LBSU Men and Women Finish Second at MPSF Championships

Saturday, February 19

Spokane, Wash.

All Day

Long Beach State University

MPSF Championships

2/19/2022 6:49:00 PM | Indoor Track

Full Results

The Beach had another record book changing day in Spokane.

By: Collin Robinson, Associate Athletics Communications Director

SPOKANE, Wash. - Long Beach State closed out the MPSF Indoor Track and Field Championship on Saturday as both men's and women's teams finished second place in the team standings.

Full Results

Long Beach State continued their dominance in the throws with another great showing in Shot Put. Charlie Vernoy led the way with a throw of 16.60m (54'5.5") putting himself tenth on the LBSU all-time list. Sebastian Coleman (52'3.75") and Alec Jones (51'8.25") finished right behind their captain as the Beach claimed three of the top four spots.

The Beach's run continued as they had three athletes finish in the top five of the 800m with Alex Kalmar setting a 1:54.33 to place first and Connor Philips (1:55.04) finishing in third followed by Mohamed Mohamed (1:55.44). For the freshman Kalmar, it marks his third victory in the 800m in three tries.

Ornelas moved up to fourth in the all-time top ten standing passing Jake Dawson when he broke his previous record with a time of 14:36.10, 12 seconds faster than his previous best. The junior finished fourth in the race overall.

In the women's 800m, Brieanna Tafoya posted a 2:15.30 to finish ninth in the event. She now ranks seventh all-time in the event.

LeNaya Griffin followed up her 200m win yesterday with a 400m victory today. She finished with a 54.87. It is a new lifetime-best and moves her into second all-time, just eight-hundredths of a second off the school record.

In the women's mile, Ryley Fick posted a time of 4:53.80 to finish sixth overall in the race. It marks a new lifetime-best as the third best mark in program history. On the men's side, Michael Phillips finished second in the mile with a time of 4:11.57.

The women's 4x400m relay team also posted a program top ten mark, racing to a 3:53.86. The quartet of LeNaya Griffin, Rahni Turner, Hailey Danskin, and Kaitlyn Williams now rank ninth in Long Beach State record books.

Turner also sprinted to a second place finish in the 60m Hurdles, posting a time of 8.57 for a new personal best and third in program history. Fune finished fourth with an 8.90, matching her lifetime-best, and Tayah DeSousa crossed the line seventh with a 9.04.

In the men's 60m Hurdles, Joseph Anderson finished second with a time of 8.07 while Justin Watterson crossed the line eighth with an 8.60. In the 60m Dash, Michael Hull finished fourth with a 6.97 and Malik Harness finished seventh at 7.03.

Both the men's and women's teams finished in second place in the team standings behind BYU. The men totaled 140 points on the weekend while the women posted 108 points total.

Long Beach State track and field will continue their season following the MPSF Championship at the University of Houston on Feb 26 before setting out on the NCAA Indoor National Championships later next month.