De Anza College’s track and field team started the season with the two-day Jim Linthicum Invitational on Feb. 10 and Feb. 11 where the Mountain Lions took first place in overall points for males and females against 10 other schools in the Bay Area.

The event was filled with support as every school exhibited sportsmanship through encouraging all athletes, even those from rival schools, to complete their competitions.

Travis Martin, 19, communications major, was one meter away from breaking the school record in hammer throw. Martin was not recruited in high school but now he will be taking his talents to Cal Poly San Luis Obispo after this season with a full scholarship.

“I feel like I had an alright performance, but I really wanted to break the record,” Martin said. “I’ve had longer throws in practice so I have bigger goals than just the numbers I put up today.”

Charlie Chiang, 19, psycho-biology major, came in third place out of 43 participants in the 100-meter dash with a 10.98 time. Chiang said he started taking track seriously in his sophomore year of high school.

“I made the tough decision to come to community college so that I can make it into a California university,” Chiang said. “I don’t regret my decision and I’m here so that I can run for a Division l school.”

Samuel Betz, 18, business major, said he has improved tremendously since coming to De Anza. Betz participated in the 100-meter dash and the relay where he gave his teammates a head start.

“I had a few off points today with my starts, but I think I had an alright day,” Betz said. “I plan to get a scholarship for a four-year (university) and compete there as well.”

Betz will also be joining Foothill College’s football team after the track season ends, making him a multi-sport athlete.

Bri Nunn, 20, economics major, started her season with pole vault and said this is the first of many events she will be competing in this season. Nunn also competes in hurdles, high jump, javelin throw and discus. 

“I just kept hyping myself up and pushing myself which helped me today,” Nunn said. “My numbers today were just a couple inches away from my personal record of 10 feet.”

Nunn came in second place for pole vault and first place for javelin throw. Nunn said she wants to thank Coach Alex and Coach Dylan for their teaching and motivation.

“I especially want to thank all of my teammates and how much they cheered me on,” Nunn said. “It gave me a boost to my positive attitude.”

De Anza finished with 460 points, 300 more than any other school. The next track and field event will be the Nor Cal Preview on Feb. 26.