May 26, 2007
Results
EUGENE, Ore. - California automatically qualified 11 Golden Bears, including victorious juniors Alysia Johnson and Ed Wright, for the NCAA Championships by the conclusion of the NCAA West Regional Championships held on Saturday at the University of Oregon's Hayward Field. Johnson won the women's 800-meter run final with a meet-record time of 2:02.12 and Wright won the men's high jump with a lifetime-best 7-3.25 (2.22 meters). As a team, the Golden Bears women took seventh place with 48 points, while the Cal men tied Long Beach State for 10th with 27 points each.
On the women's side, Arizona State collected the team title with 94 points; the USC men won with 83 points.
The 11 Bears who qualified for the NCAA Championships were Johnson (800 and 4x400-meter relay), Wright (high jump), sophomore Inika McPherson (women's high jump), junior Thomas Mack (men's 110-meter hurdles), junior Cassandra Strickland (women's triple jump), senior Kevin Davis (men's 3,000-meter steeplechase), sophomore Emilee Strot (women's shot put), junior Brook Turner (women's 400-meter dash and 4x400-meter relay), sophomore Mackenzie Pierce (women's 4x400-meter relay), senior Carrie Johnson (women's hammer) and sophomore Kandi Bonty (women's 4x400-meter relay).
Athletes who place in the top five of their individual events qualify for NCAAs, though only the top three teams in a relay advance to nationals.
Alysia Johnson, the 2007 NCAA indoor and Pac-10 champion in the 800, edged Oregon's Rebekah Noble, the 2006 NCAA outdoor champion who ran a 2:04.95 today. Bears sophomore Mackenzie Pierce took sixth in the 800 in a time of 2:07.49. Johnson eclipsed the old meet time of 2:03.90 set by BYU's Aneta Lemiesz in 2005.
"Rebekah was with Alysia through 500 meters, but Alysia had a big burst down the backstretch," Cal assistant coach Tony Sandoval said.
Wright, the Pac-10 champ in the high jump, today edged Washington's second-place Norris Frederick (7-1, 2.16).
"His actual jumping was good enough to win, and that sets you up for success at the next major meet," Cal associate head coach Ed Miller said of Wright. "It's nice to know even if you're not jumping your best that day you're still good enough to win. That shows that you've prepared well."
Of the two Cal seniors who advanced to nationals, Davis placed second in the steeplechase with a time of 8:43.98 and Carrie Johnson tossed the hammer 211-4 (64.42 meters) to take fourth place. Her mark was just one inch behind her lifetime-best throw from this year's Stanford Invitational.
Mack ran a 13.98 to take fourth place in the 110 hurdles, Strickland was fifth in the triple jump in a wind-aided 42-5.50 (12.94 meters) and fellow junior Turner was fifth in the 400 with a time of 54.32 to qualify for the NCAA Championships.
The Cal quartet of Bonty, Turner, Pierce and Alysia Johnson ran the Bears' second-fastest women's 4x400-meter relay of the season, with a 3:36.62 to take third place. The Bears were in fourth place when Johnson got the baton and were in danger of not qualifying for NCAAs. But Johnson ran down the San Diego State team to help the Bears finish third.
Cal produced four other top-10 finishes on the day, with sophomore Francis Gadayan taking sixth place with a time of 1:51.23 in the men's 800-meter run, sophomore Jake Hanson running a 52.31 to take eighth in the men's 400-meter hurdles, Strot placing sixth in the women's discus with a mark of 173-5 (52.85 meters) and sophomore Missy Faubus placing ninth in the women's discus with a mark of 164-7 (50.16).
Strot was fifth in the shot put yesterday.
The performances of McPherson, Turner and Pierce gave the seventh-place Cal women a big boost in the regional after they took eighth place against most of the same competition at the Pac-10 Championships. The trio combined for .33 points at Pac-10s but, not including the 4x400 relay, produced 15 points in Eugene.
Next up for the Bears is the NCAA Championships, which will be held June 6-9 in Sacramento, Calif. On Tuesday, May 29, Cal will learn which of its athletes will qualify as at-large entrants to the NCAA Championships. The NCAA will publish the list of at-large entrants to the following site on Tuesday by 3 p.m. ET: http:www1.ncaa.org/membership/champadmin/track/index.
Likely at-large entrants for the Bears include Pierce in the 800, junior David Torrence in the men's 1,500, junior Steven Conrad in the decathlon, senior Giliat Ghebray in the men's 5,000, Strot in the discus and senior Kelechi Anyanwu in the women's discus.
NCAA West Regional Championships
Women's Final Standings (top 10)
School Points
1) Arizona State 94
2) Southern California 74
3) UCLA 67
4) Stanford 60
5) San Diego State 53
6) Brigham Young 48.50
7) California 48
8) Oregon 44
9) Arizona 33
10) Washington 29
Men's Final Standings (top 10)
School Points
1) Southern California 83
2) Oregon 75
3) Washington 70
4) UCLA 53.50
5) Arizona State 53
6) Washington State 46
7) Arizona 43.50
7) Stanford 43.50
9) Brigham Young 35.50
10) California 27
10) Long Beach State 27
Cal Results
Track Events
Women's 400-Meter Dash Final
5. Brook Turner* 54.32.
Women's 800-Meter Run Final
1. Alysia Johnson* 2:02.12. 6. Mackenzie Pierce 2:07.49.
Women's 4x400-Meter Relay
3. Cal (Kandi Bonty, Mackenzie Pierce, Brook Turner, Alysia Johnson)* 3:36.62.
Men's 1,500-Meter Run Final
10. Michael Coe 3:48.71. 11. David Torrence 3:48.72. 12. Mark Matusak 3:49.86.
Men's 110-Meter Hurdles Final
4. Thomas Mack* 13.98.
Men's 800-Meter Run Final
6. Francis Gadayan 1:51.23.
Men's 400-Meter Hurdles Final
8. Jake Hanson 52.31.
Men's 3,000-Meter Steeplechase
2. Kevin Davis* 8:43.98. 23. Steven Sodaro 9:21.37. 29. Matthew Miller 9:31.10.
Field Events
Women's Hammer Throw
4.
Carrie Johnson* 211-4 (64.42 meters).
Women's Triple Jump
5. Cassandra Strickland* 42-5.50 (12.94 meters)w. 19. Artensia Young 39-4 (11.99).
Women's Discus Throw
6. Emilee Strot 173-5 (52.85 meters). 9. Missy Faubus 164-7 (50.16). 12. Kelechi Anyanwu 160-2 (48.81).
Men's Javelin Throw
14. Jonas Hallgrimsson 191-2 (58.28 meters).
Men's High Jump
1. Ed Wright* 7-3.25 (2.22 meters).
*Qualified for NCAA Championships
