2013 Track and Field Final Release
The 2013 Big West Track and Field season featured record-setting performances while 10 athletes earned NCAA All-American honors.
Wallace Highlights Big West Efforts At NCAA Championships: UC Davis senior Lauren Wallace broke her own school record in the finals of the 800-meters at the 2013 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships June 7 in Eugene, Ore. She finished eighth in the race with a time of 2:02.91, becoming the first member of the Aggie women’s program to earn first-team All-America honors in a running event. Wallace, who rewrote the school record on three different occasions during the season, was timed in 2:03.39 when she won the 800 at the Big West Championship in May.
Wallace was the lone Big West representative to capture first-team All-America recognition at the University of Oregon-hosted national meet. However, nine other Big West athletes claimed All-America honors.
On the women’s side, UC Davis sophomore Katie Fry (3,000-meter steeplechase) and Hawai’i senior Amanda Alvarez (triple jump) each received second team honors for finishing 14th and 16th in their respective events. The trio of UC Davis sophomore Ashley Marshall (100-meters), UC Riverside senior Damajeria Dubose (1500-meters) and UC Santa Barbara senior Jennifer Carey (400-meters) were honorable mention recipients.
Men’s honorees included Cal State Northridge junior Carl Horsley, who claimed second team All-America accolades in the 100-meters and honorable mention acclaim in the 200-meters. He was the only Big West All-American in multiple events. Horsley erased a 15-year old school record during the season’s final two meets – the West Preliminary Round and NCAA Championship. He ran 10.23 in the former and nipped that mark with a sizzling 10.22 in the semifinal round at Eugene, finishing in 13th place overall.
UC Riverside senior Ryan Swafford captured second team All-America honors for the second straight year. The triple jumper cleared 51-07.00 on his first try, good enough for 13th place in the final standings. Highlander teammate Ted Hooper posted a mark of 24-11.25 in his signature event – the long jump – to secure second team status as well. Rounding out the group of conference All-American representatives was Long Beach State freshman Willie Alexander, an honorable mention recipient in the long jump.
Over the last three years, 33 Big West individuals have combined to produce 35 All-American citations.
Women’s Overall, Conference Meet Records Fall: Several women etched their names in the Big West record book as they set new top marks. On the final day of the Big West Championship, the Cal State Northridge 4x100 relay team – Leshel Vines, Hafsatu Kamara, Lexis Lambert and Marie Veale – set overall and conference meet records with a blazing time of 44.43. Two other Big West meet records also fell that day. Cal Poly freshman Laura Hollander was timed in 16:25.62 for a record-setting performance in the 5,000-meters. UC Davis sophomore Ashley Marshall erased a record that had held for 14 years and had been owned by Cal Poly’s Tamatha Jackson. Marshall ran 11.34 in the 100-meters to clip Jackson’s 11.36. In the process, Marshall tied the Big West overall record that was initially set by UNLV’s Sonja Green in 1987.
The burgeoning UC Davis distance program under Big West Women’s Coach of the Year Drew Wartenburg also bore fruit in the form of two school and conference records set at the Payton Jordan Invitational on Apr. 28. Junior Alycia Cridebring became the standard bearer in the 5,000-meters as she ran 15:49.05. Senior Sarah Sumpter crossed in 33:18.51 in the 10,000-meters to eclipse the previous Big West mark of 33:26.79 held by UC Santa Barbara’s Stephanie Rothstein since 2007.
Long Beach State Men, UC Davis Women Climb Into Victory Circle At Big West Meet: The Long Beach State men and UC Davis women captured the 2013 Big West Track and Field titles to wrap up the two-day event at the Matador Track and Field Complex on the campus of Cal State Northridge.
The 49ers won the league meet for the fourth time in the last eight years and collected their seventh championship overall. The seven titles tie LBSU with former member Utah State for the third-most in Big West history. LBSU amassed 176.5 points to outdistance second place UC Santa Barbara (152) and Cal Poly, which finished third with 146. The host Matadors came in fourth with 115.5 points with UC Riverside in fifth (70). Rounding out the men’s standings were UC Irvine (58), Cal State Fullerton (56.5) and UC Davis (37.5). Led by the throwers, the 49er field contingent compiled 82.5 of the team’s winning point total to fuel the team victory.
The Aggies garnered their second straight women’s title behind a dominant effort from their sprinters and distance runners. UC Davis competitors won nine of the 21 scored events, claiming titles in the steeplechase, 10,000 meters, 1,500 meters, 100 meter hurdles, 100 meter dash, 200 meter dash, 800 meters, pole vault and 4x400 relay. UCD scored 172.5 points to keep runner-up UC Santa Barbara (128.5) at bay. Host CSUN claimed third place with 127 points. The standings were jumbled in the middle as Hawai’i (76.5), Long Beach State (75) and Cal Poly (71.5) finished fourth through sixth, while UC Riverside (65.5), UC Irvine (57) and Cal State Fullerton (45.5) rounded out the team scoring.
Kujore Captures Three Golds: UC Santa Barbara senior Irene Kujore had a stellar performance at the Big West Championship, becoming the first individual in history to win the shot put, hammer and discus at the conference meet. She posted top marks in the shot put (51-07.75), hammer (191-08) and discus (166-04), winning back-to-back titles in the hammer and shot put.