Fresno State Athletics
1999 Track Season in Review
6/21/1999 12:00:00 AM | Women's Track and Field
The Bulldogs closed out the 1999 outdoor season at the NCAA Championship in Boise, Idaho. Seniors Melissa Price and Angela Daigle, and freshman Brooke Lankard qualified for the four-day meet based on performances throughout the season. Overall the team finished in a tie for 55th place with a total of three points. Going for her first NCAA outdoor title, two-time NCAA indoor pole vault champion Melissa Price finished sixth with a jump of 12-9 1/2. In doing so she was named an All-American for the third time in her career. The Fresno State graduate will now focus on training in Southern California in the hopes of qualifying for the 2000 Olympic team.
In just her first year with the Dogs, Lankard qualified for the pole vault competition but failed to clear the opening height.
The only Fresno State sprinter to qualify for the meet, Daigle competed in the 100 and 200, making the semifinals in each event. Her preliminary times of 11.44 in the 100 and 23.53 in the 200 were among the top 16, but she did not qualify for the finals with a 11th-place finish of 11.35 in the 100, and a 10th-place time of 23.27 in the 200. Only the top eight advanced to the finals. Daigle did earn All-America honors as one of the top eight American sprinters at the meet.
1999 Track and Field Banquet
Athletes, coaches, families and track supporters gathered at Pardinis on May 25 to honor the outstanding performances of the 1999 squad. Senior Angela Daigle was named the Herzog Track Woman of the Year, while the Outstanding Track Performer Award was presented to sophomore Jynette Grayson. Other award winners included:
Outstanding Freshman Performer: Brooke Lankard, Jennifer Smith, Kayla Russum and Andrea Stelter
Coaches Award: Brooke Aderman, Rickisha Herron
Captains: Sarah Goodlaw, Tamikio Simpson
High Point Woman: Sarah Goodlaw
Outstanding Field Performer: Sarah Goodlaw
Dogs Finish Sixth at WAC Championship
Although the women only had one individual champion, Fresno State made a strong showing at the 1999 WAC Championship in Ft. Collins, Colo. Senior Melissa Price successfully defended her title in the pole vault, clearing 12-6 for the win. Junior Aleyna Tomate was sixth with a height of 11-5 3/4.
Senior Sarah Goodlaw ended her Fresno State career on a high note, taking third in the shot put with a career-best mark of 48-6 3/4 and moving into second place on the Bulldogs top ten list. She also picked up points with a fifth-place finish in the hammer (177-11), and a seventh-place showing in the discus (160-5 - career best). Freshman Kayla Russum also improved on a career best with a throw of 143-4 in the javelin.
Angela Daigle was the top Dog in the sprint events, finishing third in the 200 with a wind-aided time of 23.05. Daigle also took second in the 100 with a time of 11.38. The only other individuals to qualify for Saturdays finals were Jynette Grayson in the 400 (54.86- sixth), and Rickisha Herron in the triple jump (39-7 3/4-PR-sixth).
Price Named to Academic All-District Team
Pole vaulter Melissa Price was named to the GTE Academic All-America spring at-large team. The two-time NCAA champion and NCAA record holder is a member of the Deans List and was one of 10 students selected for the School of Business honors program. She is Fresno States nominee for the Stan Bates Award, given to a graduating senior in the WAC with a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or better.
New School Records
Two new school records were set during the past season, both by sprinter Angela Daigle. At the May 8 Modesto Relays, Daigle set new records in the 100 (11.34) and 200 (23.34). She would also run the 200 in a time of 23.05 at the WAC Championship, but because of the wind reading the mark does not count in the record books. Also, Jennifer Smith set a new freshman record in the 3,000 with a time of 10:11.21, at the Cal/Nevada Championship.
Dogs Finish Fourth at Cal/Nevada Championships
Fresno States women finished fourth with 67 points at the Cal/Nevada Championships held April 24-25 in San Diego. UCLA won the womens title with 198 points.
Melissa Price brought home the Dogs lone victory when she tied her meet record, clearing 14-0 to win the vault title. Angela Daigle took second in the 100 with a time of 11.66, just 7/100ths of a second behind the winner. Also taking second was Tamikio Simpson with a season best and team-leading time of 55.56 in the 400. The
Dogs 4x400 relay team of Simpson, Jynette Grayson, Dwanice Williams and Daigle finished second with a season-best time of 3:44.22.
Jennifer Smith and Laura Bracht both set personal records in the 5000, with Smith finishing seventh in a time of 17:47.51, and Bracht taking 15th at 18:33.03. In the only final of the day on Saturday, Smith finished ninth in the 3000 with a PR of 10:11.21, while Bracht also set a PR, finishing 21st in 10:39.74.
In the field, Sarah Goodlaw finished 7th in the shot put, setting a then-PR along the way. Her put of 48-1 put her at third all-time in the Fresno State record books. Goodlaw also took sixth in the hammer with a throw of 172-8, with Brooke Aderman finishing ninth with her throw of 164-1. Freshman Kayla Russum finished third in the javelin and set a then-PR in the prelims with a throw of 143-0.
