Three Titans Are Men to Beat at Big West Finals May 11, 2004– Irvine, CA
The Big West Conference Championships at UC Irvine are the agenda this
weekend. Cal State Fullerton hopes to score significant points in the
field events and will try to pick up some unexpected scoring in the running
events.
Giovanni Lanaro is the favorite to repeat as the men's pole vault champion,
but he will be pressed again by John Takahashi of Cal Poly. Lanaro has
a best of 18 feet, 4 1/2 inches while Takahashi, last year's runnerup,
has gone 18 feet, 1 1/2 inches this season. The third best vaulter is
at 17 feet.
The Titans also own the best mark this season in both horizontal jumps.
Aaron Williams has leaped 24 feet, 6 1/4 inches in the long jump and Joe
Thomas has gone 50 feet, 8 3/4 inches in the triple jump. Pushing both
of them is Jason Romero of Cal State Northridge, who has jumped 24 feet,
4 1/2 inches in the long jump and 50 feet, 6 1/4 inches in the triple
jump. No other long jumpers have surpassed 24 feet but there are two other
triple jumpers in the 50-foot club.
The Titans' best hopes on the track are in the distance races where Jordan
Horn has the sixth-best mark (14:32.06) in the 5000 meters and steeplechaser
Evan Geisert is eighth-best (9:27.45).
On the women's side, field events are again Fullerton's strength. Jennifer
Clarke has the Big West's third best pole vault at 12 feet, 3 1/2 inches.
The best mark this year is 12 feet, 11 1/2 inches by UC Irvine's Erin
Curtis.
Lacey Welborn has the fourth-best mark in the triple jump at 39 feet,
11 1/2 inches. On the track, the Titans will look for points in the 800
meters where Christine Ruby and Lakeysha McClenton are ranked sixth and
seventh, respectively, at 2:11.90 and 2.12.00. Destany Cearley has the
seventh best time in the 400 intermediate hurdles at 1:02:27.
Utah State is the men's defending champion while Idaho is the women's
defending champion.
As a final tuneup last weekend, the Titans split forces between the Northridge
Open and the Occidental Invitational. At Northridge, the Titans got first-place
showings from Lanaro in the pole vault (17 feet, 10 1/2 inches), Welborn
in the triple jump (39 feet, 1 inch) and Williams in the long jump (24-feet,
5 3/4 inches). Andrew Little and Brad Seberhagen placed third and fourth,
respectively, at 15 feet in the vault. Other top Titan efforts: Memory
Lesaca second in the women’s high jump at 4 feet, 11 3/4 inches;
Cearley second in the women’s 400 meter hurdles at 1:03.9; and Thomas,
second in the men’s triple jump at 50 feet, 5 1/2 inches. Fullerton
ran four, five and six in the women’s 200 in the persons of LaTangia
Oliver (25.76), Terri Anderson (25.78) and Courtney Shires (26.26).
Meanwhile, the distance runners competed in Eagle Rock. The best finishes
came from Catie Garrett, 11th in the women’s 1,500 at 4:48.23, followed
by Danielle Hernandez in 13th at 4:49.46. Ruby was 15th in the 800 and,
on the men’s side, Marcos Campos finished 21st in the 1500 in a time
of 3:59.21.
