Big
West Championship next hurdle for 49ers
By Toby Lewis
On-line Forty-Niner
 Five
personal bests and six seasonal bests were
picked up by Long Beach State track and
field at a successful Occidental Invitational
track meet Saturday.
The Beach also picked up one more qualifier
for the Big West Conference Championships,
which will be held at Cal State Northridge
starting Wednesday.
Sophomore Krystal Chinn qualified for the
Big West championships for the pole vault
with a personal best jump of 11 feet 0.24
inches.
Chinn was one of five Long Beach State women
who improved their personal marks at the
Occidental Invitational.
Sophomore Kristen Hambaroff also recorded
a personal best in the pole vault with her
jump of 11 feet 6.25 inches.
In the 100-meter hurdles, junior Gina Londono
ran a lifetime best of 14.35 seconds, finishing
third overall at the meet. The mark moves
Londono up to third in the Big West Conference
standings.
For the Long Beach State men, senior Frank
Rodriguez improved his NCAA regional qualifying
marks in the javelin with his throw of 213
feet 3 inches.
Rodriguez finished in second place for the
javelin at the Occidental Invitational.
Long Beach State track star Cory Loebl took
third place in the discus with a throw of
173 feet 7 inches followed by NCAA regional
qualifier Bobby Lugo who took eighth place
overall with a throw of 160 feet 7 inches.
Freshman Steve Holland improved his personal
best in the hammer throw by four feet with
his throw of 184 feet 10 inches.
The mark not only improves Holland’s NCAA
regional qualifying mark, but also moves
him to 10th on the all-time list at Long
Beach State.
Holland also finished in 12th place at the
Occidental Invitational for the shot put
with a throw of 49 feet 5.75 inches, followed
closely by freshman Josh Kopczak with a
48 feet 11 inches mark.
Last week 49er sophomore Haben Hagos was
named Big West Track and Field Athlete of
the Week. Hagos posted two NCAA Regional
qualifying marks at the UCLA meet in Westwood.
Hagos set a career best mark of 6 feet 10.25
inches in the high jump and placed a mark
of 48 feet 10.25 inches in the triple jump.
Hagos would go on to win the triple jump
event with that score, also a personal best.
With the award Hagos makes it six times
that a 49er has been named Big West Track
and Field Athlete of the Week this season.
The Beach’s track and field team will face
more action at the Big West Conference Championships,
which will be held this week at Cal State
Northridge Wednesday through Saturday.
The NCAA regional championships will be
held in Palo Alto later this month, May
30-31.
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