Saturday, May 13
Fullerton, Calif.
All Day
Long Beach State University
at
Big West Championships
Photo by: John Fajardo
Women’s Track and Field Repeats as Big West Champions
5/13/2023 7:16:00 PM | Track and Field
The women’s team posted a program record 149 points for their third Big West Championship in program history.
FULLERTON, Calif. – The Long Beach State women's track and field led the team standings after day one at Cal State Fullerton and dominated day two on the way to defending their Big West title. It is the first time in program history they have won back-to-back championships and marks their third in program history.
Full Results
The Beach women had 17 student-athletes and two relay squads compete on Saturday, 16 of them scored points to propel the team to 149 total points. It bests last year's total for a new program record.
Rahni Turner topped the competition in the 100m Hurdles with a time of 13.30 seconds to become the first champion of the event in Long Beach State women's team history. She led a quartet of Beach scorers in the event, including a sweep of the podium with Hailey Fune (13.61) and Tayah DeSousa (13.79) taking home second and third.
Ryley Fick once again defended her title just as she did yesterday, this time in the 800m. Posting a new PR of 2:08.45, the senior now ranks third in program history for the event. She is also a double champion for the second consecutive season after winning the steeplechase yesterday.
Alex Heerink-van Breda posted the third and final event victory for the women with a dominant run in the 400m Hurdles. With a time of 58.78, she set a new PR, moved into sixth all-time, and claimed the title by two seconds to cap off her freshman season. She is just the second LBSU woman's athlete to win the conference event, joining the great Le'Gretta Hinds who won it three years in a row from 1993-95.
Just as they did last year, the men wrapped up another great weekend to take home second place. They finished just two points behind champion Cal State Fullerton. Every individual and relay team that competed scored at least one point on the day.
The relay team of Mekhi Mays, Caleb Roberson, Malik Harness, and Tristyn Flores arguably had the most notable performance of the day en route to winning the 4x100m title. Combining for a time of 39.71, they moved into second all-time in Long Beach State history which also ranks as the second-fastest time in meet history just behind the 2008 LBSU relay squad.
Mays was not done there though, coming back onto the track and winning the 200m championship with a time of 20.85 seconds. The time is a new personal best for the junior and puts him at third on the all-time list. It is the fastest time at the conference meet since 2015 and best by an LBSU sprinter since 2008.
The third event victor for the men's team was Michael Phillips in the 1500m race. The school record holder in the event, he ran a time of 3:49.99 to defend his Big West title. It is the third 1500m championship in men's history with the senior owning two of them.
The men's team title came down to a single event, the men's 4x400m Relay. Trailing by just two points, the Beach needed to beat Cal State Fullerton in the race to claim the title. Entering the final leg, Caleb Roberson (who had run in the 400m earlier) trailed by a good 10 meters. He ran down the Fullerton anchor to make it a photo finish, but the Titans crossed the line 0.02 seconds faster to win the race and ultimately win the title.
The 182.5 points for the men's team is the most for the program since the 2015 season when they scored 185 to win the title.
At the end of it all, Ryley Fick was named the Big West Women's Track Athlete of the Meet after the senior was a double champion in the 800m and the 3000m Steeplechase. She is also a back-to-back defending champ after winning both of those events during the 2022 championships. Her time of 10:14.49 in the steeple also sets a new meet record beating the previous mark by eight seconds.
Sebastian Coleman was also named the Big West Men's Field Athlete of the Meet after a dominant weekend in the throws. The senior was also a double champion winning both the men's Hammer and men's Discus titles on Friday. It is his second consecutive Hammer title after winning the event at the 2022 Big West Championships as well. With his two victories, Long Beach State has now won three straight Hammer titles and four straight in the Discus.
Long Beach State will now await and see which student-athletes will qualify for the NCAA West Regionals, hosted by Sacramento State from May 24-27.
Full Results
The Beach women had 17 student-athletes and two relay squads compete on Saturday, 16 of them scored points to propel the team to 149 total points. It bests last year's total for a new program record.
Rahni Turner topped the competition in the 100m Hurdles with a time of 13.30 seconds to become the first champion of the event in Long Beach State women's team history. She led a quartet of Beach scorers in the event, including a sweep of the podium with Hailey Fune (13.61) and Tayah DeSousa (13.79) taking home second and third.
Ryley Fick once again defended her title just as she did yesterday, this time in the 800m. Posting a new PR of 2:08.45, the senior now ranks third in program history for the event. She is also a double champion for the second consecutive season after winning the steeplechase yesterday.
Alex Heerink-van Breda posted the third and final event victory for the women with a dominant run in the 400m Hurdles. With a time of 58.78, she set a new PR, moved into sixth all-time, and claimed the title by two seconds to cap off her freshman season. She is just the second LBSU woman's athlete to win the conference event, joining the great Le'Gretta Hinds who won it three years in a row from 1993-95.
Just as they did last year, the men wrapped up another great weekend to take home second place. They finished just two points behind champion Cal State Fullerton. Every individual and relay team that competed scored at least one point on the day.
The relay team of Mekhi Mays, Caleb Roberson, Malik Harness, and Tristyn Flores arguably had the most notable performance of the day en route to winning the 4x100m title. Combining for a time of 39.71, they moved into second all-time in Long Beach State history which also ranks as the second-fastest time in meet history just behind the 2008 LBSU relay squad.
Mays was not done there though, coming back onto the track and winning the 200m championship with a time of 20.85 seconds. The time is a new personal best for the junior and puts him at third on the all-time list. It is the fastest time at the conference meet since 2015 and best by an LBSU sprinter since 2008.
The third event victor for the men's team was Michael Phillips in the 1500m race. The school record holder in the event, he ran a time of 3:49.99 to defend his Big West title. It is the third 1500m championship in men's history with the senior owning two of them.
The men's team title came down to a single event, the men's 4x400m Relay. Trailing by just two points, the Beach needed to beat Cal State Fullerton in the race to claim the title. Entering the final leg, Caleb Roberson (who had run in the 400m earlier) trailed by a good 10 meters. He ran down the Fullerton anchor to make it a photo finish, but the Titans crossed the line 0.02 seconds faster to win the race and ultimately win the title.
The 182.5 points for the men's team is the most for the program since the 2015 season when they scored 185 to win the title.
At the end of it all, Ryley Fick was named the Big West Women's Track Athlete of the Meet after the senior was a double champion in the 800m and the 3000m Steeplechase. She is also a back-to-back defending champ after winning both of those events during the 2022 championships. Her time of 10:14.49 in the steeple also sets a new meet record beating the previous mark by eight seconds.
Sebastian Coleman was also named the Big West Men's Field Athlete of the Meet after a dominant weekend in the throws. The senior was also a double champion winning both the men's Hammer and men's Discus titles on Friday. It is his second consecutive Hammer title after winning the event at the 2022 Big West Championships as well. With his two victories, Long Beach State has now won three straight Hammer titles and four straight in the Discus.
Long Beach State will now await and see which student-athletes will qualify for the NCAA West Regionals, hosted by Sacramento State from May 24-27.
Players Mentioned
Throws
/ Track and Field
Multi
/ Track and Field
Distance
/ Track and Field
Sprints
/ Track and Field
Multi
/ Track and Field
Sprints
/ Track and Field
Sprints/Hurdles
/ Track and Field
Sprints
/ Track and Field
Distance
/ Track and Field
Sprints/Hurdles
/ Track and Field
Sprints/Hurdles
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