Published 2009-05-06T00:00:00Z”/>
Victor Cantu <br>Joel Hersch
The men’s track and field team brought a whole new meaning to the phrase “running against the wind” this weekend, overcoming rain, wind and soggy conditions to capture the conference championship in the California Collegiate Athletic Association three-day contest at University Stadium.
This victory marked the sixth year in a row the men have won the top spot.
Along with earning many honors over the weekend, the men’s track and field coach Kirk Freitas was awarded CCAA coach of the year.
“We prepared all year for this one weekend,” Freitas said. “It’s not just about winning, it’s about environment. We’re a family out here.”
<strong>Men sweep 800-meter race</strong>
A rare 800-meter race outcome took place on Saturday in which Chico State took first, second, third, fourth and fifth places. Michael Wickman took first place with a provisional time of 1 minute, 52.21 seconds. Rounding out the field in the second through fifth spots were Wildcats Clinton Hayes, Brian Nelson, David Wellman and Kyle Robinson, respectively.
Wickman also won first place in the men’s 1500-meter race, clocking in at 3:53.88. Fellow Wildcat David Wellman took home second place with 3:56.29.
Chico State swept first, second and third places in the 3,000-meter steeplechase. The top finishers, in order, were Jose Garcia, Beau Rogers and Jordan Fairley.
<strong>Teammate gives up first place finish to fellow Wildcat</strong>
Garcia, a 23-year-old senior, won the event with a time of 9:22.57. He was in second place through most of the race behind his roommate, Rogers.
“Down the stretch (Rogers) yelled, “Take it, just take it,'” said Garcia, who thinks Rogers let him take first because it’s his senior year. “I ended up finding a second gear and finished just ahead of him,” Garcia said.
It was only Garcia’s second win at a four-year college, he said.
Fairley’s third place finish was remarkable as he’d been out all season with an injured Achilles tendon, and it was his first race of the year.
In the 5,000-meter race, the ‘Cats took three of the top four spots: first, third and fourth. Rogers took first place with a time of 14:57.48.
Teammates Jimmy Elam and Tim Cannon placed third and fourth, respectively.
Chico State also won the 4×100-meter relay with the team of Joe Floriolli, Jake Nelson, Nick Lonnegren and Bojurie Rogers-Wright. Their combined first-place time was 41.59 seconds.
In addition to helping his team take the race, Lonnegren came in second in both the 100-meter and 200-meter dashes.
Matt Jarvis took home a first place in the shot put, with a provisional qualifying distance of 52 feet, 5.25 inches.
Jake Nelson finished second after Leon Baham of UC San Diego in the 110-meter hurdles with a time of 14.77 seconds.
In the high jump, Wildcat Ryan Bertucci placed second, leaping 6 feet, 8 inches.
Finishing third in the triple jump was ‘Cat Clayton Francis who reached 45 feet, 7 inches.
Chico State’s Oliver Shabram came in third place in the 400-meter hurdles, finishing at 54.19 seconds.
<strong>Runners face off in women’s 1500-meter race</strong>
As 13 young women lined up shoulder to shoulder in the cold rain, each tensely waiting for the gunshot to start the 1500-meter race, spectators on the sidelines shouted encouragement over the sound of downpour.
Cal State Stanislaus senior Catherine Jaureguy ran the 3,000-meter steeplechase and, with her ninth place finish, was excited to be involved in the meet, she said.
“Chico always puts on a stellar track meet so we love coming here,” Jaureguy said. “Regardless of the rain, it’s been a great time.”
Chico State sophomore runner Kara Lubieniecki finished third in the 1,500-meter race.
<strong>Women finish championship contest in third place</strong>
The women’s track and field team placed third out of 7 colleges in the conference championships with 142.5 points. UC San Diego won the title for the fifth-straight season with 247.5 points. Cal State L.A. finished second with 164 points.
Wildcat Johntay Cokley, a senior from Sacramento, took second place in the 800-meter race. She was in last place at the half-way point, then blasted past other runners to lead the field until the very end, when April Montgomery of Cal State Stanislaus over took Cokley by 0.04 a second.
Wildcat sophomore Kara Lubieniecki finished second in the 5,000-meter race and third in the 1,500-meter race. Freshman Alia Gray finished third in the 5,000-meter race. Sophomore Kelly Clancey and freshman Julianne Conrad tied for fourth place in the high jump.
Sophomore and Orion columnist Tori Tyler, who won the 10,000-meter race on Friday, couldn’t compete in the 5,000-meter race Saturday due to an ongoing back injury, which kept her out of competition several weeks prior to the championships.
The Wildcats took home the overall CCAA conference championship, scoring 257 points against UC San Diego, which scored 164 points. Cal Poly Pomona came in third with 130 points.
Chico State has two more regular-season meets this weekend. The Sacramento State Open takes place Friday and the Occidental College Invitational happens Saturday. Then, the ‘Cats are off to the NCAA Championships in San Angelo, Texas on May 21 to 23.
Victor Cantu can be reached at <a href= “javascript:void(location.href=’mailto:’+String.fromCharCode(118,99,97,110,116,117,64,116,104,101,111,114,105,111,110,46,99,111,109)+’?subject=re%3A%20CCAA%20Championship’)”> [email protected]</a>Joel Hersch can be reached at <a href= “javascript:void(location.href=’mailto:’+String.fromCharCode(106,104,101,114,115,99,104,64,116,104,101,111,114,105,111,110,46,99,111,109)+’?subject=re%3A%20CCAA%20Championship’)”> [email protected]</a>
