The San Bernardino Valley College men's track team headed south for a challenge against some of the top teams in Southern California, getting an early test at the Cuyamaca Invitational.

The men's 4x400 nearly chased down winner Long Beach City College on the last leg, finishing in 3 minutes, 25.6 seconds, as Semaj Johnson fell a stride short after being 40 meters behind at the last exchange. 

The same group - Wahi Traylor, Johnson, Keishon Mackel, and Solomon German - also finished second in the 4x100 relay event, posting a time in 43.46 seconds.

Johnson also picked up a first-place finish in the 400 meters (50.15 seconds), while German finished second in the 100 meters (11.23 seconds) and third in the 200 meters (22.64 seconds).

Among the distance runners, Jacob Mendiola took the top spot in the 1500 meters, stopping the clock at 4:06.31. He also finished second in the 3000 meters, posting the eighth fastest time in SBVC history at 8:49.34. Kevin Nava finished second in the 800 meters with a time of 1:58.15.

The team will split up this weekend, with the sprinters running at Long Beach City College, while the distance runners will head to the Occidental College Invitational.