Briggs Claims Fourth Consecutive Title in the Long Jump to Highlight Day One at Big West Championships

Friday, May 10

Santa Barbara, Calif.

Long Beach State University

Big West Championships

Briggs Claims Fourth Consecutive Title in the Long Jump to Highlight Day One at Big West Championships

5/10/2019 9:29:00 PM | Track and Field

Six podium finishes from LBSU after day one of the Big West Championships.

By: Hollie Harris, Athletic Communications Assistant

Live Scoring
Day One Recap

SANTA BARBARA, Calif.- Long Beach State's track & field program opened up day one in a strong way at the 2019 Big West Conference Championships. Senior Kemonie Briggs was the first individual champion for the Beach, helping to leave the men's program in first place after day one of competition.

In an exciting performance in the men's long jump, Briggs took flight in his final jump, leaping to a personal-best mark of 7.96m (26-01.50) to claim the title. The senior is now the first in Big West history to win four consecutive titles in the event. Briggs is currently ranked No.4 in the West Region and No.10 in the nation. Also in the field was teammate Derreck Affor who placed sixth in the event, with a big leap and new personal-best of 7.25m (23-09.50).

In another strong performance in the field, was senior Nicholas Hudson and Josh Carr who started the day out with a bang, claiming podium finishes in the men's hammer throw. Hudson took second place and was just off his PR with a throw of 64.81m (212-07.00), currently ranking No.19 in the West Region and No. 35 in the nation. Carr finished in third with a mark of 57.25m (187-10.00), contributing points for the men's team.

As the LBSU men's team wrapped up day one's competition in the field, senior Tavi Kamarullah left his mark in the shot put, unleashing a new PR of 17.85m (58-06.50) to place second and earn eight more points for the Beach.

In the women's events completed this Friday, senior Bria Palmer claimed a spot on the podium, finishing in second with a clearance of 1.78m (5-10.00). Amy Bell also picked up points for the women, finishing fourth with a jump of 3.74m (12-03.25), while teammate Kennedy Krueger finished in eighth with a clearance of 3.74m (12-03.25) in her third attempt. Senior Crystal Rodriguez took seventh place in the javelin with a throw of 41.10m (134-10.00), contributing points for the Beach. Melanee Williams showed great effort in the long jump and was just off her PR with a mark of 5.86m (19-02.75) to place sixth.

Out on the track, the Long Beach State's women's sprinters had a strong start to the meet. The Beach sprinters had two qualifiers in both the 100 and 200m dash. Senior Courtne' Davis led the field and was the top qualifier in both events with a new personal-best time of 11:40 and 23.46. Teammate Azaria Hill recorded a new lifetime-best of 11.68 in the 100m, qualifying with the third-fastest time and eighth in the 200m at 24.40.

Shalee Reynolds was one of the top qualifiers in the 400m dash with the fourth-fastest time set at 55.56. Skylin Harbin also moved into Saturdays final in both the 100m hurdles and 400m hurdles, qualifying in fourth with a time of 14.19 and third in the long hurdles with a time of 1:00.38.

On the men's side, Kent Harris had a solid first day, qualifying to Saturday's final in both the 100m and 200m dash. In the 100m, Harris won his heat with a time of 10.63, making him the third-fastest qualifier in the field. Kent also placed sixth in the 200m, running 21.65. Also qualifying in the event was teammate Kemonie Briggs with the leading time of 21.29. Briggs was one of the top qualifiers in the 400m as well, running 47.19 for the second-fastest time of the day.

Also advancing to the finals for the men on Friday were Raleigh Adams and Derreck Affor, with times of 14.19 and 14.50 in the 110m hurdles, as well as Braedon Kraft who qualified to the finals of the 800m.

Saturday's field competition begins with the women's hammer throw at 9 a.m., while the track finals start with the women's 4x100m relay at 2 p.m.