'Dogs travel to ABQ for Mountain West Indoor Championships

Thursday, February 22

Albuquerque, NM

Fresno State

Mountain West Championships

'Dogs travel to ABQ for Mountain West Indoor Championships

2/21/2024 2:15:00 PM | Track & Field

By: Josh Mitchell / Assistant Director of Strategic Communications

Fresno State Indoor Track & Field - Event Week #6
Event: 2024 Mountain West Indoor Track & Field Championships
Date: Feb. 22-24
Location: Albuquerque, N.M.

CHAMPIONSHIP CENTRAL
Watch | Live Results | Schedule

FRESNO, Calif. – With its strongest indoor team since joining the Mountain West, Fresno State's women's track and field team will travel to Albuquerque, N.M. this week for the MW Indoor Championships held at the Albuquerque Convention Center. Competition will begin on Thursday morning with the pentathlon.

The Bulldogs enter the meet holding 19 marks that rank in the Top 10 of events this season in the conference.

MAKING THE TRIP
Kaja Bins (HJ, PENT), Jocelynn Budwig (SP), Gianna Chiaramonte (Mile, DMR), Amelia DiPaola (SP, WT), Miana Giovannini (400m, 4x400), Shaylee Grimm (Mile, DMR), Matilde Guarino (HJ, LJ), Emma Harper (SP, WT), Janae Heffernan (LJ, 4x400, DMR) Madison Hutton (60mH, HJ, LJ, PENT), Cierra Jackson (SP, WT), Morgan Johnson (SP), Khushleen Khakh (800m, DMR), Maria Lawson (WT), Rachela Pace (LJ, TJ), Kaitlynn Perez (HJ, PENT) Ceonna Pipion (200m, 400m, 4x400), Iyanna Ross (400m, 4x400), Corie Smith (3,000m, DMR), Chloe Sharp (200m, 400m, 4x400), Ella Spaulding (PENT), Antoinette Stubbfield (60m, 200m), Liz Tarczy (HJ)

IN THE RANKINGS
Fresno State ranks No. 3 in the USTFCCCA Women's Mountain West rankings, 2.82 points behind New Mexico, and is No. 8 in the West Region.

The Bulldogs are the highest ranked MW program in the West.

LEAPING INTO THE RECORD BOOK
On Jan. 12 at the Spokane Sports Showcase, after already recording a season best in the long jump, Rachela Pace broke Fresno State's record in the triple jump with a mark of 13.29m/43-7.25. During the event, the junior recorded three jumps of at least 12.99 meters in her series. Pace later reset that record at the Don Kirby Invitational with a mark of 13.40m/43-11.75.

Pace also ranks No. 2 at Fresno State in the long jump, setting a mark of 6.31m/20-8.5 at the UW Invitational.
Pace is the only Fresno State athlete to rank in the Top 3 in both the long jump and triple jump indoors.
She is just one of three Fresno State triple jumpers to ever record a mark over 13 meters.
Pace ranks No. 10 in the triple jump and No. 21 in the long jump this season in the NCAA.

PEAKING AT THE RIGHT TIME
If any Bulldog is getting it right at the right time, Ceonna Pipion has been that. At the Don Kirby Invitational, Fresno State's final meet before conference, the senior broke the program record in the 200 meters with a time of 23.81 and clocked the No. 2 time in the 400 meters at 53.74.

Pipion is one of two Bulldogs to ever record times below 24 seconds in the 200 meters and below 54 seconds in the 400 meters.
She is the only Bulldog to rank in the Top 5 in both events indoors.

OF THE WEEK(s)
Following each of their three meet weeks, the Bulldogs have earned an Athlete of the Week honor from the Mountain West. Last month, Ceonna Pipion earned the Mountain West's first Women's Track Athlete of the Week award this season. During the second week of awards, Rachela Pace was selected Women's Field Athlete of the Week. The first for both during their careers. Pace doubled her total two weeks later.

The senior placed second in the 400 meters at the Spokane Invitational and anchored the Bulldogs' 4x400 relay team to a win with a time of 3:47.1. Pipion finished the 400 meters in a time of 55.12, the third-fastest time recorded in the NCAA this season.
Pace broke Fresno State's triple jump record at the Spokane Sports Showcase with a mark of 13.29m/43-7.25 en route to winning the event.

A BIG START
At the Spokane Invitational, the high jump saw a new Bulldog move to No. 4 on the program's all-time list. In her first appearance, freshman Liz Tarczy cleared a height of 1.71m/5-7.25 to finish second in the event. She followed up by clearing the same height at the Spokane Sports Showcase. During the last week of January in Washington, Tarczy cleared 1.75m/5-8.75 to move up to No. 2 on the program's list.

Tarczy ranks second in the Mountain West this season.

RETURNING SCORERS IN 2024
Fresno didn't lose much in the offseason. In fact, from its 2023 Mountain West Indoor Championships' team that finished sixth, just one scorer is gone.

In total, Fresno State returned 45.5 of its 49.5 points.
Cierra Jackson scored a team-high 13 points for the second straight indoor championship meet.

AN ABUNDANCE OF TALENT
Heading into the championships, Fresno State's current crop of athletes all over the Bulldogs' record book. Ten different Bulldogs own at least one spot on the program's all-time list. Madison Hutton has a team-high three while Cierra Jackson, Rachela Pace and Ceonna Pipion have two.

Hutton is second in the pentathlon, third in the high jump and fifth in the long jump.
Joining Hutton in the pentathlon is Kaja Bins who ranks third and Kaitlynn Perez at sixth.
Pace holds the program record in the triple jump and is second in the long jump.
Pipion has the program record in the 200 meters and is second in the 400 meters.
Jackson owns the program record in the shot put and ranks third in the weight throw.
Joining Jackson in the shot put are Amelia DiPaola (7th) and Jocelynn Budwig (8th).

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