Long Beach State University
Big West Challenge
Beach Wins Big West Challenge Cup
4/11/2008 12:00:00 AM | Track and Field
April 11, 2008
Irvine, Calif. - Long Beach State's track and field squads picked up a welcome boost this week, winning the men's and women's competitions at the Big West Challenge in Irvine. Matching up with Big West foes UC Irvine, UC Santa Barbara and Cal State Fullerton, the 49ers won the men's title by 78 points over Cal State Fullerton, and outpaced the UC Irvine women 221 to 170 to sweep the event.
Long Beach State added three more regional event qualifiers at the meet along with setting a number of personal bests and extra Big West Championship qualifiers. The men's 4x100 team was the big winner of the day, knocking nearly a second off their season time thus far to win the event and qualify for the Western Regional by nearly a over a half-second at 40.12.
The relay teams were strong in general, as all four picked up wins. The men's 4x400 team edged out a close win over UC Irvine, and the women's 4x100 team won as expected, beating out Cal State Fullerton. The women's 4x400 team also picked up surprise win, knocking nearly eight seconds off of their season best to win with a 3:49.58.
Long Beach State's new women's regional qualifier was Phylicia Johnson, who had a huge day down in Irvine. Johnson led a 1st-3rd finish for the Beach in the 100 hurdles, posting a lifetime best of 13.92 on the way to a Regional berth, cutting .3 of a second off of her lifetime best. Kristen Kiefer also had a nice time in the event with a new PR of 14.29.
Kiefer and Johnson team up for another high tandem finish, earning the top two spots in the long jump as Long Beach State had the top four placers in the event. Kiefer grabbed the win with an 18'8" in her first collegiate jump, while Johnson set a season high with an 18'6" jump.
Scoring in one more event, Kiefer also won the 400 hurdles with a time of 61'98" giving her 24 points scored at the Big West challenge.
Patrice White was another multi-event scorer, leading the 49ers in the sprints. Setting a season high of 12.02, White won the 100 title and also finished third in the 200 with a time of 24.89, an event won by Jessica Branker with a 24.10.
In the distance races, Missy Barclay took second in the 1500 and Sarah Apgar ran a sub-10 minute time to take second in the 3000.
Out on the field, the 49ers had a trio of dual scorers, as Katelyn Ciarelli and Kristina Price finished 1-2 in the discus and 2-3 in the hammer throw. The 49ers also took 1-2 in the javelin, as Alex Shaw easily won the event and jumper Tayler O'Connor rallied for second place, the first of two scoring events for O'Connor. O'Connor also cleared a season-high 5'5" for third in the high jump.
The 49er women won two other jump events, as Jill Reynolds grabbed the title in the pole vault and Miia Mobley took the triple jump.
For the men, Austin Fowler stepped up in the absence of Brent Gray in the short sprints, taking both the 100 and the 200 for Long Beach State. Fowler tied his best in the 100 at 10.60, and set a new PR at 21.38 in the 200. Alex Goldberg took third in both events.
Gray's day off in the short sprints paid off in the 400, as he easily bested his top time and qualified for the NCAAs in his third event with a 46.77. The time was the fastest this year for Long Beach State and easily won the event at the challenge.
Alex Freitas had a better day in an event outside of his specialty as well, as he won the 1500 with a 3:53.46, while finishing third in the 800.
In the hurdles, the men's team finished with a 1-2 finish in the 110m, as Nimrod Piggee set a PR with a time of 14.85, while Christopher Lawson tied his lifetime best with a 14.88. Lawson also finished second the 400 hurdles with a PR of 52.91.
In the jumps, Alex Black finished a deceptive third in the high jump, clearing a lifetime best of 6'10.75" in a three-way tie for first. Colin Cram won the pole vault with a PR of 16'0.75," and Chris Richardson grabbed the long jump victory with a season high of 23'5.50"
Richardson and Cram would team up out in the field, as Richardson again topped regional qualifying to win the javelin at 211'4", while Cram set a PR of 186'4" to take second.
Rob Jennings won two events for Long Beach State, as he won in both the discus and hammer, events that he's already qualified for the NCAA Regionals in. Ed Cornell picked up another second place for the Beach, taking second in the discus.
Long Beach State returns home next weekend, hosting their lone home meet of the year for the Beach Invitational. The all-day event will be held at Cerritos College.
