REDLANDS, Calif. — Caltech's Men's and Women's Track & Field teams traveled east on Friday to compete at the Redlands Invitational.

One of the most significant results from the Beavers came from sophomore Cason Shepard, who finished in seventh place among 21 athletes in the 400-meter hurdles. The Vancouver, Washington native crossed the line at 57.27 — less than a second off his personal record.

Another notable result came from junior Meg Robertson, who earned ninth place and a personal-best distance in discus with a 36.50m throw in her first attempt of the day. Robertson also competed in the hammer throw, an event for which she received much attention after breaking the program record at home earlier this month. Robertson was unable to top that result on Friday, though she still recorded a respectable 42.56m throw, good for tenth place among thirty total competitors. She also competed in the shot put, finishing 17th (10.08m).

Two more strong results came on the track in the men's 1500 meters, where senior Julen Lujambio led the way for the Beavers with a personal record of 4:19.76 — good for 24th place among 55 runners. Lujambio crushed his previous record of 4:25.10. 

Following the upperclassman was newcomer Elyes Serghine, who placed 32nd with a strong 4:24.89 in his first collegiate 1500-meter race.

In the men's 400-meter race, sophomore Josh Saha ran a solid 51.64 seconds to earn himself 19th out of 38 opponents.

Saha, Serghine and Shepard would later join senior Malik Paulino in the 4x400 meter relay, where they registered Caltech's season-best time (3:31.97).

In the field, first-year Aaban Syed achieved a personal record in the pole vault, clearing a height of 4.00 meters to grab 13th place overall.

Senior Makena Rodriguez ran a 2:47.03 in the women's 800-meter race — her first time racing the event collegiately.

Next on the schedule for Head Coach Kelli Blake and the Beavers's distance runners is the Bob Larsen Distance Carnival at UCLA's Drake Stadium. The teams will then return to Occidental College for SCIAC Multi-Dual Meet #2 on Saturday, Apr. 1.