49ers kick off Big West Championships with decathlon, heptathlon
5/5/2010 12:00:00 AM | Track and Field
May 5, 2010
Complete Release in PDF Format 
LONG BEACH - The Long Beach State track and field team begins the Big West Championships this weekend with the decathlon and heptathlon, May 7-8, at Matador Track in Northridge.
BIG WEST MULTI-EVENTS CHAMPIONSHIP
Three 49ers are set to kick off the Big West Championships in the multi-events this weekend. Nicholas Armstrong will represent the men in the decathlon, while Sara Macey and Rebecca Hamilton will compete in the heptathlon for the women.
Armstrong, the reigning junior college state decathlon champion, is coming off a lifetime-best 13-07.25 in the pole vault at the Steve Scott Invitational. He is also tied at the top of the conference leaderboard with teammate Alex Black in the high jump after clearing 6-10.75 at the Trojan Invitational in March. Macey and Hamilton are both newcomers to the heptathlon but have had strong performances in multiple events this season. Macey recently won the high jump at the Steve Scott Invitational as she registered a personal-record 5-07.
BEACH TAKES SEVEN AT STEVE SCOTT INVITE
The Long Beach State track and field team had seven individual champions and 14 top collegiate finishes at the Asics/Steve Scott Invitational, May 1-2. LBSU's distance runners had the most impressive showing as they took top honors among the collegiate athletes in seven out of eight events. Matt Maldonado led the way, claiming the 1500m title in a lifetime-best 3:44.28. That mark ranks him second on the 49er all-time charts. Also winning on the men's side were Steven DeCastro (3000m Steeplechase) and Alex Freitas (800m). DeCastro notched a personal-record 9:16.37, while Freitas registered a season-low 1:49.84.
On the women's side, Jessica Barnard established the third-fastest mark in school history as she won the 3000m steeplechase in 10:59.81, while Alisia Barajas claimed the 5000m title (17:41.41). Jennifer Rodriguez was also the top collegiate finisher in the 1500m as she finished second overall (4:34.37). Rounding out the individual champions were Sara Macey (high jump) and Rachel Hammar (shot put).
AROUND THE BIG WEST
A handful of 49ers rank among the Big West leaders in their respective events. Randi Hicks and Alex Shaw (164-11) still hold the top two marks in the women's javelin. Hicks' toss of 170-11, which she established at the Ben Brown Invitational, is a school and conference record and also ranks her eighth in the nation. Kenneth Medwood also moved to the top of the leaderboard in the 400 hurdles (50.37) with his school record-breaking performance at the Beach Invitational, while Nicholas Armstrong and Alex Black are tied for first in the men's high jump after clearing 6-10.75 at the USC Trojan Invitational. Cesar Puga (Discus), Matt Maldonado (1500m), Nimrod Piggee (110H) and Kenneth Medwood (Long Jump) also sit at No. 2 in the conference.
Long Beach State has 28 Big West qualifiers in 49 events on the men's side and 21 qualifiers in 29 events on the women's side.
UP NEXT
Long Beach State continues the Big West Championships next weekend with the track and field events, May 14-15, in Northridge.
Players Mentioned
