Golden Bears Primed for MPSF Indoor Championships

Golden Bears Primed for MPSF Indoor Championships

Feb. 23, 2010

MPSF Championships Information


THIS WEEK IN CAL TRACK & FIELD: Cal returns to Seattle for the third time this season when the Golden Bears partake in the MSPF championships Friday and Saturday. Last season, the Cal men, led by MPSF Male Athlete of the Year Michael Coe, tied with host Washington for second, while the Bear women finished in sixth place. Live results will be available on the schedule/results page under track & field at gohuskies.com.

At the 2009 meet, Cal captured five event titles, including Coe in the mile (4:00.29). Senior Kellan Patterson prevailed in the 60 meters in 6.77, while since-graduated Ed Wright won the high jump (7-3) and the distance medley relay of Mark Matusak, Jake Hanson, Sebastian Sam and Coe set a school record in its victory (9:29.71). All but Hanson are back this season.

For the women, the lone victory came from now-graduated Mackenzie Pierce in the 800 (2:06.45). Junior Cherrelle Garrett was runner-up in both the 60 (7.38) and 200 (24.03) meters.

Following the MPSF meet, the Bears will next compete at the NCAA indoor championships March 12-13 in Fayetteville, Ark.

CAL MEN RANKED 24TH IN POLL: The Cal men's indoor track & field team enters the MPSF championships ranked 24th nationally in the TFCCCA's weekly poll. The Bears previewed the year in the 20th position and were has high as 16th (Feb. 2) following their effort at the UW Invitational, a performance that saw the Bears post one NCAA automatic qualifying mark and four additional provisional marks.


Cal's Men's Indoor Rankings
Preseason 20 Week 3 (Feb. 9) 16
Week 1 (Jan. 26) 22 Week 4 (Feb. 16) 22
Week 2 (Feb. 2) 16 Week 5 (Feb. 23) 24
REGIONAL RANKINGS: Heading into this week's competition, junior Michael Coe has the top time in the West Region in the 3000 meters after running 7:52.14 at the Husky Classic. The mark is also fifth-best in the country. Senior Mark Matusak is ranked in two events - second in the West in the mile (3:58.36) and third in the region in the 3000 (7:55.63). Matusak's mile is No. 4 on the national list. Other Bears who are in the top five in the region include: Kari Karlsson (4th, 5000, 14:09.40), Connor Landry (4th, pole vault, 17-5.50), Hammed Suleman (5th, triple jump, 49-6.25), Mike Morrison (2nd, heptathlon, 5,710) and Kyle Mills-Bunje (4th, heptathlon, 5,504). On the women's side, Kimyon Broom has run the fastest 60 hurdles (8.30), while Deborah Maier is second in the 5000 (15:58.49).

THE MAIER OF BERKELEY: Sophomore Deborah Maier's breakout 2009-10 year began well before the indoor track season got underway in January. During the fall, she became the first Golden Bear woman ever named to the first-team All-Pac-10 squad after finishing sixth at the conference meet. She also claimed all-region status based on her 14th-place finish at the NCAA regional meet.

Now on the track, Maier has not let off the pedal. She set a Cal indoor record in the 5000 meters at the Husky Classic Feb. 12, clocking an NCAA automatic qualifying time of 15:58.49, more than 30 seconds faster than the previous mark of 16:30.56 set by Alison Greggor last season. Overall, her time was the second-lowest 5000 ever - indoors or outdoors - for a Cal runner. Only Kirsten O'Hara's 15:46.8 set at the 1985 NCAA outdoor championships was better.

MATUSAK RUNS 3:58 MILE AT HUSKY CLASSIC: A day after Maier set her 5000 record, Mark Matusak came through with his own Cal mark, covering the mile in 3:58.36 at the Husky Classic. The time established a Cal indoor record, eclipsing Michael Coe's 4:00.29 from 2009, and was an NCAA automatic qualifier.

Matusak becomes the fifth Golden Bear to break four minutes in the mile indoors or outdoors, and his time was the second fastest for a Cal runner under any circumstances, passed only by Coe's 3:56.18 outdoor mile last year. Other Bears to run a sub-4-minute mile outdoors are David Torrence (3:58.62, 2007), Don Bowden (3:58.7, 1957) and Andy Clifford (3:59.59, 1979).

