Fresno State Athletics
Another Promising Season for Bulldog Track & Field
1/27/2000 12:00:00 AM | Men's Track and Field
Jan. 27, 2000
FRESNO, Calif. - The future is bright for the Fresno State Track and Field teams. The team is eagerly awaiting for January when the indoor season begins. The men's team has a strong returning group and a talented crop of newcomers, a perfect combination which promises a successful season. This 2000 season will be Coach Estes twentieth year and he will be at the head of a competitive team once again.
Last season the men's team finished seventeenth in outdoor competition and thirty-ninth in indoor competition. Their outdoor dual meet record in 1999 was 9-2 which placed them sixth in the WAC. The team finished undefeated at home in dual meets with a 5-0 record and won the 71st Bob Mathias Fresno Relays.
Top returners for the men's squad will be All-American pole vaulter Jim Davis, sprinter E.J. Jackson, and decathlete C.J. Nakayama. These athletes were part of last year's squad which placed fifth in WAC Indoors and sixth in WAC outdoors.
Senior Jim Davis returns as the WAC Champion in the indoor and outdoor pole vault event. He earned All-America twice in his junior season by competing strongly in both indoor and outdoor competition. He earned his outdoor All-America status by finishing sixth in the pole vault at the outdoor NCAA Championships in Boise, Idaho by clearing 17-4 1/2. Davis finished in a tie for fourth at the NCAA indoor meet to earn an All-American award in indoor competition.
Last season he was the only Bulldog to win individual honors as he defended his title in pole vault at the 1999 WAC Championships. At the end of his junior year his accomplishments earned him a Fresno State Male Athlete of the Year nomination. In his sophomore year Davis won the outdoor WAC Championships clearing a height of 17-2 3/4 and took third at the indoor conference championships. During his freshman year Davis finished second at the WAC Indoor Championships.
Senior sprinter E.J. Jackson, a two-time All-American, is also a key component to the squad's success. Jackson returns as the top 55 meters and 100 meter sprinter. In 1999 he recorded a season best of 10:42 in the 100 meters. Last season he was a member of the 4 X 100 relay team that finished third at the NCAA Outdoor Championships and earned All-American honors.
Currently, he is ranked fourth in Fresno State's career leaders list in the 100 meters. Junior C.J. Nakayama will return as the top decathlete. In the WAC Outdoor Championships he finished fourth in the long jump with a mark of 23-7 1/2. He was honored for advancing to the GTE All-America national ballot and becoming a member of the Dean's list. In his freshman year he won the conference championship in the decathlon with 6,715 points. In this meet he set a personal best record in the javelin with a throw of 169-7 and had his top high jump mark of the season clearing 6-0 1/2.
With the upperclassmen bringing their experience to the team returning sophomores will bring their successful freshman season. Matt Drinkwalter and Gabe Orosco both had record-breaking seasons in their first year at Fresno State. Drinkwalter set a new freshman record in the shot put with a mark of 56-10 and Orosco set a new freshman record in the 800 with a time of 1:51.59.
This upcoming season will bring four home meets to Warmerdam Field. Their first home meet will be Saturday, January 15 as they host the Fresno State Weight Pentathlon. Expectations have been set on several of the team's top performers and they are ready to face the competition. The top returnees will be met with a exceptional class of newcomers to provide an exciting season and hopefully a WAC Championship.
