The Long Beach State men’s track and field team compiled 177.5 points to win the 2011 Big West Conference Track & Field championship Saturday at Anteater Stadium in Irvine. The 49er women finished fourth overall with 98.5 points.
LBSU pulled through in the face of adversity after losing teammate Cameron Gillett in a car accident last Friday. Competing in Gillett’s honor, the 49ers came away with their first Big West title since 2008 and third in the last six years.
The women also had their best finish since 2008 when they placed fourth with 110.5 points.
“For the guys to rebound the way they did says a lot about their resiliency and ability as a team,” LBSU 49ers’ head coach Andy Sythe said in a release. “We have some incredible athletes and they definitely shined today. They rose to the occasion and I am awfully proud of them.”
The throwers led the way on the final day of the conference meet, scoring 38 points in the javelin and the discus.
Ben Woodruff claimed the men’s javelin title with a mark of 205-05, while Colin Dunbar added a seventh-place finish with a lifetime-best 181-05.
Dunbar, who won the hammer throw on Friday, also took top honors in the discus with a distance of 174-09. He became just the second Big West athlete to score in all four throwing events as he accounted for 28 of LBSU’s points. The only other individual to accomplish the feat was 49ers’ coach Cory Loebl, who compiled 30 points in four events in 2003.
Cesar Puga was the runner-up in the discus at 174-05. Rajan Bains (164-06) and Austin Elmore (157-00) also scored for LBSU, placing fourth and sixth, respectively.
Tyler Wallace had a huge performance in the pole vault, clearing a personal-record 18-00.50 to finish ahead of the pack. That height ties him for fourth in school history and ranks him third in the nation. Mark Horist also scored as he tied for eighth with a season-best 15-03.50.
Manny Neizer was the runner-up in the triple jump at 49-02.25, which was his best mark as a 49er. Eric Nowell (48-08.75) and Michael Vaughan (48-03.50) finished third and fourth, respectively. Nowell’s mark was also an LBSU best.
Over on the track, Koree Hines was the runner-up in the 110-meter hurdles, crossing the finish line in a lifetime-best 14.23 seconds. Nicholas Armstrong placed seventh with a season-low 14.92.
Christopher Lawson took bronze in the 400-meter with a lifetime-best 48.26, while Richard Crawford finished fifth in the 200-meter dash (21.69). Crawford’s time was a personal record.
Heath Reedy, who was coming off a second-place performance in the 10000m last night, was in the lead for most of the 5000-meter but lost ground on the final lap. Reedy still finished strong to take fifth in 14 minutes, 44.37 seconds.
Matt Maldonado scored in the 1500-meter run, clocking in with a season-low 3:48.59 to finish eighth.
The men’s 4×400 relay team of Anthony Kriakin, Jonathan Evans, Richard Crawford and Christopher Lawson wrapped up the meet with a season-best 3:13.65. They finished fifth as the men clinched the 2011 Big West title.
On the women’s side, Katrina Graves-Johnson took home runner-up honors in the high jump, clearing a lifetime-best 5-10, which ties her for eighth on the 49er all-time charts. Sara Macey also scored for The Beach as she tied for fifth at 5-05.
Jillian Weir claimed the bronze in the shot put with a personal-record 46-09. That mark puts her at No. 8 on the LBSU all-time list.
Shari Harris scored for Long Beach State with a sixth-place performance in the hammer. She registered a lifetime-best 164-11, which ranks ninth in school history.
Shakina Phillips led the sprints/hurdles squad as she was the runner-up in the 100-meter hurdles with a personal-record 13.88 (fifth in school history). Phylicia Johnson also came in fifth with a time of 14.13 seconds.
Phillips added a third-place finish in the 4000-meter hurdles with another lifetime-best of 61.52 which is eighth on the 49er all-time charts.
Rosa Del Toro was second in the 1500-meters with a personal-record 4:29.04. She moved up two spots to No. 5 in LBSU history.
LBSU will have a week off before it heads to Eugene, Ore., for the NCAA West Preliminaries, May 26-28.
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