CAL'S 2010 NCAA QUALIFIERS: Entering the MPSF championships, Golden Bears have posted 13 NCAA qualifying marks - four automatic and nine provisional. The automatic qualifiers are Mark Matusak (mile), Michael Coe (3000m), Mike Morrison (heptathlon) and Deborah Maier (5000m).


Event Name Mark Date NCAA List
Men
800m Sebastian Sam 1:50.04 2/13 Provisional
Mile Mark Matusak 3:58.36* 2/13 Automatic
3000m Michael Coe 7:52.14 2/13 Automatic
Mark Matusak 7:55.63 1/30 Provisional
5000m Kari Karlsson 14:09.40 2/12 Provisional
Pole Vault Connor Landry 17-5.50 2/13 Provisional
Ryan Shuler 17-0.75 1/23 Provisional
Heptathlon Mike Morrison 5,710* 1/30 Automatic
Kyle Mills-Bunje 5,504 1/30 Provisional

Women
800m Sofia Oberg 2:07.97 2/13 Provisional
5000m Deborah Maier 15:58.49* 2/12 Automatic
60mH Kimyon Broom 8.30* 1/30 Provisional
Pole Vault Allison Stokke 13-3.75 2/13 Provisional
* also Cal indoor record
COE CRUISING ALONG: Junior Michael Coe, who earned MSPF Male Athlete of the Year in 2009 after winning the mile and helping Cal's distance medley relay to a conference title, has continued his pace in 2010. In his first outing of the season, Coe posted an NCAA automatic qualifying time of 7:52.14 in the 3000 meters at the Husky Classic - second only to the record 7:48.05 he ran at the Husky Classic on Feb. 14, 2009. After his outstanding '09 MPSF meet, he went on to place second at the NCAA championships in the 3000 (7:54.42).

VROOM BROOM: Senior Kimyon Broom broke out of the blocks quickly in her first meet of the 2010 campaign, setting a Cal indoor record in the 60-meter hurdles at the Cherry & Silver Invitational (8.30). Broom then matched the time in her next competition, also crossing the line in 8.30 at the UW Invitational. The two-time defending Pac-10 champion in the 100 hurdles outdoors, Broom broke the school indoor mark of 8.31 seconds established by Osarhiemen Omwanghe in 2006.

BEARS IN THE AIR: On both the men's and women's side, Cal has displayed its depth in the pole vault this season. Connor Landry, a transfer from Cal Poly, cleared 17-5.50 at the Husky Classic and now ranks fourth in the West Region. Teammate Ryan Shuler is eighth in the West with a best mark of 17-0.75, and Justin Miller is 11th (16-11.50). The Bears also sport three of the top 10 marks in the region in the women's event. Allison Stokke is seventh with a best of 13-3.75, with Cyrena Giordano and Theresa Raub tied for 10th (12-10).

PAC-10 CHAMPIONSHIPS AT CAL: California will host the 2010 Pac-10 Outdoor Track & Field Championships at Edwards Stadium/Goldman Field this spring. The decathlon and heptathlon will take place May 8-9, with the remaining events being contested May 15-16. Cal last played host to the meet in 2001. Check CalBears.com for more details, including event times and ticket information as the event gets closer.

GOLDEN BEAR WINTER OLYMPIAN: Chuck Berkeley, a 400-meter runner for the Golden Bears track & field team while a student at Cal, will compete on the U.S. Olympic team in the four-man bobsled as a pusher for driver John Napier. The four-man event will take place at the Whistler Sliding Centre Feb. 26-27 during the Vancouver Games. Berkeley placed fourth in the 400 at the Pac-10 track championships in 2000, finishing in a time of 46.95, Cal's fastest mark of the season and a career collegiate best. He joins a short list of former Cal students who are known to have competed in the Winter Olympics. Nion Tucker captured a gold medal for the United States in the five-man bobsled in 1928, while Timothy Brown was fifth in figure skating in 1960, and Connie Carpenter-Phinney was seventh in the 1500 meters in speed skating in 1972.

BEAR NOTES: Chelsea Reilly set a Cal record in the indoor mile, running 4:48.89 at the UW Invitational ... former Golden Bear standout and current volunteer assistant coach Magdalena Lewy Boulet recently qualified for the U.S. team that will compete at the World Cross Country Championships March 28 in Bydgoszcz, Poland; Lewy Boulet was also a 2008 U.S. Olympian in the marathon.

Courtesy Cal