Two Programs Record First Big West Titles In Final Day Of Competition
In a down to the wire contest at the 2012 Big West Track and Field Championships, colors lined the outside of the track as teams cheered on contenders in the men’s and women’s 4x400 relay, the deciding race at Anteater Stadium on the campus of UC Irvine to end the afternoon.
The UC Davis women and UC Santa Barbara men proved to be the toughest competitors as both captured the first team titles in their program histories.
The Gauchos recorded a total 179 points for the men’s championship, outscoring defending title winner Long Beach State, who finished with 150 points.Cal State Northridge came in third with a total of 117, with Cal Poly collecting fourth tallying 111 points. Taking the fifth spot was UC Riverside with 102, followed by UC Davis in sixth with 70. Host UC Irvine (69) and Cal State Fullerton (16) closed out the men’s standings.
The Aggie women came out on top after the final day of competition with 170 points, a half-point ahead over runner-up UC Santa Barbara with 169.50 points overall. Long Beach State came in third with 113, with the defending women's champs Cal State Northridge collecting 109 points. UC Riverside marked 82 points for fifth, with Cal State Fullerton calculating 63 in sixth.Closing out the women’s competition was UC Irvine (59) and Cal Poly (52.50).
UCSB Holds Steady With Marks To Take Day 1 at The Big West Championships
Going into competition at the Big West Track and Field Championships, the Gauchos men led after outstanding performances last week place at Anteater Stadium hosted by UC Irvine in the multi-events for both men and women.
Keeping the competitive edge alive, UC Santa Barbara continued to dominate the conference opponents improving their score to 105 after the first day of contest.Recording a team score of 20 at the decathlon event for the Big West Championship last week, UC Santa Barbara men continued their climb to the top to exclude closest competitor by over 50 points.
In a top-three sweep, Gauchos junior Mitchell Haag took home a top mark in the men’s long jump with a 2.17m followed by teammates Michael Larocca (2.11m) and Max Villaba (2.06).
COMPLETE RECAP
Masterson Leads Gauchos In Big West Championships Showing
Competition concluded for the Big West Multi-Event Championships closing out the first round of competition for the Big West Track and Field Championships with record-breaking marks on the day.
UC Santa Barbara’s Barbara Nwaba set a new Big West Championship Meet record in the women’s heptathlon event with 5,709 points, breaking the previous record set by Sharon Day who recorded 5,642 points in 2008.
Nwaba was the only contender for the Gauchos finishing on top in five of the seven events, to collect a team total of 10 points going into the next round of competition.
With the runner-up finish, Sara Macey of Long Beach State accumulated a lifetime-best 5,160 points, which ranks third in school history.Kristen Kiefer placed fourth (4,985) and Phylicia Johnson took fifth (4,932) to combine for the 49ers a conference-best 19 points for first place.
Cal State Northridge brought in a combined 6 points with Olympia Jewett leading the way marking 5,040 points for third place overall.Cal Poly sits in fourth with a team total 3 points with UC Riverside closing out the race with one point respectively.
Derek Masterson of UC Santa Barbara continued in his back-to-back showing, leading all competitors with a total 7,355 in the decathlon.Taking second, teammate Mikael Powers scored 6,966, bringing in a team total 20 points.
UC Santa Barbara Dominates Day One in Multi's at Big West Championship
The Big West Track and Field Championship is underway as the eight conference teams rallied up for the first round of competition in Anteater Stadium at UC Irvine for multi-event championships.
UC Santa Barbara showed dominance leading both the men’s and women’s section of the decathlon and heptathlon events.Three-time Big West Athlete of the Week this season, Barbara Nwaba led in all women’s events with a total score 3648 for the day competing in the 100-hurdles, high jump, shot put, and 200 meter.
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