The first day of the 2012 Golden State Athletic Conference Track and Field Championships is in the books and Westmont has had several outstanding performances. The event, which is being conducted at Azusa Pacific, will conclude on Saturday.
Kristin Hempy had a good first day in the women’s heptathlon. The senior bettered her mark in every event over her performance in the Sam Adams Multi-Events at the beginning of April. As a result, she has 2545 points after the first day of competition and is in second place behind Point Loma Nazarene’s Lindsay Honea.
In the 100 meter hurdles, Hempy posted a time of 15.85, then cleared 1.43 meters (4-8.5) in the high jump. Hempy’s shot put mark was 9.86 meters (32-4.25) while her time in the 200 meter dash was 26.57.
Coming into the weekend, Hempy’s mark of 4,199 points at the Sam Adams Multi-Event was the eighth best mark in the NAIA this season. The top sixteen marks earn a place at the NAIA Outdoor National Championships in Marion, Indiana beginning May 24.
Competing separately in the women’s javelin, Hempy finished third with a throw of 40.83 meters (133-11) and earned a provisional qualification mark for the national championship. The throw was the best this season by a Warrior. Rachel Clark added a point to the team’s totals with an eighth place finish and a distance of 34.22 (112-3).
Benjamin McCollum finished the first day of the men’s decathlon in fourth place, tallying 3,009 points. McCollum completed the 100 meter dash in 12.11 seconds and jumped for 6.25 meters in the long jump. He put the shot 9.29 meters (30-5.75) and cleared 1.75 meters (5-8.75) in the high jump. McCollum finished first in the 400 meters with a time of 52.32.
In the women’s 800 meter prelims, Kate Stuart established a new school record of 2:15.36 while posting the fastest time. Stuart’s mark is also meets the national championship provisional qualifying standard. Theresa Nealon also qualified for tomorrow’s finals, finishing third overall with a time of 2:17.85.
Matt Shiney finished first in the men’s 800 meter prelims, posting a time of 1:56.80 to qualify for tomorrow’s final. Also qualifying were Garrision Gourdeau (1:58.42) who was sixth overall and Evan Bradford (1:58.54) who was eighth overall.
Running in the women’s 1500 meter prelims, Stuart posted a time of 4:43.70 to finish fifth overall and qualify for tomorrow’s final. Also qualifying for tomorrow’s 1500 meter finals were Heidi Nicholls who finished eleventh over all in a time of 4:55.55 and Amber Collier who was twelfth with a time of 4:56.78.
In the men’s 1500 meter prelims, Evan Bradford posted a time of 4:04.25 to claim fifth place overall and a spot in tomorrow’s finals.
Lauren Stormans earned a place in finals of the women’s 100 meter hurdles with a time of 15.24, which was third fastest in her heat and fourth fastest overall. She also will compete in the 400 meter hurdle finals after finishing fifth fastest in the prelims with a time of 64.56. Stormans’ mark in the 400 meter hurdles met the provisional qualifying standard for the national championship.
Elysia Hodges will join Stormans in the finals of the finals of the 400 meter hurdles after winning her heat in a time of 63.13. Hodges will also compete in the 200 meters after posting a time of 24.80 and breaking her own school record. Hodges’ time in both events meets that automatic qualification mark for the national championship.
Amanda Chevailer met the automatic time in the 200 meters, finishing in 24.99 to claim the fourth fastest time of the day during the prelims. In the 100 meters, Chevailer broke her own school record by 0.02 seconds and finished first overall. Her time of 12.20 meets the national championship provisional qualifying standard.
Adam Thompkins, running in the men’s 110 meter hurdles, finished fourth in his heat in a time of 15.42. He will compete in tomorrow’s finals with the seventh overall fastest time. He will also compete in the 100 meter finals after finishing third overall with a time of 10.93. In the finals of the pole vault, Thompkins claimed All-GSAC honors with a third place finish. Thompkins cleared 4.50 meters (14-9) to earn an automatic qualification to the national championship.
Taylor Frantom placed third in the finals of the women’s pole vault to earn All-GSAC honors. Her height of 3.40 meters (11-1.75) was the best by any Warrior this season. Kaci Mexico placed seventh with a height of 2.85 meters (9-4.25).
In the finals of the men’s javelin, Scott MacDonald claimed fourth place with a throw of 53.47 meters (175-05) while Jonathon Koop finished fifth with a mark of 51.77 meters (169-10).
MacDonald took third place in the men’s discus finals, earning All-GSAC honors with a throw of 41.91 meters (137-6). Bryan Sandefur finished fifth for the Warriors with a throw of 38.68 (126-11).
Jessica Jeff-Albert scored a point for the Warriors with an eighth place finish in the women’s discus finals. Her mark was 33.74 (110-8).
Shane Rowan placed fifth in the men’s long jump finals with a distance of 6.96 meters (22-10). In the 200 meter prelims, Rowan qualified for the finals with a time of 22.76, second in heat three. He will be joined in the final by Thompkins who posted a time of 21.98.
In the men’s 400 meter prelims, Quincy Braxton won the second heat and Christian Hatchett won the second as both qualified for tomorrow’s finals. Braxton finished in a time of 49.83 while Hatchett posted a time of 50.01.
Nathan Kemp took second place and Daniel Erickson seventh in the men’s 3,000 meter steeplechase finals with a time of 9:27.94 and 10:36.86 respectively. Kemp’s time earns him a provisional qualification for the national championships.
Angelina Gonzalez finished fourth in the women’s 3,000 meter steeplechase finals, earning five team points for the Warriors. Gonzalez posted a time of 11:49.57.
In the women’s 10,000 meter finals, Caitlyn Corrao finished in sixth place in a time of 39:19.07. Corrao will be running the marathon at the national championship.
After the first day of competition, Westmont is currently in fifth place with 28 points. Azusa Pacific leads the women’s team scoring with 65 points. Biola has tallied 61 and is in second. Fresno Pacific sits in third place with 50 points and Point Loma Nazarene has 39 points for fourth.
In sixth place is Vanguard at 16 points while Concordia is in seventh with eight points and The Master’s – which only competes in distance events – is in eighth place with two points.
The Westmont men are in third place after the first day with 43 points. Azusa Pacific leads the scoring with 66 points while Biola is in second with 56. The Master’s has tallied 30 points and is in fourth place.
Fresno Pacific is in fifth place with 29 points while Point Loma Nazarene is in six with 26. Concordia has a total of 14 points and is in seventh place. Vanguard is in eighth with two points.
