Cal State Northridge junior Dashalle Andrews became the first Big West national champion since 2005 as the junior won the long jump during day two of the NCAA Championships.
Andrews, who qualified for the finals on his final attempt Wednesday, set the bar at 7.68 meters on his first attempt Thursday. He held off Louisville's Tone Belt for the NCAA title, becoming just the second CSUN athlete to claim an individual national crown. Teammate Rolando Felizola also competed in the event, finishing in 11th place with a mark of 7.16 meters.
UC Irvine's Lauren Collins had the busiest day of all the Big West athletes with her participation in the heptathlon. Collins, who set a school record in the heptathlon earlier this season, finished the 100-meter hurdles, high jump, shot put and 200-meter dash events for a total of 3,370 points, good for 11th place after the first day of competition. Her top effort was a fourth place finish in the high jump with a mark of 1.78 meters.
Long Beach State's Kim Heinz was another Big West athlete competing in the field events as she participated in the javelin. Heinz qualified for the finals Saturday after finishing in ninth place with a toss of 49.23 meters.
The final Big West competitor in a field event was UC Santa Barbara's Amy Haapanen in the shot put. Haapanen just missed qualifying for the finals after finishing in 15th place with a toss of 15.40 meters.
In the track events, Long Beach State's Brent Gray got things going for the Big West athletes as he competed in the 200-meter dash. He finished the first round of the event third in his heat and 11th overall at 20.96, qualifying for the semifinals. Gray then stepped up his efforts in the semifinals later in the day, posting a 20.51 for third in his heat and fifth overall. His efforts advanced him to the championship round tomorrow.
The distance events featured several Big West athletes to wrap up the day. UC Santa Barbara's Stephanie Rothstein gave the Gauchos points with her effort in the 10,000-meter run. The senior finished fourth in the event with a time of 33:23.33. Teammate Megan Lewis also participated in the event as she completed the run in 34:20.17, good for 14th place. Competing in the men's side of the event was Cal State Fullerton's Jordan Horn. He finished 15th with a time of 29:29.48.
Cal Poly's Phillip Reid and UC Irvine's Ricky Barnes were the lone Big West competitors in the 1,500-meter run, but neither could qualify for the finals. Barnes finished seventh in his heat and 17th overall at 3:45.37, while Reid was 11th in his heat and 19th overall at 3:46.81.