Fresno State Athletics
Men's Track and Field Enters 2001 Season
1/22/2001 12:00:00 AM | Track & Field
Jan. 15, 2001
FRESNO, Calif. - Men's Track and Field
BECKENHAUER RECORDS NEW PERSONAL BEST
Track and field hosted the Weight Pentathlon Saturday, Jan. 13, 2001 at Warmerdam Field. The men had four athletes compete in the all-day event. They placed sixth, seventh, 12th and 17th. Senior thrower Ryan Beckenhauer (Reedley, Calif.) recorded a personal best throw in the shot put. He threw 56-01.75 beating his old PR of 55-6.25. Beckenhauer placed seventh. Taking the sixth place was newcomer Shlomi Ben-Shushan (Israel) with 3,260 points. Freshman Jesse Watson (Modesto, Calif.) and Sophomore Allen Mendrin (Fresno, Calif.) placed 12th and 17th respectively with Watson's 1,252 points and Allen's 526 points. Watson only participated in the shot put and weight throw, while Allen's only event was the javelin. The top finisher for the men was John Johns who recorded 3,759 points. Former Bulldog Luke Woydziak landed the third spot with 3,688 points. This season the Bulldogs will be using a new point standard provided by the International Amateur Athletic Federation (IAAF). The `Dogs will travel to Reno Nevada for the National Pole Vault Summit on Friday, Jan. 19th through Saturday, Jan. 20th.
2001 TURKEY TRIALS
The 21st Annual Fresno State Turkey Trials were held Nov. 15, at Warmerdam Field. Once again the Trials were a success. Male and female athletes from Fresno State, former Bulldogs, visiting Fresno City College and Cal State Fullerton participated in the event. The Bulldogs were able to compete against one another in various track and field events which were predetermined by Fresno State head coach Bob Fraley with help from his four assistants, Tanya Ehlert, Chris Campbell, Shannon Lieder and Joe Gonzales. The field events included: Hammer Throw, Javelin Throw, Pole Vault, Shot Put, Long Jump, High Jump, Discus, 4 Hops and Jump and Weight Throw. The track events consisted of: 4 x 50 Relay, two-mile, 1,200-meter, 600-meter, 60-meter, Shuttle Hurdles, 250-meter, 350-meter, Smorgasbord Relay and the Parlauf Relay. Upon completion of the events the coaching staff decided on the male and female outstanding athletes of the day within certain categories. The distinguished recipients of the awards received a frozen turkey. The following is a list of the male winners:
Outstanding Thrower (Ballistic): Shlomi Ben-Shushan Outstanding Thrower (Aerodynamic): Ryan Beckenhauer Outstanding Sprinter: C.J. Nakayama Outstanding Distance Runner: Santos Solorio Outstanding Vertical Jumper: Mark Unzueta Outstanding Horizontal Jumper: Duran Archie Shuttle Hurdles: Scott Wenholz ('00) 4 x 50 Relay: Nakayama, Ron Fox, Kevin Carano, Kyle Carano Smorgasbord Relays (3 women, 1 man): Jennifer Smith, Corina Mendoza, Esquivel, Kevin Smith Parlauf Relay (3 men, 2 women): Chad Seiler, Jamall Alexander, Kyrah Ayers, Crystal Simmons, Lindsay Hall
Coach Red Estes Inducted into the USTCA Hall of Fame
Coach Red Estes was inducted into the United States Track Coaches Hall of Fame this past November at the 2000 USTCA Convention in Albuquerque, New Mexico. During the ceremony, assistant head coach Tanya Ehlert gave an introductory speech for Coach Estes. Throughout the 2001 season, coach Estes will be officiating and assisting the Fresno State program during home meets. In his 20 years as head coach, he captured 10 consecutive Big West Conference Championships and was named Big West Coach of the Year nine times during that span. In 1992 he was honored as Region Eight Coach of the Year. In 1998 and again last season, Estes was voted as the top male coach. He finished his career with a record of 188-38-1. Under the guidance of Estes, the Fresno State track and field program has captured 11 conference championships. Also, the legendary coach has developed 227 men and women to indoor and outdoor conference champion titles and produced 98 indoor and outdoor All-Americans. In addition to his track coaching duties, Estes also was the head cross country coach. He guided runners to seven conference championships, nine individual titles and a women's Big West Conference title in 1988.
FRALEY STEPS UP AS DIRECTOR
Former women's track and field head coach steps up as the Director of Track and Field. His new position covers all aspects of the track and field program. Throughout his 20 years as the women's coach he produced four All-Americans. Fraley also concentrated on the Bulldogs' pole vault, jump and sprint corps. Overall he has coached 35 All-Americans and 54 league titlists. In addition to He also brought on cross country head coaches Joe Gonzales and Shannon Lieder as assistants. Fraley is also joined by two other returning assistants in Chris Campbell and Tanya Ehlert.
2001 WAC CHAMPIONSHIPS COME TO WARMERDAM FIELD
Track and Field will host the Western Athletic Conference Championships to be held at Warmerdam Field between Friday, May 18 and Saturday, May 19. 1994 was the last time Fresno State hosted the event. In that year, the men won the title with 183 points, just seven more than their closest opponent, Brigham Young. The women had a lesser fate versus BYU's 254 points, finishing with 157 points and second place. The championship involved eight teams including: Fresno State, BYU, UTEP, Wyoming, Colorado State, San Diego State, New Mexico and Utah.
BULLDOGS THIRD AT 2000 WAC OUTDOOR CHAMPIONSHIPS
Former bulldog Jim Davis set a new school and WAC record of 19-0 1/4 for first place in the pole vault at the WAC Outdoor Championships in El Paso, Texas, May 17 - 20. Former head coach Red Estes was named Coach of the Year in his final season as head coach of Fresno State track and field. In the 1,500-meter, sophomore Josh Roddy (Manteca, Calif.) placed third with a time of 3:54.69. Junior Philip Ogilvie (Clarksburg, Calif.) finished third in the 3,000-meter steeplechase. Junior Josh Alfaro (Clovis, Calif.) cleared a personal best height of 6-7 in the high jump to take fourth. Sophomore triple jumpers, Kevin and Kyle Carano (Fresno, Calif.) improved their marks as well. Kevin recorded a mark of 51-2 1/4 while Kyle earned a mark of 50-7 1/4.
BULLDOGS PLACE FIFTH AT 2000 WAC INDOOR CHAMPIONSHIPS
The Bulldogs finished fifth with 68 points at the WAC Indoor Championships in Houston, Texas, Feb. 24 - 26, 2000. Top performances include Wenholz' title in the pole vault as he cleared 17-0 3/4. Davis was a close second, clearing the same height, but with more misses. Beckenhauer took fourth in the shot put with a then personal best of 53-9 1/4.
