Fresno State Athletics
Chappell shines bright on Day 2 of MW Championships
5/14/2021 11:56:00 PM | Track & Field
CLOVIS, Calif. – Sitting third entering the Mountain West Championships in the hammer, Hannah Chappell put on a show en route to capturing gold on Friday afternoon. After tying her personal best on her first attempt, the senior proceeded to increase her distance on three of her next four throws, finishing the event with a new career mark of 63.09m/207-0 that moved her up to third all-time at Fresno State. She became the third Bulldog to win a MW title in the hammer, and second in the last three championship meets.
When thinking about his star pupil's performance, Fresno State throws coach Joe Riccio could only think of the old adage that "it's not about the size of the dog in the fight but about the size of the fight in the dog." Chappell doesn't look imposing compared to Colorado State's Haley Showalter and Tarynn Sieg, who not only look the part of prototypical throwers, they came in with better numbers. The Bulldog senior, though, was consistent technically and got better and better throughout the competition, forcing her Ram counterparts to settle for second and third.
After tying and then breaking her personal best on her first two throws, Chappell witnessed Showalter go nearly three feet further. Just missing on her release on her third attempt, Chappell moved into the finals with three more throws to outduel the Ram.
It took her just one.
By three inches, (62.31m/204-5), Chappell moved back into first and put the pressure on Showalter. The Ram didn't cross 60 meters on her fourth attempt. On her fifth throw, the Bulldog added another two-and-a-half feet to her advantage (63.09m/207-0). It was too much for Showalter as the Ram fouled on her fifth attempt and was short of 60 meters again on her final throw.
As a whole, Fresno State's hammer throwers combined to total 18 points in the event as Amelia DiPaola finished fourth (59.14m/194-0) and Tahj'nee Thurston (58.38m/191-6) came in sixth. It was the most points in the event for the Bulldogs since 2013, one point back of that group which finished 1-3-6.
"I'm very proud of the group's resilience in handling the pressure of coming in with high rankings," Riccio said.
That one event accounted for 18 of Fresno State's 22 points as the Bulldogs currently sit in fifth in the team standings.
Shortly after the hammer concluded, sophomore Queen Okoh staved off elimination in the long jump, advancing to the finals with personal best by more than four inches 5.78m/18-11.75. That jump moved her from 12th to sixth in the standings where she finished. DiPaola added the final point of the night to the women's point total, finishing eighth in the shot put, two spots ahead of where she entered the meet. The sophomore continued her steady climb in the event, finshing with a best toss of 14.43m/47-4.25.
Garrett Ostrinski was the first on the track for the Bulldogs during the evening, concluding his first Mountain West championship decathlon before distance and sprint events took center stage. The freshman finished the multi-event with 6,402 points, a 424-point improvement from earlier this season. He hit personal bests on six of the 10 events.
The Bulldogs had four qualifiers on the track. Ceonna Pipion was the first. The freshman will make her first finals appearance, doing so in the 400 meters following a qualifying time of 55.64. Senior Raphael Adedigba then lowered his time for the third straight meet in the 100 meters, clocking a time of 10.73, fourth-fastest in the prelims.
Nathan Burd advanced in the 800 meters, dropping his PR to 1:52.12 to reach the finals for the second-straight championship meet. His time was sixth in prelims.
The final qualifier of the night was De'ja Hudson. The sophomore shaved nearly two seconds off her personal best, clocking a time of 1:00.66. While she finished third in her heat, Hudson's time was third-fastest in qualifying.
All four qualifiers will compete tomorrow evening. The day will open at noon with the men's javelin. The women's javelin will follow at 1 p.m. where Fresno State senior Vanja Spaic will be looking to become the third athlete in Mountain West history to win the event three times in a career.
Quotes
Jason Drake, Fresno State Director of Track & Field and Cross Country
On the day and going into finals...
"It was a great day for Fresno State Track and Field. So many PRs across the board for the team. Overall, a great day for our team and we are excited about finals day tomorrow."
On the hammer...
"Hannah Chappell was lights out today in hammer. What a great cap to her regular season with a conference win and PR. She keeps getting better and we have more to go! The hammer continues to be a strong event. Amelia and Tahj both had solid days today as well."
On Amelia DiPaola...
"Amelia coming back to score in the shot after the hammer scoring in the hammer, and doing so with a PR, was big as well.
On Queen Okoh...
"Queen came up bigtime when she needed it most in the long jump with a PR to earn a sixth-place finish."
On the women's qualifiers...
"De'ja came around in the hurdles with a big day to move onto finals tomorrow to join Ceonna in the 400m.
On the the men's qualifiers...
"Nate Burd and Raph Adedigba both had great days to advance to tomorrow's finals in the 100 and 800. Both had PRs and anytime you PR at the conference final it's a wonderful feeling."
