After the third day of the 2007 Big West Track & Field Championships, the UC Santa Barbara men and Cal State Northridge women stand in the lead heading into the final day of competition tomorrow. The championships are being held at the Matador Track Complex on the campus of Cal State Northridge in Northridge, Calif.

The Gauchos amassed 70.5 points to claim the top spot after the days’ events. Cal Poly is in second place with 63 points, while Cal State Northridge rounds out the top three with 56 tallies. UC Irvine stands in fourth place with 35 points, while fifth place is occupied by Long Beach State with 24 points. Cal State Fullerton (22) and UC Riverside (2.5) round out the scoring on the men’s side. 

In the women’s half of the competition, the Matadors own the lead after collecting 72 points, 26 more than second place UC Santa Barbara. Third place belongs to Cal Poly with 41 points, while Long Beach State stands in fourth with 33.5 tallies. UC Irvine is next in fifth with 17 points, while Cal State Fullerton (16) and UC Riverside (8.5) are sixth and seventh, respectively.

The field events had the competitors up bright and early as the hammer lead off the day’s events. UC Santa Barbara’s Amy Haapanen, who holds the conference and meet record in the event, took home the gold on the women’s side as the senior posted a mark of 206-03 (62.88m). Reif Lawson made it a Gaucho sweep as he recorded a mark of 190-01 (57.95m) to top the next finisher by almost three feet. 

The women’s pole vault was the next field event to finish as Jenna Homes of Cal Poly took home first place. The freshman topped Krystal Quinn of Cal State Northridge with an effort of 12-5.50 (3.80m).

With the day’s action picking up in pace and intensity, the men’s high jump was next as Julian Eison and Jon Wratten of UC Irvine, Jacob Maus of UC Santa Barbara and LeRon Brown of Cal State Fullerton finished with a mark of 6-10.75 (2.10m). 

The women’s javelin was the next event to finish up as Long Beach State’s Alex Shaw won the individual crown with a showing of 160-06 (48.92m). Teammate Kim Heinz, who set the conference record in the event earlier this season, finished right behind her with a mark of 157-09 (48.08m). The men’s side of the competition saw Cal Poly’s Aris Borjas continue his season-long domination in the event with a monster toss of 223-07 (68.15m), topping the second place finisher by just over 22 feet.

The women’s long jump scores were the next to come in and it was Cal State Northridge junior Candyce Babb’s effort of 20-7.25 (that claimed the gold. On the men’s side of the event, Rolando Felizola led a 1-2 Matador finish with his mark of 24-6.50 (7.48m). Teammate Robert Robinson was right behind him with a mark of 23-8.75 (7.23m). 

There were also two scored track events that served as a bookend for the day’s meet, the 3,000-meter steeplechase and the 10,000-meter run.

In the steeplechase, Bethany Nickless and Christie Farson of UC Santa Barbara finished 1-2 as Nickless completed the event in 10:52.41, while Farson clocked an 11:03.51. The Gauchos completed their sweep in the event as Mike Chavez and Mike Powers went 1-2 on the men’s side. Chavez was clocked at 8:58.80, while Powers wrapped up the race in 9:05.33. Both times were NCAA Regional qualifying marks.

In the final event of the day, Cal Poly’s Troy Swier ran the 10,000-meter run in 30:15.66 for the gold medal. Fellow Mustang Jameson Mora was second with a time of 30:20.72. In a recurring theme for the day, UC Santa Barbara went 1-2 on the women’s side of the race with Megan Lewis claiming the individual title in 35:42.81, while Stephanie Rothstein, last year’s champion in the event, was right behind her at 35:43.02. 

Tomorrow’s action is set to begin at noon with the women’s shot put, men’s discus and women’s triple jump. The track finals begin at 3 p.m. with the men’s 4x100-meter relay final.