UC DAVIS TRACK AND FIELD
JUNE 2011
UC DAVIS TRACK AND FIELD NEWSLETTER nd
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Men 2 , Women 3 at Big West
CONTENTS Conference Championships Aggie men finish second and the women third at the Big West Conference Championship P1
NCAA West Region Seniors Thomas Phillips and Alex Wilright advance out of the first round to Des Moines.
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NCAA Championships Phillips and Wilright each earn second team All-‐ American honors P2
USATF Championships Three Aggies to compete at USATF Championships P2
Go, Ags!
Men capture four individual titles to help secure second place finish
Senior Ray Green scored twenty points for the Aggies as he captured both the men’s long jump and triple jump titles at the 2011 Big West Conference Championships. Those points kept the Aggies in a close battle with eventual winner Long Beach State. Green’s efforts were supported by two other titles by Aggie men. On Friday, senior Calvin Thigpen ended his collegiate career with a bang as he outkicked three other contenders in the final 400m of the men’s 10k to win his first individual conference title. Only two seconds separated him from teammate Axel Stanovsky, who finished in fourth. On Saturday, senior Thomas Phillips narrowly captured the 400m hurdles title ahead of teammate and defending champion, Alex Wilright. On the
Senior Ray Green won the long jump and triple jump at the Big West Conference Championships.
women’s side, senior Chidinma Onyewueni was the only Aggie to win a conference title as she won the shot put. Several teammates had runner up finishes, including Lauren Radke in the pole vault, Ugo Eke in the 400m, and Melanise Chapman in the 100m. On the men’s side Jon Sees was 2nd in both the 1500m and 5000m, Robert Neely in the long jump, Eddie Orgon in the shot put, freshman Karl Moran in the 400m, and Brock Bennett in the javelin.
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UC DAVIS TRACK AND FIELD
JUNE 2011
Phillips and Wilright advance to NCAA Championships The Aggies sent fourteen individuals to the first round of the NCAA Championships, held in Eugene, Oregon at the end of May. In addition to events contested as a final, three advanced to the final heats of competition: Jon Sees in the 1500m, and Thomas Phillips and Alex Wilright in the 400m hurdles. In the end, Jon Sees finished 23rd in the West Region, while Phillips and Wilright finished 6th and 8th respectively. The top twelve moved on to the NCAA Championship final rounds, held in Des Moines, Iowa two weeks later. In the process, Phillips broke the 400m hurdles school record, previously held by Wilright, as he ran 50.22 to Wilright’s 50.47. Two other Aggies finished in the top twenty in the West. Senior Catilin Fitzgerald finished 19th in the 3000m steeplechase and broke her own school record, clocking 10:22.69. In addition junior Ethan Ostrom finished 19th in the pole vault with his vault of 16-‐6.75.
Phillips and Wilright each earn 2 nd team All-‐American honors at NCAA Championships
Seniors Thomas Phillips and Alex Wilright finished 13th and 15th respectively in the 400m hurdles at the NCAA Championships, held in Des Moines, Iowa, June 8th-‐11th. Those finishes earned both athletes second team All-‐American honors. They are the first track and field athletes in UC Davis history to come away which such honors. In the fall, junior Jon Peterson earned All-‐American status with his 14th place finish at the NCAA Cross Country Championships.
Go, Ags!
Senior Thomas Phillips concluded his collegiate career with the 400m school record, the 400m hurdles school record, and second team All-‐American honors.
3 Athletes set to compete at USATF Championships Three Aggies are heading to Eugene, Oregon at the end of the month to compete in the USATF Championships June 23rd through 26th. Junior Jon Peterson qualified for the 5000m after he ran 13:41.93 at the Payton Jordan invitational in May. Accompanying Jon will be junior Ashley Hearn, who qualified in the discus when she threw 184’3” at the Brutus Hamilton invite in April. Both athletes redshirted the 2011 track season and are looking forward to putting the UC Davis singlet back on and representing the Aggies at a national championship. In addition to Jon and Ashley, freshman Nathan Strum will compete in the 800m in the junior division of the meet. Strum has enjoyed an exceptional freshman season with the Aggies, in which he has posted himself at #3 All-‐Time at UC Davis in the 800m and and #6 All-‐Time in the 1500m with times of 1:50.42 and 3:48.41 respectively.
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UC DAVIS TRACK AND FIELD
JUNE 2011
2011 End of Season Awards
Women’s Freshman of the Year Men’s Freshman of the Year Alycia Cridebring Nathan Strum Women’s Most Improved Athlete of the Men’s Most Improved Athlete of the Year Year Samantha Kearney Robert Neely Women’s Field Athelte of the Year Men’s Field Athlete of the Year Chidinma Onyewuenyi Ray Green Women’s Track Athlete of the Year Men’s Track Athlete of the Year Ugo Eke Thomas Phillips
Aggie Nation, After a long winter that tried at times to resemble the spring, summer has arrived here in Davis. While the competitive road comes to an end late this month at USA Championships, preparations for fall 2011 will go on all summer as athletes get and keep themselves fit at home and in Davis. We want to thank all those that supported the program in any, and many, ways throughout the 2010-‐2011 year. There are numerous highlights that we can look back on from the seasons now on the books, and even with those moments fresh in our minds the staff and teams now turn their sights to the next chapter. We hope that everyone has a pleasant summer and anxiously awaits the 2011-‐2012 Aggie Cross Country and Track & Field seasons. Thanks again and Go, Ags!
Go, Ags!
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