WALNUT, Calif. – A trio of members of the University of South Alabama men's track and field program recorded the best marks of their careers to highlight a three-day trip to California.

Competing at the Bryan Clay Invitational on Thursday, Renaldo Frechou recorded a 68.74m mark in the men's hammer throw to win the event and surpass his school and Sun Belt Conference record by nearly half a meter.  The distance was over seven meters further than the runner-up as he bested a field of 35 competitors.  He surpassed that standard Saturday at the Mt. SAC Relays, posting a 68.79m distance to finish second collegiately and sixth overall in the same event.

"Renaldo had a couple of great meets," observed USA head coach Paul Brueske.  "This is going to put him atop the [Sun Belt] Conference.  It seems like he's getting better each week and at each meet.  He struggled early on with some of his throws — I think because the atmosphere at the event was a little nerve-wracking — but he settled down and got the job done."

Patrick Rohr placed fourth in the men's 3,000-meter steeplechase Thursday with a career-best time of 8:55.79; in addition to finishing just over two-and-a-half seconds behind the winner, the mark was only 1.69 seconds off the school record set in 1981.  In the men's 5,000-meter run, held on Friday, Christoph Graf crossed the line in a time of 14:06.43 to finish seventh collegiately and 10th overall; the effort moved him into fifth on the school's all-time performance list at the distance.

"For us to be successful at the conference level our distance runners will be real important," explained Brueske.  "Patrick and Christoph have been leaders for us since the cross country season.  They did what they needed to do and are on track to finish the season strong."

Jan-Louw Kotze placed seventh overall — and was third among collegiate competitors — on Friday in the men's discus, posting a 57.00m distance on the fourth of six attempts, and he added a 16th-place result in the men's hammer throw after recording a mark of 56.35m.  Phoebe Dowson recorded a pair of top-20 finishes at the Bryan Clay Invitational on Friday as well.  The junior surpassed 50 meters for the third time this season in the women's discus, posting a 50.03m mark to place sixth in a field of 67 individuals, and she also was 20th overall in the women's hammer throw with a 45.63m toss.

Kaitlyn Beans had a leap of 12.22m to place eighth in the women's triple jump on Friday, which was .3 meters outside the top five.

"I thought it was a very productive trip, these guys went out and competed at a very high level," Brueske commented.  "I think this will give them confidence going into the postseason — at the conference, NCAA Regional and hopefully NCAA Championships — because they went up against some of the best people in the world."

USA will conclude the outdoor regular season on Friday and Saturday at the Golden Eagle Classic hosted by Southern Mississippi.

For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com, and follow the Jaguars at www.twitter.com/USAJaguarSports. Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).

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