JOLIET, Ill. – Cristian Martinez repeated as the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference's 5,000-meter racewalk champion to lead the Roosevelt delegation at the CCAC Championships in Joliet on Saturday.
Martinez paced the coed field to finish in 29 minutes and 11.27 seconds and earn 10 points for the Lakers' men's team. Roosevelt finished eighth in both the men's and women's divisions with the men scoring 22 points and the women finishing with 11.
The relays accounted for most of the Lakers' other points as Roosevelt scored in the 4x100, 4x400 and 4x800 relays. Martinez was part of the 4x800-meter relay squad that finished sixth and added three points to Roosevelt's total. The 4x400 team also finished sixth and the 4x100 team finished in fifth place for four points. Brandon Saavedra was the only other individual to score points for the Lakers, collecting two with a seventh-place finish in the 10-kilometer race, finishing in 33:48.98.
The 4x100-relay team consisted of Jerrel Calhoun, Kenan Gaston, Ashton Gray and Geremy Gomez, and they blistered around the track in 43.47 seconds. Gray was the lone holdover in the 4x400, joining Dominic Gamez, Aaron Rodriguez and Willie Rouse to run a 3:41.72 in the relay. Gamez and Rouse joined Martinez and Raul Ortiz in the 4x800-meter relay for a time of 9:24.23.
On the women's side, Angela Louis stole the show with a fourth-place finish in the long jump, securing five points with her leap of exactly five meters. The Lakers also finished fourth in the 4x800-meter relay with Destiny Ashcraft anchoring a team of Beatrice Bruno, Monse Morales and Shelsee Isassi to a time of 10:16.19. Ashcraft then added the final point of the day for Roosevelt with an eighth-place finish in the 1,500 meters in 5:22.23.
The Lakers return to Joliet on Saturday for the USF Fighting Chance Meet, the final opportunity for individuals to hit the marks required to qualify for the national meet later this month. Martinez is the only person who has qualified for the NAIA Outdoor Track & Field Championships thus far, doing so in the racewalk.
