conference meet on Saturday, Mar. 4. You can follow the track and field teams on Twitter and Instagram @CaltechXCTF.