Taylor Brown breaks record in 400 meters, Grusendorf sets qualifiers in 1,500 and 5,000 meters at Triton Invitational

The Pima Community College men's track & field team competed at the Triton Invitational on Friday and Saturday at the University of California San Diego in La Jolla, CA.

• The No. 4 ranked Aztecs saw one school record fall, another inching closer to being broken, three NJCAA Outdoor national qualifying times set and five improvements on previous qualifiers. The Aztecs have a total of 14 national qualifying times/marks.
• Freshman Taylor Brown took down his second Pima Outdoor school record of the season as he set a new standard in the 400 meters with a time of 46.65 seconds. He broke the previous record set by Juan Duarte at 47.09 back in 2001. His previous national qualifier in the event was at 47.45 and it was the second time he had improved on his original qualifier. Brown broke the 200-meter school record (21.11) at the Willie Williams Invitational.
• Freshman Connor Grusendorf (Mica Mountain HS) set two NJCAA Outdoor national qualifiers. The first one was in the 1,500-meters race as he crossed the finish line with a time of 3:56.39. His second qualifier was in the 5,000 meters race with a time of 14:59.50.
• Freshman Jackson Koontz (Salpointe Catholic HS) also earned a national qualifier time in the 5,000-meter race as he took eighth place at 14:56.13.
• Sophomore Nathaniel Curtiss (Rincon/University HS) improved on his national qualifier in the High Jump as he took third place with a mark of 2.06 meters (6-feet, 9-inches). He set his original qualifier at 2.05 meters (6-8.75) at the Willie Williams Invitational.
• Sophomore Louis Madrigal-Diaz (North Canyon HS) improved his national qualifier and set a new personal-record in the 1,500 meters race, finishing with a time of 3:57.09. He improved from his original qualifier of 3:57.93.
• Freshman Jake Applegate placed second in the 400-meter hurdles with a time of 52.13 seconds. It was the second time he improved on his national qualifying time and now holds the No. 2 spot in Pima Outdoor school history for the event. He surpassed Albert Kelly's time of 52.52 set in 1983. Applegate is only behind Mark Campbell's time of 51.93 set in 1982.

The Aztecs will compete in the GCC Outdoor Invitational on Saturday at Glendale Community College.

See complete results of the Triton Invitational on FinishedResults.com