"Fresno State Athletics: The Pride of the Valley" – The Bulldog Foundation creates championship experiences for Fresno State student-athletes as they strive for excellence in the classroom, in competition, and in life. To become a BDF member, please call 559-278-7160.
Follow us on:
Twitter: @FS_TracknField
Instagram: FS_TracknField
When thinking about his star pupil's performance, Fresno State throws coach Joe Riccio could only think of the old adage that "it's not about the size of the dog in the fight but about the size of the fight in the dog." Chappell doesn't look imposing compared to Colorado State's Haley Showalter and Tarynn Sieg, who not only look the part of prototypical throwers, they came in with better numbers. The Bulldog senior, though, was consistent technically and got better and better throughout the competition, forcing her Ram counterparts to settle for second and third.
After tying and then breaking her personal best on her first two throws, Chappell witnessed Showalter go nearly three feet further. Just missing on her release on her third attempt, Chappell moved into the finals with three more throws to outduel the Ram.
It took her just one.
By three inches, (62.31m/204-5), Chappell moved back into first and put the pressure on Showalter. The Ram didn't cross 60 meters on her fourth attempt. On her fifth throw, the Bulldog added another two-and-a-half feet to her advantage (63.09m/207-0). It was too much for Showalter as the Ram fouled on her fifth attempt and was short of 60 meters again on her final throw.
As a whole, Fresno State's hammer throwers combined to total 18 points in the event as Amelia DiPaola finished fourth (59.14m/194-0) and Tahj'nee Thurston (58.38m/191-6) came in sixth. It was the most points in the event for the Bulldogs since 2013, one point back of that group which finished 1-3-6.
"I'm very proud of the group's resilience in handling the pressure of coming in with high rankings," Riccio said.
That one event accounted for 18 of Fresno State's 22 points as the Bulldogs currently sit in fifth in the team standings.
Shortly after the hammer concluded, sophomore Queen Okoh staved off elimination in the long jump, advancing to the finals with personal best by more than four inches 5.78m/18-11.75. That jump moved her from 12th to sixth in the standings where she finished. DiPaola added the final point of the night to the women's point total, finishing eighth in the shot put, two spots ahead of where she entered the meet. The sophomore continued her steady climb in the event, finshing with a best toss of 14.43m/47-4.25.
Garrett Ostrinski was the first on the track for the Bulldogs during the evening, concluding his first Mountain West championship decathlon before distance and sprint events took center stage. The freshman finished the multi-event with 6,402 points, a 424-point improvement from earlier this season. He hit personal bests on six of the 10 events.
The Bulldogs had four qualifiers on the track. Ceonna Pipion was the first. The freshman will make her first finals appearance, doing so in the 400 meters following a qualifying time of 55.64. Senior Raphael Adedigba then lowered his time for the third straight meet in the 100 meters, clocking a time of 10.73, fourth-fastest in the prelims.
Nathan Burd advanced in the 800 meters, dropping his PR to 1:52.12 to reach the finals for the second-straight championship meet. His time was sixth in prelims.
The final qualifier of the night was De'ja Hudson. The sophomore shaved nearly two seconds off her personal best, clocking a time of 1:00.66. While she finished third in her heat, Hudson's time was third-fastest in qualifying.
All four qualifiers will compete tomorrow evening. The day will open at noon with the men's javelin. The women's javelin will follow at 1 p.m. where Fresno State senior Vanja Spaic will be looking to become the third athlete in Mountain West history to win the event three times in a career.
Quotes
Jason Drake, Fresno State Director of Track & Field and Cross Country
On the day and going into finals...
"It was a great day for Fresno State Track and Field. So many PRs across the board for the team. Overall, a great day for our team and we are excited about finals day tomorrow."
On the hammer...
"Hannah Chappell was lights out today in hammer. What a great cap to her regular season with a conference win and PR. She keeps getting better and we have more to go! The hammer continues to be a strong event. Amelia and Tahj both had solid days today as well."
On Amelia DiPaola...
"Amelia coming back to score in the shot after the hammer scoring in the hammer, and doing so with a PR, was big as well.
On Queen Okoh...
"Queen came up bigtime when she needed it most in the long jump with a PR to earn a sixth-place finish."
On the women's qualifiers...
"De'ja came around in the hurdles with a big day to move onto finals tomorrow to join Ceonna in the 400m.
On the the men's qualifiers...
"Nate Burd and Raph Adedigba both had great days to advance to tomorrow's finals in the 100 and 800. Both had PRs and anytime you PR at the conference final it's a wonderful feeling."
"Fresno State Athletics: The Pride of the Valley" – The Bulldog Foundation creates championship experiences for Fresno State student-athletes as they strive for excellence in the classroom, in competition, and in life. To become a BDF member, please call 559-278-7160.
Follow us on:
Twitter: @FS_TracknField
Instagram: FS_TracknField
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