ALISO VIEJO, CA- Soka University's Hope Suka earned a spot at the 72nd Annual NAIA Men's Outdoor Track and Field Championships after finishing first overall in the men's 400-meter dash on Friday afternoon at the Cal Pac Conference Championship meet hosted by Soka University.

The NAIA National Championships will be held at Indiana Wesleyan University in Marion, IN, May 22-24.
 
Suka crossed in at 48.15, meeting the NAIA 'B' standard, setting a personal best time, and earning the gold in his event. He also posted a season-best time of 22.33 in the 200-meter dash, earning third place overall in that event.
 
In addition to Suka, the meet was filled with many personal-best times and highlights, including Evan Enserro's PRs in the 100-meter dash (11.26) and the 400-meter dash (51.68).
 
Keito Newman also posted personal-best times in the 200-meter dash (22.40) and the 400-meter dash (49.23). Newman's 400-meter time earned a second overall finish in the event.
 
Daiki Katsukawa generated two personal best times in the 1500-meter run (4:23.76) and the 5000-meter run, crossing in at 18:12.24.

Calvin Nzeyimana earned college-best marks in the 100-meter dash (12.17) and in the long jump event (5.69m/18'8"), where he earned third place overall. Abdul Alim Fatawu earned the silver with his second-place throw of 10.29m (33'9.25") in the shot put event.

Mateus Quesada posted a Soka-best time in the 200-meter dash, with a final time of 27.2, and Lenny Washiya also generated his PR in the 200-meter dash race with a 24.41 finish.

The men's 4x400 relay team consisting of Newman, Enserro, Lev Nakamura, and Suka also earned the Cal Pac Gold, winning the event with a final time of 3:27.84.

On the women's side, Olivia Chung took home the gold in the 100-meter hurdles and set a PR in the 200-meter dash with a final time of 28.30. Naiyla Dixon also finished first in the triple jump and posted a final mark of 9.63 (31'7.25").

Hiromi Hashide ran a personal best time in the 800-meter race, crossing in at 2:34.99, and Chie Shishidou also posted a Soka-best time in the 800-meter race, with a time of 2:47.86.

Miki Kawamura posted two personal best races, finishing the 100-meter dash in 13.24 seconds and the 200-meter dash with a final time of 27.67.

The women's 4x400 team consisting of Kawamura, Hashide, Jasmine Lorenzo, and Miranda Lam earned third place overall, with a final time of 4:45.99, while Lam, Hashide, Lorenzo, and Shishidou competed in the 4x800 relay and earned third place, generating a final time of 11:13.14.

Overall, the men's track and field team placed third overall out of eight teams, and the women placed fourth out of seven.

Next, the Lions will travel to Occidental College on Saturday, May 4, 2024, to compete in the Oxy Invitational.