May 13, 2009

Complete Release in PDF Format

LONG BEACH - The Long Beach State men's and women's track and field teams will contend for the conference title this weekend as they head to Irvine for the Big West Championships, May 15-16, at Anteater Stadium.

The meet gets underway on Friday with the men's hammer throw at 11 a.m., while the track events are set to start with the men's steeplechase at 4 p.m. The women's hammer (11 a.m.) will kick off Saturday's field action and the men's 4x100 relay is slated as the first track event (4 p.m.).

A Look Ahead...
Due to injuries, the 49ers will be without four of their eight team captains this weekend. Three key athletes on the women's side, including senior Jennifer Onyeagbako and sophomores Phylicia Johnson and Kristen Kiefer, and the men's top sprinter, Austin Fowler, are not expected to compete. All four athletes were all-conference performers.

"Despite the setbacks we have had this season, we have a resilient team and we still have many success stories to back up our hopes for a solid performance at the conference championships," said 49er head coach Andy Sythe.

The men have a well-balanced attack with junior Kenneth Medwood, who enters the weekend ranked second in the conference in the 400 hurdles and third in the long jump, leading the way in the track events. Christopher Lawson and Nimrod Piggee are also expected to provide depth in the hurdles.

The throws will be a strong point for The Beach with Patrick Smith, Colin Dunbar and Gabe Rodriguez competing in the javelin, while Rajan Bains, Peter Fourtounis, Kellen Boaz and Dunbar are qualifiers in the shot put, discus and hammer. The 49ers are also looking solid in the jumps and distance events with NCAA Regional qualifiers Rodney Hawkins (triple jump), Alex Black (high jump), Alex Freitas (800m), Matt Maldonado (1500m) and Dylan Jaedtke (steeplechase).

The women have been hit harder with the injury bug, but are very strong in the distance events. Missy Barclay (1500m) and Carly Harris (5000m) are already regional qualifiers, while Kristina Wilson, who ranks first in the conference in the 10,000m, Ejiro Okoro (800m) and Sarah Apgar (5000m) round out the 49er contingent.

In their first year at The Beach, Ashley Campbell and B.J. Triplett look to continue their success in the short sprints, while Katelyn Beighton and Katie Crowe are positioned well to score in the pole vault. Leading the way in the high jump is Tayler O'Connor, who won the event in the heptathlon last weekend, and she will be joined by Janelle Coulter and Sara Macey. Senior Tiana Johnson will also provide experience and leadership in the jumps.

NCAA Regional Qualifiers
Long Beach State currently has 13 NCAA West Regional qualifiers. Those athletes are: Alex Black (high jump), Colin Dunbar (hammer), Alex Freitas (800m), Rodney Hawkins (triple jump), Dylan Jaedtke (steeplechase), Matt Maldonado (1500m), Kenneth Medwood (400H), Nimrod Piggee (110H), Patrick Smith (javelin), Missy Barclay (1500m), Carly Harris (5000m, steeplechase), Tayler O'Connor (high jump) and Jennifer Onyeagbako (discus, hammer). Onyeagbako will be unable to compete, however, as she suffered a season-ending injury at the VS Athletics Beach Invitational.

Up Next
Long Beach State will travel to Eugene, Ore., for the NCAA West Regionals, May 29-30.