Cougars Set Personal Bests at CSULB Beach Opener

By Mari Kneisel/COC Sports Information

LONG BEACH — College of the Canyons Track & Field made its way down to Long Beach to compete in the two-day Beach Opener on the campus of California State University (CSU), Long Beach on March 4-5. 

At the event Canyons had the opportunity to compete against both rivaling community colleges and four-year universities. Though still early in the season, many Cougars were able to set personal bests. 

COC freshmen Rebekah Brooks and Lauryn Bailey represented the Cougars in sprints, with Brooks (13.57) finishing 14th and Bailey (14.27) 22nd overall in the community college finals of the 100m. 

Brooks also set a personal best in the 200m (27.46) taking eighth place in the field of 25.  

Milca Osorio (10.53.01) beat her previous time in the 3000m by nearly 21 seconds taking sixth overall.

On the men's side, COC Freshman Tylyn Cook improved both his 100m (11.9) time and 200m (22.59) time taking 13th out of 57 and 10th out of 52 in his two respective events. 

Simon Sampson (52.49) finished 13th with fellow Cougar Joshua Christopher (52.54) right behind in the 400m event.

The men's 4x400m relay team took fourth out of eighth with a time of 3:29.33 slightly improving from last week's time.  

COC freshman Layne Buck made a mark in the long jump event (6.53m/ 21'5.25) claiming second place.

Full Results from the Beach Opener can be found here. 

Canyons Top Performers (W)

• Milca Osorio—6th place, 3000m (10:53.01)
• Rebekah Brooks—14th place, 100m (13.57); 8th place, 200m (27.46)
• Sabine Yalung — 6th place, 400m (1:09.57)

Canyons Top Performers (M)

• Layne Buck —2nd place, LJ (6.53m/21' 5.25")
• Tylyn Cook—13th place, 100m (11.19); 10th place, 200m (22.59)
• Simon Sampson—13th place, 400m (52.49)
• Joshua Christopher—14th place, 400m (52.54)
• 4x400m Relay — The team of Joshua Christopher, Tylyn Cook, Matthew Ballentine, and Layne Buck posted a time of 3.29.33.

Upcoming Schedule

The Cougars will be back in action on Friday, March 11, at the Viking Invitational hosted by Long Beach City College. Canyons will also enter a contingent of distance runners at the Occidental College Distance Carnival on March 12. 

Stay up to date on all this season's action by following the College of the Canyons Athletic department on social media at @COCathletics on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and YouTube.