MONDAY, MARCH 22, 1999

L.B. men, women's track control competition

By Rory Barnett

On-Line Forty-Niner

The Long Beach State men and women's track teams controlled the competition at the Long Beach State Classic, taking first place in both team events.

The men's team finished with 182 points, beating out Cornell University (170) and Iowa (150.50).

The women's team had 190 points, crushing Western State (177) and Cornell (173.50).

Both squads boasted several personal bests on Saturday at the Jack Rose Track, with about a hundred fans watching.

Sophomore Wil Moore recorded a personal best in the 400 meter hurdles and finished first 52.16. Moore also finished second in 110 meter hurdles with 14.85 seconds.

"It was a great race for me and for the team as well," Moore said. "Every year our team gets better," he said. "Right now we have the best team by far and it feels great to be apart of that." The men's 4x100 meter relay also took advantage of the great weather by finishing first with a time of 41.67 seconds.

Another great performance by the men's 4x400 meter relay was displayed as they finished in first with 3:10.22, a full-five minutes ahead of the University of Iowa team.

In the men's 400 meters, Kashus Perona finished first with a 47.38 and senior Lewis Young placed second with 47.64.

In the men's pole vault, Borya Celentano, last year's NCAA Div. I champion runner-up in outdoor track, left the event with a disappointed last place finish because of unsuccessful jumps.

"I entered the event not anticipating to break a new record, but instead with an open mind," said Celentano. "I am very pleased with my past performances this year, but today was just a bad day for me."

The women's team, however, provided some great performances.

In the women's high jump, freshman Tayiba Haneef finished first with a mark of 5 feet, 5.75 inches. Kathy Andrews and Tosca Galatti both finished strong in the hammer throw, as Andrews came in first with 44.36 meters, and Galatti was second with 40.16 meters.

In the women's 100 meter hurdles, Marion Reneau finished second with 15.08 and came in second in the javelin throw with 130 feet and 5 inches.

In the women's triple jump, sophomore Kenya Jimerson finished strong in third place with 11.08 meters. Monica MacManus finished third in the 5,000, running a 17:50.52.

The women's 4x100 meter relay also finished first with 46.75.

The next meet for The Beach will be the Stanford Invitational in Palo Alto on March 27 and 28.