TRK | Dozier Near the Top at State Center Invitational

Saturday, March 20

Fresno, CA

8:00 AM

Saint Mary's College of California

State Center Invitational

Photo by: Marty Kinsey

TRK | Dozier Near the Top at State Center Invitational

3/20/2021 9:19:00 PM | Men's Track and Field

FRESNO, Calif. — For the second time in as many weeks, Saint Mary's Track went inland to Fresno Pacific University, this time for their State Center Invitational. With a slightly smaller group of Gaels competing, strong performances were aplenty as the Gaels competed against teams from all divisions of the NCAA and NAIA. Finishing near the top of the leaderboard again on the men's side was a familiar face, one that continues to lay down impressive times to buoy the men's team.

DOZIER DASHES
The Gaels placed a pair of runners in second place in their 1500m heat, but it was Nolan Dozier who stole the show for SMC. Dozier finished in the second section in second place with a time of 3:57.83, behind Senzo Sokhela of Westmont College, who hit an NAIA B Standard qualifying time in his win. It was the second strong showing in as many weeks for the fifth-year native of Morgan Hill, who earned a top-five finish in the 5000m last week.

BIRTHDAY BOY
Brady Lance was competing at the State Center Invitational on his birthday, and he put on a solid showing in the 800m. He wound up finishing eighth overall, and second on the Gaels (behind Daniel Rios) with a time of 2:05.95. Despite his eighth-place finish, Lance was second overall in the first section of the 800m, which is not a bad finish for competing on your birthday.

OTHER TOP PERFORMERS
The other Gael to finish in second place in his respective heat of the 1500m was Thomas Osborne, who ran to a time of 4:07.70…two Gaels finished fifth and sixth, respectively, in the 3000m race, with Sebastian Andersson coming in fifth with a time of 8:58.30 and Derek O'Connor right behind him with a 8:59.16…on the women's side, Ally Sullivan came close to a PR in the 1500m, which she set last week at Fresno Pacific, by finishing in third place in the 1500m at 5:05.89…two more Gaels came side-by-side in the 3000m on the women's side, with Alize Hartke (6^th, 10:42.74) and Jiana Cortero (7^th, 10:43.05) leading the way for Saint Mary's.

HARLAN HARPS
"Today was a solid day and a test of toughness for the Gaels. The conditions were windy and very dry. Having as many good races as we did is a positive step towards a successful season." – associate head coach Harlan Lopez

UP NEXT
Going against the grain from their traditional weekend meets, the Gaels will head down to San Luis Obispo on Wednesday afternoon to take part in the Spring Break Challenge, hosted by Cal Poly. Events start at 3:00 pm and live results can be found online at smcgaels.com.

#GaelsRise