Fresno State Athletics
Track and Field Sends Three to NCAA Championships
5/25/2001 12:00:00 AM | Track & Field
May 25, 2001
FRESNO, Calif. - Fresno State track and field will send three Bulldogs to the 2001 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships. Senior Ryan Beckenhauer, junior Mark Unzueta and sophomore Crystal Simmons will be among the 388 athletes in the four-day competition to be held from Wednesday, May 30 through Saturday, June 2, in Eugene, Ore.
Beckenhauer automatically qualified for the championships with his personal-best throw of 64- 2 1/2 in the men's shot put. His effort ranks him seventh in a field of 19 participants in the event. The thrower ranks second on Fresno State's career leaders list with the toss on Saturday, May 5, at Fresno State's Warmerdam Field. Recently, Beckenhauer placed second in the event at the 2001 Western Athletic Conference Championships with a provisional mark of 61-3.
Unzueta provisionally qualified in the men's pole vault after his personal-best 17-4 1/2 effort on Saturday, May 5, at Warmerdam. He ranked 22nd of 23 vaulters entered. The vaulter took home two crowns at the WAC Championships this year. Unzueta swept the pole vault events at both the 2001 WAC Indoor and Outdoor Championships, with a height of 16-6 3/4. The two-time champion became just the second track and field athlete to earn back-to-back titles. The last athlete to accomplish the feat was Jim Davis in 1999. Unzueta also became the 14th Bulldog to win a conference crown in the event and the 20th WAC champion.
Simmons provisionally qualified in the women's triple jump after her leap of 42-10 1/4 on Saturday, May 5, at Warmerdam Field. She holds the 18th spot of the 23 entered in the event. Her mark ranks her as Fresno State's career leader in the event. Simmons also ranks seventh on the list for her effort of 19-6 1/4 in the long jump, a jump that earned her a bronze medal at the 2001 WAC Outdoor Championships.
The field of 388 athletes competing in the NCAA Championships qualified in their respective events through both automatic and provisional standards established for each event. At last year's championship, Stanford was crowned the champion on the men's side, while Louisiana State earned the honor for the women. The Fresno State men competed at last year's championship, earning a 64th place finish and 2 1/2 points. The Bulldogs had two competitors for the men and no one for the women. Davis vaulted to a sixth place finish with a height of 17-8 1/2 and Scott Wenholtz tallied 7,235 points in the decathlon to finish 10th.
