Check out the Oxy Invitational's hottest races to watch live on FloTrack this Saturday, May 7, in Los Angeles, California.

Women’s 800m: Brenda Martinez Leads 11 Sub-2:05 Contenders

The world bronze medalist is slated to lead a star-studded women’s 800m field that includes 11 women who have run 2:04 and faster, and 18 women who own a personal best of at least 2:05.

Although Martinez is returning from a tough ninth-place 1500m finish at Drake Relays, she boasts a number of solid 2016 season performances. She ran two indoor personal bests: 2:00.14 at Millrose Games and 4:04.58 at New Balance Indoor Grand Prix. And, at the World Indoor Championships, she finished fifth in the 1500m final.



Martinez only raced one 800m in 2016, so Saturday’s competition should be an exciting test of speed for the middle-distance specialist.

She will face competition from Jing Zhao of China, who has a 1:59 800m personal best and competed at last year’s World Championships in Beijing. Shannon Leinert of Brooks is also in the field after a successful indoor season that included an indoor PR of 2:04 and a sixth-place finish at the USATF Indoor Championships.

Samantha Murphy, the winner of section three of the women’s 800m at Payton Jordan, will compete as well. World Indoor finalist Violah Lagat, Big Bear TC’s Elizabeth Staker, former All-American Bethany Praska, and Brigham Young standout Shea Collinsworth will also be in the mix. Collinsworth recently ran a personal best of 2:03.21 at the Sun Angel Classic in Tempe, Arizona.

Women’s 100m and 200m: World Champion Carmelita Jeter to Run Season Debut in Open 100m

The three-time world champion is entered in both the 100m and 200m this weekend at Occidental. Jeter’s most recent performance was a Penn Relays 4x100m team victory—she carried the baton to a Team USA win on the anchor leg for a finishing time of 42.61.



Last year’s season ended abruptly for the 2011 world champion when she pulled up due to injury after crossing the line in seventh in the USATF 100m final. She has been making steady strides this season on the road to her third Olympic Trials run. At 36-years-old, Jeter has run a season’s best of 23.43 in the 200m and 55.57 in the 400m, and could post an impressive mark in her first 100m race of the season.

Men’s 1500m: Cristian Soratos to Make Outdoor 1500m Debut

The former Montana State All-American will test his middle-distance chops in the outdoor 1500m this weekend after running a 1:49 800m at the Stanford Twilight. Soratos posted a season’s best and indoor PR of 3:40.40 on his way to a 3:56 mile at the Millrose Games in February, so his 1500m wheels are in good shape. He also recently moved from Bozeman, Montana, to Big Bear, California, to train with the Big Bear Track Club.

Soratos will face formidable opponents in Michael Rimmer of Great Britain, who holds a PR of 3:38, Jordan Gusman of Posso Sports, and Staffan Ek who has run 3:39. In fact, 13 athletes entered in the field have run under the 3:44 barrier, which should make for an exciting showdown.

Men’s Steeplechase: International Olympic Standard Chase

Ole Hesselbjerg of Denmark delivered a heartbreaking performance last weekend at the Payton Jordan Invitational when he won his heat in a PR of 8:30.51—just 0.51 seconds slower than the Olympic standard of 8:30.00.



The former Eastern Kentucky All-American, who now trains in his native Denmark, traveled all the way to California with the hope of running under the elusive Olympic mark. He will get another chance this weekend in Los Angeles, which should play into his favor considering how close he was just a few days ago. Hesselbjerg will have competition in Freddy Espinosa of Colombia and Ricardo Estremera of Puerto Rico, who are both surely hoping to hit the 8:30.00 mark as well. Espinosa and Estremera own PRs of 8:35 and 8:38, respectively.

Women’s 400m: Amputee Triathlete Leads 6 Sub-52 Athletes

One of the most impressive storylines of the meet will take place during the 400m, where amputee Scout Bassett is entered to contend with six ladies who have run 52 seconds or faster. Bassett lost her leg as a baby during a fire in her native China, and was adopted by a family in Michigan. She eventually became one of the best triathletes in the world, and boasts a 50-second 400m personal best.



She will contend with NACAC finalist Carol Rodriguez, former USC All-American Vanessa Jones, former Ole Miss All-American Brianna Tate, former Cal State-Fullerton All-American Ciara Short, and former Arizona All-American Shapri Romero.

Note: these entries are preliminary and subject to change until the final heat sheets are released on Thursday.

Don’t miss a minute of the action by watching the live stream on FloTrack starting Saturday at 2:30PM (PT)!