A pair of Long Beach State women took home individual victories in the track and field team’s season-opening meet at the Ben Brown Invitational on Saturday.
Tara Ross finished at the top of the leaderboard in the javelin with a toss of 158-09, which ranks the senior fifth in school history. All-American Randi Hicks also took second with a mark of 150-05, while Rebecca Hamilton notched a distance of 114-09 for seventh place.
Meanwhile, junior Sara Macey tied for first in the high jump, clearing 5-05.
Shakina Phillips led the hurdlers with a runner-up performance in the 100 meters. She clocked in at 14.16 seconds, while Phylicia Johnson came in at 14.61 to finish seventh overall.
In the 400 hurdles, Phillips was once again the 49ers’ top performer at 64.47 seconds (fourth), while Kristen Kiefer followed in fifth at 64.82.
Nina Moore led the distance runners, finishing fourth in the 5,000m “A” with a time of 17:11.94. That mark ranks her ninth in school history.
In the pole vault, Kate Beighton was the runner-up with a height of 11-07.75. Kayla Kamaka was third (11-01.75), while Amanda Klinchuch was fifth (10-08).
On the men’s side, Chris Sweeney had a runner-up performance in the 400-meter dash, clocking in with a lifetime-best 48.22 seconds. Cameron Gillett added a personal-record 48.55 for a fourth-place finish, while also claiming second in the long jump (22-10).
Nimrod Piggee was the runner-up in the 110-meter hurdles with a time of 14.67, while Chris Lawson finished fourth (14.95).
In the 400m hurdles, Sam Jeter was second overall, crossing the finish line in 52.32 seconds. Lawson also made his way into the top 10 with a mark of 54.42.
Tyler Wallace led a group of five pole vaulters as he placed fourth, clearing 15-07.
The throwers had a strong meet with seven top five finishes in three events. Cesar Puga led the way in the shot put as he took second overall with a lifetime-best 54-04.50. Rajan Bains also finished third (53-07.75) and Colin Dunbar placed fifth (52-11). Both Bains and Dunbar established personal records.
In the discus, Bains was the 49ers’ top finisher at 152-01, which was good enough for fourth. Peter Fourtounis wasn’t far behind in fifth place (150-11).
Ben Woodruff paced the men in the javelin, coming in third with a distance of 195-11.
In the distances, Heath Reedy and Bret Hasvold finished fourth and fifth, respectively, in the 5000m “B”. Reedy clocked in at 14:39.29, while Hasvold had a mark of 14:42.26.
Long Beach State continues the outdoor season in two weeks when it sends a split squad to the Northridge Invitational Multi-Events (March 17-18) and the Aztec Invitational (March 19). The indoor season is also set to conclude with the NCAA Championships on March 11-12.
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