Long Beach State University Athletics
Three 49ers Receive USTFCCCA All-America Honors
6/16/2014 12:00:00 AM | Track and Field
June 16, 2014
LONG BEACH - Three 49ers received USTFCCCA All-America honors for the 2014 NCAA Division I outdoor track & field season the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association announced Monday.
Sophomore Willie Alexander and junior Chris Low both earned first-team honors, while sophomore Chris Enriquez garnered honorable mention recognition.
Alexander was the NCAA runner-up in the long jump with a leap of 25-04.25. That was just one inch off his personal best, which he established at the Mt. SAC Relays in April (25-05.25). Alexander was one of the 49ers' most consistent performers throughout the year, finishing among the top-five in every meet, while also reaching 25 feet in six of nine competitions. He picked up individual victories at the RCC Quad Meet, Cal-Nevada Championships, Big West Challenge and Beach Invitational. In addition, Alexander took third at the prestigious Drake Relays, was the Big West runner-up and placed third at the NCAA West Preliminary. Alexander is a two-time All-American as he earned honorable mention honors as a freshman in 2013.
The Fresno, Calif., native was also a threat in the triple jump where he was the Big West champion and an NCAA West Preliminary qualifier with a season-best 51-05.75. He ranks among LBSU's all-time top-10 in both the long jump (7th, 25-05.25) and triple jump (T6th, 52-02.75).
Low finished seventh overall at the NCAA Outdoor Championships, earning him first-team All-America accolades. That capped off an incredible season in which he claimed the Big West title and twice set the school record. The Santa Clarita, Calif., native broke his own record and ran the first sub-1:48 race in 49er history at the NCAA West Preliminary where he crossed the finish line in second at 1:47.52. Low previously toppled a 31-year old school record en route to an individual victory at the Stanford Invitational in April (1:48.3). He added first-place finishes at the Anteater 4-Way Meet and the Drake Relays, while coming in second at the Mt. SAC Relays.
Enriquez, who was running just his third-ever 10K on the track, finished 20th overall at the NCAA Championships for honorable mention All-America distinction. His first 10,000m race was at the Big West Championships in May, where he was the runner-up and registered the second-best mark in program history at 29:12.46. The Downey, Calif., native also holds the 5,000m school record (14:07.3) and was an NCAA West Preliminary qualifier in that event last year.
The trio led The Beach to its best finish at the NCAA Championships since 2006. Earlier in the year, Long Beach State also claimed its second-straight Big West title.
First-team All-America honors were awarded to those who finished among the top-eight in their event at the NCAA Championships; second-team All-America honors went to those who finished between ninth and 16th; and honorable mention honors were given to the remaining finishers.
Players Mentioned
