UC DAVIS TRACK AND FIELD
MARCH 2011
UC DAVIS TRACK AND FIELD NEWSLETTER
School Records Fall at Aggie Open
CONTENTS Cal Opener The Aggies combined to win 10 events in their first meet of the outdoor season P2
Indoor Recap The Aggie women traveled to the University of Washinton in January and February to open their seasons P2
US Cross Country Championships 4 Aggies finished in the top 30 at the US Cross Country Championships P3
Athlete Blog Freshman Alex Summers describes his first experience in an Aggie singlet at the US Cross Country Championships
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Alumni Reunion
Alumni please join us on April 15th P5
Go, Ags!
Onyewuenyi betters own hammer record; Sees takes down 40-‐year old 3k mark The Aggies hosted the first of their two home meets for the spring '11 campaign on March 12 and were treated to a banner day for competition. As has been customary of late, Chid Onyewuenyi got the day off to a rolling start with a record setting hammer throw of 193'5", good for second place on the day behind Olympic Trials performer Amy Haapanen. Onyewuenyi later established a new shot put record of 48'10.25" en route to winning that event. Jon Sees will see his name raised to the UC Davis record board after his 8:13.92 3000m time, an 11-‐second PR, bested the legendary Ed Haver's time that has stood for 40 years. Sees' 3000m win completed a 800-‐1500-‐3k sweep for the
Freshman Nathan Strum kicking his way on to the Aggie all-‐time list
Aggies, after frosh Kevin Griffith won the 1500m and counterpart Nathan Strum ran a strong 1:51.98 season opener in the 800m, putting him at 10th all time in his 800m debut as an Aggie. On the women's side, other event winners included Kayla Carter in the 100m hurdles (14.12), Ugo Eke in the 400m (55.57), Melanise Chapman in the 200m (24.55) and the 4 x 400m relay (3:50.66). Both Carter's and Chapman's races proved to be 1
women's all-‐time lists in those events. Frosh Kellie Grigg also landed herself on the top ten list with her 25.15 200m time. Other men's event winners were Brock Bennet in the javelin (195'11"), Ethan Ostrom in the pole vault (17'.75"), Thomas Phillips in the 400m hurdles (50.96), Ray Green in the long jump (23'11.5") and Ed Orgon in the shot put (55'1.5"). Ostrom's vault made him the fist Aggie over 17 feet in the past ten years, and his, Bennet's and Green's efforts caused movement on the all-‐time lists. Aggie Open provided an opportunity Senior Chid Onyewuenyi has set a school record in every for some solid marks before finals week and a meet this season short breather for spring break before the Aggies return to action at the Cal-‐Nevada Championships and Stanford Invite on the last In the field events senior Ray Green won the triple jump in 49-‐1 while Ethan Ostrom led a weekend of March. 1-‐2-‐3 Aggie sweep in the pole vault in 16-‐2.75. The men’s short relay and the long relays Aggies Start Season Strong at clocked good early season times of 41.78 and 3:16.12, respectively. Cal Opener Other impressive performances of note came from sophomore Melanise Chapman in The Aggies opened their outdoor campaign in the 100m and junior Brock Bennett in the fine form on Saturday, March 6th in Berkeley, javelin. Chapman opened her season with an CA. The meet served as the outdoor season 11.90, .04 seconds off her school record of opener for UCD, UC Berkeley, Stanford, Fresno 11.86 and good enough for second place. State, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, and Bennett moved to #6 all-‐time at UC Davis with University of San Francisco. 5th-‐year senior captain Chid Onyewuenyi led the way with with a 192 feet, 9 inch toss in Onyewuenyi breaks school record the hammer throw to capture that event. She twice during indoor season went on to place 2nd in the discus (140-‐07) The Aggies traveled to University of and third in the shot put (46-‐11.75). The only Washington twice this winter to get a first other Aggie woman to win an event was look at regional competition. At the first meet senior captain Ugo Eke who won the 400m in on January 29th, senior Chid Onyewuenyi 55.91. broke Sara Clinkenburg’s indoor shot put On the men’s side, Alex Wilright captured the record with a throw of 48-‐1.75. The throw 400m in 48.36 while teammate Thomas was good enough for 4th place. Two weeks Phillips won the 400 hurdles in 52.57. Phillips later, the Aggie returned to the Dempsey owns the school record in the open 400 while indoor facility where Onyewuenyi bettered Wilright has the 400 hurdles record. that record 7.25 inches with her throw of 48-‐ Freshman Nathan Strum had a stellar college 9. Again that mark was good enough for 4th debut as he edged out Stanford’s Marco place. At the same meet junior Lauren Radke Bertolotti to win the 1500 in 3:51.61. In had an indoor personal best of 11 feet which Go, Ags! 2
UC DAVIS TRACK AND FIELD
ranks her 3rd on the UC Davis all-‐time indoor list. Leslie Reed also moved up the all-‐time list to the third position with her mark of 25.62 in the 200m.
Teaford finished 24th in the junior Freshman Hilary women’s race at the US Cross Country Championships on February 5th.
