Fresno State Athletics
Fresno State
Run For The Dream
Inaugural Run For The Dream Meet A Success
1/16/2006 12:00:00 AM | Track & Field
Jan. 16, 2006
FRESNO, Calif.- World records. Personal-bests. An opportunity to watch track and field Olympians and up-and-coming stars compete at their highest level.
All of those could be witnessed on Monday at the Save Mart Center, the site of Fresno State's inaugural Run For The Dream indoor track meet. The historical event was witnessed by an enthusiastic crowd of 5,806, as fans were treated to a 12-hour celebration of a sport that is one of the most tradition-rich in the Valley.
The meet was created to honor the memory of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., while presenting the community with an opportunity to honor track and field stars of the past along with those of the present and future.
"Our focus all along was to involve the fans and create a family atmosphere," said director of track and field Bob Fraley, who enters his 26th overall season with the Bulldogs. "Judging by the community support and excitement and appreciation from our competitors, I believe we reached our goals. Today was a great stage to showcase our arena, the fans, the athletes and the sport of track and field."
Run For The Dream, one of only two scheduled track and field meets in the United States to be held in a large indoor sport arena, featured youth, high school, junior college and open-intercollegiate and professional divisions. The same 160-meter track surface from the former Sunkist Invitational Track and Field Invitational was used for the event. An opening ceremony recognized Valley icons such as Tommie Smith, Rafer Johnson and Bob Mathias and included a hand-painting tribute of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
In addition to Fresno State's women's indoor squad participating in an array of events, there were several noteworthy individual performances highlighted by:
- Dr. Don Cheek, 75, thrilled the crowd when he established a new world masters record in the 160-yard dash with a time of 23.45.
- Chris Berrian, 2005 WAC champion in the 100- and 200-meters en route to his first appearance at NCAA Championships, ran a world-best time in the 160-yard dash when he clocked in at 16.48.
- Josh Norman crossed the line at 6.12 in the 55-meter dash invitational, drawing one of the largest cheers of the night from the crowd.
- Former Bulldog standout Angela Daigle-Bowen was the pace-setter in a five-woman field, claiming the title in the 55-meter dash invitational with a mark of 6.86.
Devon Tracy notched the only first-place finish of the meet for Fresno State, taking first in the high jump with a leap of 1.58m. Aspen Marshall finished second in the weight throw with a toss of 17.32m. Meanwhile, Winnie Fletcher placed third in the long jump, checking in at 5.36m.
Fresno State's two relay teams (4x400, 4x880) registered second-place finishes.
The Bulldogs continue their indoor season in two weeks, when they travel to Reno for appearances in the Pole Vault Summit and Silver State Invitational.
Players Mentioned
