By Bill Sheehan
 

Cal State Fullerton sprinters Abel Jordan and Ian Dossman will be busy multitasking this week at the NCAA Division I Men's and Women's Outdoor Track and Field Championships West Preliminary in Fayetteville, Arkansas.

Jordan, a sophomore from Madrid, will compete in the 100 meters, the 110m hurdles and the 4x100m relay. Dossman, a freshman from Elk Grove, is slated to run in the 100m, the 200m and the 4x100m relay.

"I'm really excited about the prelims," said Jordan, who was named the Big West Men's Track Athlete of the Year. "I'm having a good season, and I just want to go out and try to do better." Dossman said he is ready for the challenge. "I'll be up against the fast guys and top dogs. I'm focused on both the mental and physical aspects of sprinting."

Fullerton has sent 11 event group qualifiers to the four-day meet, which begins Wednesday at the University of Arkansas' John McDonnell Field.

The Titans' track event group qualifiers are Alonzo Floriolli, Jordan, Dominic Gates and Dossman in the men's 100m; Dossman in the 200m; Jordan and Joshua Hornsby in the 110m hurdles; Reyte Rash in the 400m hurdles; Talman Young in the 3000m steeplechase; Floriolli, Jordan, Gates, Dossman and Maleik Pabon in the men's 4x100m; Chris Goode, Isiah Emmerson, Gates, Donovan Garcia, Pabon and Andrew Aguilar in the men's 4x400m; and Jahzara Davis in the women's 100m hurdles.

Fullerton's field event group qualifiers are Shallamar Poole in the men's high jump; Camren Willis in the men's long jump; and Justice Mephors in the men's discus. (The 2024 NCAA qualifying times/marks for all the Titans are listed at the end of the story.)

Men's and women's events in Fayetteville will occur on alternating days, with the men competing on Wednesday and Friday, and the women competing on Thursday and Saturday. 

ESPN+ will stream the meet live beginning at 4 p.m. PDT on Wednesday and Thursday and at 3 p.m. PDT on Friday and Saturday. A full schedule of events can be found on NCAA.com. 

The top 12 times/marks and the top 12 relay teams from the East and West preliminary sites will qualify for the NCAA Division I Men's and Women's Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Eugene, Oregon, from June 5-8. The competition will be held at the University of Oregon's Hayward Field.

"We are sending a young group to Arkansas. They are very excited to compete," said Marques Barosso, who is in his third year as Titans head coach and 10th year at the school. "Having 11 event group qualifiers is the highest total in my years leading the track and field program.

"If our athletes do what they are capable of, it should be a good experience for everyone. Hopefully, some of our athletes will advance to the nationals, and all of them will come back and tell the others on our team about their experiences and what it takes to reach the NCAA prelims."

The Fullerton men finished second and women placed sixth at the Big West Track & Field Championships this month at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo.


Abel Jordan won the 100 meters at the Big West Championships this month, breaking his own school record with a time of 10.19 (1.2 wind-aided).

Jordan won the 100m at the Big West Championships, breaking his own school record with a time of 10.19 (1.2 wind-aided). The Spaniard placed second in the 110m huddles with a personal best 13.76 (1.8) and ran the second leg in the winning 4x100m relay, which clocked a 39.65 time. He was named the men's track athlete of the meet.

"I went to bed that night, and when I woke up, my family had texted me a link to Marca, Spain's leading sports publication," said Jordan, whose name is pronounced Ah-Bell YORE-dan. "I was the top headline on its website, and Marca reported that I had run the fastest 100 meters for a Spaniard in six years." 


Spaniard Abel Jordan's 10.19 (1.2 wind-aided) clocking in the 100m was the top headline in Marca, his country's leading sports publication. His time was the lowest by a Spaniard in six years.

"It was a great day. It's true our team came in second, but I don't think we could have done any better, especially in the sprints and hurdles. There were a lot of personal and season bests," said Jordan, who is a mechanical engineering major.

He plans to compete in Spain's track and field national championships in late June and seek a berth on the Spanish Olympic team.

Dossman is one of two freshmen among the Titan qualifiers. His personal bests are 10.28 (2.8) in the 100m and 20.70 (1.3) in the 200m. He anchored the winning 4x100m relay at the Big West meet.

His first year at Fullerton "has been a great experience, academically as well as athletically. I really like the area, and the environment is very welcoming," he said.

The 200m is his favorite event. "I get a little time to get my speed going. I'm using my speed and my strength at the same time in the 200," said Dossman, who is a business management major.


Ian Dossman, who runs the 100m, 200m and 4X100 relay, says his first year at Cal State Fullerton "has been a great experience, academically as well as athletically."

"Ian is looking good coming into the prelims," said Dominique Arnold, Fullerton's assistant coach for sprints and hurdles. "He has a lot of natural talent and a fast-learning curve. He will greatly improve as he becomes more of a technical sprinter."

Jahzara Davis, who qualified for the 100m hurdles with a time of 13.41 (0.1), has the distinction of being the Titans' lone woman qualifier. But she said that isn't a big deal. "The girls train and compete with the guys in practice all the time. We are all bonded together," said Davis, a junior transfer from Colorado State. 

"I'm really excited about going to the NCAA prelims. Of course, most of us are tired at the end of a nine-month-long season. But this is one of the biggest races we have, and we want to end the season with a bang," said Davis, who finished second in the Big West 100m hurdles and also competed in the long jump this season.


Jahzara Davis has the distinction of being Fullerton's lone woman qualifier for the NCAA West track prelims. She will compete in the 100m hurdles.

Davis' jumping ability has boosted her performances in the hurdles, said Arnold, the assistant coach. "Jahzara has developed powerful lower legs, which is a big asset for a hurdler, and she is ballistic and fast. That should help in Arkansas, where there can be some strong winds."

"She is on the verge of doing something special. If she executes, she will do well," he said.

Davis, a psychology major whose hometown is Colorado Springs, said she's happy to be in Southern California. "I don't have to go through a blizzard to get to practice. Coach Arnold even walks around barefoot. And he makes practice fun."
 

Related Stories:
Fullerton hurdler Abel Jordan starts off season with a bang
Fullerton's Alonzo Floriolli finds success in two lanes - as a sprinter and a social media star


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