MARCH 2011
Aggies all finish in top 30 at US Cross Country Championships A small contingent of UC Davis cross country runners competed in a mid-‐winter cross country race February 5th at the US Cross Country Championships in San Diego, CA. The race serves as trials for the World Championships as well as the North American, Central American, and Caribbean Championships. Three frosh represented the Aggies ath the junior level. Hilary Teaford and Shannon Harcus both competed in the women’s race where they finished 24th and 27th respectively. Freshman Alex Summers made his college debut in the junior men’s race after redshirting the 2010 cross country season. His time of 26:06 over the 8k course was good enough for 22nd place. After a breakthrough cross country season that culminated with a conference title and All-‐American honors, junior Jonathan Petersen went to San Diego to test his mettle against the nation’s elite and try his hand at a longer distance. He finished the 12 kilometer course in 37:47 and 25th place. He was just seconds behind 2010 National 20k Champion Sean Quigley, and 13 seconds ahead of 3 time Olympian Abdi Abdirahman.
ALUMNI!
Don’t miss our alumni reunion on April 15th See page 5 for details
Go, Ags!
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UC DAVIS TRACK AND FIELD
MARCH 2011
Saturday February 5, 2011 marked the first day I was given the opportunity to wear a UC Davis singlet in a cross country race. To make it even more special, it was the US Cross Country Championships at Mission Bay Park in San Diego. The chance for me to even compete at this meet came as a surprise after a cross country season that was less than fulfilling. I ended up red-‐shirting cross country after I battled a nagging lower-‐leg injury for much of the fall. As a walk-‐on and the Division I level, I knew my chances of remaining on the roster and making the track were in the balance unless I could quickly get back into shape. After numerous days of cross training in Hickey Pool and visiting our ATC, Matt Davey, in the athletic training room, I finally was able to run on a consistent schedule. Coming back to running was a great sign for me, as I knew that if I remained healthy, I could get into shape for January's time trial. The freshman guys on the team were very supportive as they often ran with me around the grass IM field to stay on completely soft surface. With the fall quarter ending, it was time to go back to my hometown and see how my leg would hold up away from my weekly visits to the training room. Knowing the time trial was quickly approaching, I had to put my head down and get to full training instead of running only four to five days a week. Being at home could not have come at a better time since it allowed me to recover fully after each run and push my miles up in chunks of five miles per week. After returning to Davis, I quickly learned that I was in decent shape but there was still tremendous room for improvement. With the time trial only one day away, I was very nervous for how I would perform. Though the 3k time trial hurt, I felt good about my standing in regards to fitness. Shortly following the time trial, Coach Wartenburg presented me with the opportunity to represent UC Davis in the US Cross Country Championships. There, I would run in my first 8k, which is quite a bit longer than the 5k races I was used to in high school. Coach Wartenburg gave me some inspiring quotes before my race and told some racing tips, as pacing is crucial for the 8k. Warming up for the race was a very Go, Ags!
exciting yet strange experience, since for the first time since May I was not the person watching others warm up. The start of the race came all too quickly, but I felt smooth in the beginning. Even though I stayed just behind the top group throughout the first part of the race, I still came through the 3k at almost my pace for the time trial, and I still had 5k left to go. The middle of the race could only be described as pure pain, as my teammates warned me would happen, but I finished strong and felt dead for about three hours after. It was awesome going around the park watching my teammates race while supporting the other UC Davis athletes. Receiving text messages from the guys back in Davis about my race finally made me feel accepted and created some eagerness in me to get to racing as a full team. San Diego was a great experience that taught me about the 8k race and ready to continue training in order to make an impact on the track team. Now that my body is allowing me to consistently run, I feel good about my training and I look forward to improving throughout the season. Like usual, GO, AGS!
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UC DAVIS TRACK AND FIELD
Go, Ags!
MARCH 2011
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UC DAVIS TRACK AND FIELD
2012 UC Davis Track and Field Schedule Cal Opener March 5th Aggie Open March 12th Hornet Invitational March 19th Stanford Invitational March 25th & 26th Cal-‐Nevada Championships March 26th & 27th Causeway Dual April 4th Jackie Joyner-‐Kersee Invite April 8th & 9th Mondo Invitational April 9th Woody Wilson Classic April 16th Brutus Hamilton Invitational April 22nd & 23rd Steve Scott invitational April 30th Cardinal Invitational May 1st Big West Multi Championships May 6th & 7th Big West Championships May 13th & 14th NCAA West Region Champs May 26th-‐28th NCAA Championships June 9th-‐11th USATF Championships June 24th-‐26th
Alums, Friends, and supporters of UC Davis Track and Field, Signs of spring have begun to emerge here in Davis, and with our first outdoor meets behind us, both the men’s and women’s teams remain focused on prepping for upcoming meets where conference and national marks can be posted. Opportunities to compete at Stanford and the Cal-Nevada Championships await at the end of the upcoming spring break, and on the first weekend in April we welcome Sacramento State to Toomey Field for the re-initiation of the Causeway Dual Meet.
2011 Track & Field Staff Byron Talley Director of Cross Country and Track and Field Drew Wartenburg Head Cross Country/Distance Coach Tim Fua Assistant Track & Field/Throws Coach Kim Graham-‐Miller Assistant Track & Field/Sprint Coach Erv Hunt Assistant Track & Field/Hurdles Coach Kim Conley Assistant Cross Country and Track & Field Coach Sam Ahlbeck Volunteer Assistant Cross Country and Track & Field Coach Hideshi Okamoto Volunteer Assistant Track & Field/Jumps Coach
We hope you can come out to cheer on the Ags here on campus, in the Bay Area or in SoCal at some point soon. We also look forward to seeing as many of you as possible at the upcoming alumni reunion, scheduled for Woody Wilson and Picnic Day weekend. In the meantime stay in touch. - UC Davis Track & Field Staff
Go, Ags!
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