Fresno State Athletics
Fresno State
Cal State Bakersfield Dual Meet
'Dogs Dazzle in Home Meet
5/2/2009 12:00:00 AM | Track & Field
May 2, 2009
FRESNO, Calif. - Fresno State wowed the home crowd at Warmerdam Field as the Bulldogs set 20 new personal-bests and eight NCAA Regional qualifications en route to wins in 31 of 34 events Saturday in the final meet and only home meet of regular season.
"It is really important to have home meets," said head coach Scott Winsor. "Having a home crowd supporting you really makes a difference, as was evidenced today by the performances by our team."
Tim Greene opened the meet for Fresno State with a huge career-best in the day's first event, the hammer throw. The junior's heave of 197 feet, 4 inches (60.14 meters) won the event, bested his former personal-best by nearly eight feet and bettered his NCAA Regional-qualifying mark.
"It really didn't feel like a great throw," said Greene. "Then I looked up and was like, `Wow.'"
But Greene wasn't done. The Fresno-native later stepped into the ring for the discus and qualified his second event for the NCAA Regional. Greene tossed the disc 169-8.25 (51.72m) for his second win of the day and an improvement of more than five feet.
"Tim is just a competitor," said Winsor. "Every minute of every day, he's looking for a way to improve his technique."
Another Bulldog who used Warmerdam Field to improve on his personal-bests was Evan Young. The senior, who was named the 2009 Bulldog of the Year on Wednesday night, bettered his career-best marks in two events Saturday, while adding a season-best in another.
 Evan Young set two personal-bests Saturday, one in the pole vault.  | |
"Evan had a really big day," said Winsor. "It's really coming together for Evan now."
Young won the 110-meter hurdles and the pole vault, all in personal-best fashion. Young cleared 14-7 (4.75m) in the pole vault, a six-inch improvement over the PR he set just last week. In the 110 hurdles, Young registered a 14.77, bettering his former best by nearly .20 seconds, for the win. He rounded out the day with a season-best of 44-3.75 (13.51m) in the shot put.
Peter Krumeich closed the day's events with a dramatic mark in the javelin throw. The junior tossed the javelin 217-1.25 (66.17m), setting a career-best by nearly six feet just before the conference meet.
"Peter the potential to throw a lot further," said Winsor. "He is so close to having a big 225, 230-foot throw."
Back on the track, Durran Moore sprinted to a clear win and career-best of 21.74 in the 200. Darryl Miller came within hundredths of a second to tying his season-best in 400, as he ran a 47.92 to win the 400. Charles Williams also put in a good performance in the 100, easily over-powering the competition by clocking an 11.22.
Paul Zwama and Frank Sanders led the distance corps, winning the 1,500 and 800, respectively. Zwama bettered his time in the 1,500 by nearly two seconds, timing a 4:00.98 in the race. Sanders ran a 1:54.41 to win the two-lap race.
Val-Pierre Dai'Re out-strided the competition in the 400 hurdles, leading the way for three other Bulldogs, Michael Barragan, Myster Holliman and Cody Alves, to career-bests in the event.
Sophomore Kendrick Young, who took second in the 400 hurdles, also nabbed an NCAA Regional qualification for the second year in a row, timing a season-best 52.45. Young joins Dai'Re as a postseason qualifier in the quarter-mile hurdles.
DeAnte Brown won the triple and long jumps, while Justin Cutler dominated the shot put to round out the men's performances.
The women also turned in a day of great performances.
Antoinette Burton led the Bulldogs to a strong start in the women's first event of the day - the high jump. Burton set a career-best 5-7 (1.70m), en route to a win in the event.
Back in the throws cage, four Fresno State student-athletes showed the epitome of consistency. Sharon Ayala, Kayla Xavier and Grace Wiesmann, all NCAA Regional qualifiers in the event, threw within two meters of their career-bests as they took first, second and third, respectively. Ayala and Xavier's marks both exceeded the NCAA Regional qualifying standard.
The fourth Bulldog, Nancy Vizcarra threw a career-best 169-2 (51.56m) to round out the team's stellar performance in the hammer.
"It's really important to have consistency as we head into the next few weeks," said Ayala. "We have a week off before we go to conference, so we need to be throwing well, because after that is the Regional and then the NCAAs."
Both Ayala and Xavier also showed that steadiness in the discus, as they went one-two in their second-event of the day. Xavier would later win the shot put. Ayala's discus and Xavier's shot also met the NCAA Regional qualifying standard.
 Nancy Vizcarra threw a career-best in the hammer throw Saturday. | |
"I was really pumped to see all the people in the stands. It really makes a difference in my performance," said Ayala. "I really thrive off the energy of the crowd."
Fresno State went on to pick up wins in the remaining jumping events. Cara Montes won the pole vault and Erica Embry set a season-best 18-3.25 (5.57m) for the long jump win.
In the sprints, two freshmen stepped into the spotlight. Shanelle Stephens, a redshirt freshman, sprinted to a career- and team-best 11.91 for the win in the 100. Freshman Latrisha Jordan did the same, picking up a career- and team-best 24.17, in her first appearance in the 200. Jordan would also win the 400 at 55.43, just ahead of Tiera Hilliard with a 56.47.
Vanessa Sautebin led the hurdlers with an easy win in the 100 hurdles, timing a 14.12.
Some of the Bulldogs doubled-up in the middle-distance events. Roxanne Sellick won the 800 with a 2:16.21, after running in the 1,500. Briana Cleary, Stevie Brumwell and Daysi Cruz each set career-bests in the 800 following performances in the 1,500. Brumwell and Cruz each bettered their 1,500 PRs as well.
Marissa McPhail served double-duty, winning both the 1,500 and the 3,000, both in season-best style.
Fresno State also won both the 4x100 relay and the 4x400. The Bulldog 4x100 squad combined for a season-best 46.56.
Jacqueline Vazquez closed out the day for the 'Dogs. Surrounded by teammates, the sophomore threw a career-best 142-3.75 (43.38m) in the day's final event, the javelin. Vazquez's throw was less than three feet from an NCAA Regional qualification.
The Bulldogs have a week off before traveling to Logan, Utah, for the WAC Outdoor Championships May 13-16.
Players Mentioned
