|
LBSU
continues record-breaking track season in
Flagstaff and Seattle
By
Donovin Matthews
Online Forty-Niner
Staff Writer
More
records fell this weekend as the Long Beach
State track and field team competed on opposite
ends of the West Coast, with sprinters,
jumpers and throwers journeying to Flagstaff
for the Northern Arizona Indoor Triangular,
while distance runners traveled to Seattle
for The Husky Classic.
With
the track season coming to an end, LBSU
sought to qualify as many athletes as possible
in preparation for the Mountain Pacific
Sports Federation Championships (MPSF),
which begin Feb. 24 in Seattle.
At
the Husky Classic, Jimmy Grabow and Meredith
Kramon both won their individual 5,000-meter
race, while also setting school records
with times of 14:18.36 and 17:23 respectively.
Grabow's
time fell just two seconds short of an NCAA
provisional mark. Wohan Ovalle was also
victorious in the 3,000-meter race as he
set a LBSU record with a time of 8:28.68.
Nicole
Blalock ran the second-fastest mile time
in school-history, 4:58.04, while also posting
qualifying marks in the 800-meter race.
Scott Breithaupt's time of 4:16.95 in the
mile placed him third all-time in school
history. Overall, 11 athletes placed themselves
in LBSU's record book in Seattle.
Jessica
Branker (200-meter), Charlen Deardorff (60-meter),
Franchelle Smith (60-meter hurdles), and
Jill Reynolds (pole vault) all posted first-rate
performances in Ariz.
Deardorff
and Branker both ran the second-best marks
in school history at the indoor triangular.
Branker was clocked at 24.75 to win the
200-meter dash, while Deardorff finished
second in the 60-meter with a time of 7.54.
In
the 60-meter hurdles sprint, Smith posted
her second win in a row with a time of 9.02,
while Reynolds won her second pole vault
of the year with a jump of 12'0".
On
the men's side, David Sampson threw the
fourth-best shot put in indoor history with
a toss of 53'3.75", while Ronald Carter's
leap of 48'7.5" in the triple jump
was the third-best in LBSU history.
LBSU
track and field team saw 17 marks move into
the 49ers' all-time top-10 list. The 49ers
now boast 19 qualifying marks on the women's
side and 11 for the men as the MPSF Championships
approach in two weeks.
"I
am very proud of the higher level we competed
at," Director of Track and Field Andy
Sythe said. "It is much higher than
it was at this time last year."
|
