The first day of the 2007 NCAA Track & Field Championships saw several Big West athletes put themselves in excellent position for top finishes in their respective events. The championships are being held at Hornet Stadium on the campus of Sacramento State University in Sacramento, Calif.
With the throwing events taking the lead at the championships, Cal Poly's Aris Borjas finished the qualifying round of the javelin in third place after registering a toss of 69.91 meters. Long Beach State's Tyson Gray finds himself in 19th after the opening round of compeition in the event with a toss of 61.61 meters, while UC Santa Barbara's John Delaney is 26th at 56.45 meters.
In the women's hammer, conference champion Amy Haapanen of UCSB wrapped up day one in fifth place with a toss 62.23 meters. Haapanen is the only Big West athlete competing in the women's end of the event. Fellow Gaucho Eugene Bradley, the lone men's Big West competitor in the event, recorded an eighth place finish after his mark of 64.30 meters.
The women's pole vault had a late Big West addition as Long Beach Statte's Jill Reynolds was added to the NCAA fold. She stands in a tie for tenth after recording an effort of 3.75 meters.
The men's long jump featured a pair of Cal State Northridge athletes as Rolando Felizola and Dashalle Andrews competed in the event. Felizola stands in fifth after day one with a mark of 7.66 meters, while Andrews isn't far behind in ninth at 7.57 meters.
Cal Poly high jumper Sharon Day, the 2005 NCAA champion in the event, returned to the NCAA stage after redshirting a year ago. Day stands in a tie for first with 10 other competitors after recording an effort of 1.80 meters.
The women's discus prelims featured a pair of Big West athletes as Long Beach State's Jennifer Onyeagbako and UC Santa Barbara's Haapanen competed. Onyeagbako finished in ninth after the prelims wtith a toss of 52,41 meters, while Haapanen stands in ninteenth with a mark of 49.15 meters.
The final field event of the day was the men's high jump and UC Irvine's Julian Eiason stands in a tie for first with 15 other competitors at 2.10 meters. Jonathan Golden of Cal State Fullerton is right off the lead after finishing with a mark of 2.05 meters.
The track events started with the 4x100-meter relays as the women's contingents from Cal State Northridge and Long Beach State represented the Big West. The Matadors finished fourh in their heat and fourteenth overall with a time of 45.18. The 49ers were fifth in their heat and eighteenth overall at 45.73.
LBSU's Brent Gray, the 2007 Big West Athlete of the Year, was the next to compete as he finished fourth in his heat and eleventh overall with a time of 10.24. Gray could not advance to the finals Friday after he finished 16th in the semis at 10.42.
Cal State Northridge's Thomas Ross was next up in the 110-meter hurdles and the junior finished the prelims fourth in his heat and tenth overall at 13.77. Ross was unable to finish in the top eight after his effort of 13.92 in the semis.
Another CSUN athlete was next in competition as Deanna Goodwin competed in the women's 400-meter dash to wrap up the day for Big West athletes. She finished fifth in her heat and 26th overall after recording a time of 54.28.