Women Continue Fresno Relays Winning Streak
Fresno State continued its dominance of the collegiate division of the 71st Bob Mathias Fresno Relays, winning with 191 points. Humboldt State was second with 113 followed by CS Northridge (64), CS Los Angeles (50), CS Stanislaus (42), CS Bakersfield (39) and Fresno Pacific (35).
The Bulldogs were led by senior Melissa Price who reclaimed her pole vault title when she cleared 13-8 despite unfavorable weather conditions. Her main competitor, American outdoor record holder Stacy Dragila, no-heighted on her three attempts. Bulldog freshman Brooke Lankard won the collegiate pole vault when she cleared 11-6. Junior Aleyna Tomate came in second and set a then-personal best with a height of 11-6.
Another Bulldog taking home top honors was senior thrower Sarah Goodlaw . Goodlaw took first in the hammer with a throw if 173-9, and first in the discus with a throw of 149-11.
In the sprints junior Brandi Jenkins finished fourth in the 100 hurdles with a time of 14.73. Angela Daigle was fourth in the 100 with a time of 11.79. Other top finishers for Fresno State were Tamikio Simpson, finishing second in the 400 (57.57), and Jennifer Smith, second in the 1500 (4:59.8). Fresno States 4x100 relay squad came in second with a time of 48.22, while the 4x400 ran in a time of 3:56.13 to finish first.
The End of an Era
A chapter in Fresno State track and field history came to a close on June 5 as womens head coach Tom Pagani represented the Bulldogs for the last time at the NCAA Championship. Pagani is retiring after 17 years with the Bulldog track program. The former Olympic coach came to Fresno in 1983 after coaching stops at Columbia, Cornell, Illinois, Indiana and Stanford. Under his tenure the Bulldog women never had a losing season and won five conference titles, including the 1994 WAC indoor title where Pagani was named the conferences indoor coach of the year. He has coached 39 Fresno State All-Americans and 52 conference champions.
Price Defends NCAA Outdoor Title
Melissa Price can still lay claim to the title of "National Champion" after winning the 1999 NCAA Indoor Championship in the pole vault in February in Indianapolis. Price was also the 1998 titleist, winning Fresno States first-ever female individual national title. Price reset her NCAA record with a jump of 13-11 1/4, breaking the old NCAA record of 13-10 which she set at last years meet. This years title added to Prices collection of championships as she picked up her third WAC title at Air Force when she won the indoor pole vault with a mark of 13-4 1/2.
Women Finish 10th at WAC Championship
After finishing second at last years conference championship, this years squad finished 10th at the WAC Championship in Colorado Springs, Colo., home of the Air Force Academy. The women earned a score of 27.50 with the only WAC title being won by pole vaulter Melissa Price.
Senior Sarah Goodlaw posed a personal best of 47-4 1/2 to take fourth place in the shot put.
Making her first appearance of the season, senior Angela Daigle placed fourth in the 60 meters and fifth in the 200 meters. Daigle ran a season-best time of 7.53 in the 60 meter preliminary to qualify for the finals where she clocked a 7.56 to finish fourth. In the 200 meters, Daigle set a season best time of 24.34 to take fifth in the finals.
Dogs Take Over at Roadrunner Invitational
Senior thrower Sarah Goodlaw stole the show at the Roadrunner Invitational in Bakersfield, winning all but one of the throwing events. She threw a 165=8 in the hammer, a 141-8 in the discus, a 44-11 1/4 in the shot put, and a 55-11 1/2 in the 20-lb. weight - taking first place in each event. Junior Mahea Enos won the high jump with a height of 5-3, and sophomore Erin Boothe finished third at a height of 5-1. Hurdler Brandi Jenkins took fourth in the 55-meter hurdles, clocking a time of 8.8, and jumper Rickisha Herron finished second in the triple jump with a mark of 36-1 1/2. Junior Aleyna Tomate won the pole vault competition with a height of 11-0.
Bulldogs Run with Pack at Wolf Pack Invitational
Fresno State found the success everyone dreams of finding in Reno with a strong showing at the Wolf Pack Invitational, hosted by the University of Nevada. Senior Tamikio Simpson placed third in the 400 with a time of 56.87. Sophomore Jynette Grayson posted a personal best of 57.32 to take seventh in the event. Grayson also posted a then-personal best in the 200 of 26.22. In the throwing events, Sarah Goodlaw was fourth in the shot put (46-0 3/4) and fourth in the 20-lb. weight throw (54-7 1/4). In the distance events senior Stephanie Rivera finished second in the 5,000 meters, posting a personal best of 19:38.74. Also recording personal records were Brianna Denley (2:22.74) and Rachel Bauer (2:26.38) in the 800, and Jennifer Smith (5:28.50) in the mile.
Silver State Invitational Marks 1999 Debut
The 1999 season got underway on January 23 at the Silver State Invitational in Reno. Senior Tamikio Simpson ran a personal best of 25.01 in the 200 for a third-place finish. She also placed fourth in the 400 with a time of 56.34. Sarah Goodlaw was third in the shot put with a put of 46-8 3/4, and fourth in the 20-lb. weight throw (52-4).Stephanie Rivera finished fourth in the 3000 meters with a time of 11:32.90, while the 4x100 relay team of Simpson, Jynette Grayson, Brandi Jenkins and Dwanice Williams finished in fourth place (3:57.23).
