Friday, March 04, 2011

Bears Host Outdoor Opener Saturday Cal Gets Outdoor Season Underway at Edwards Stadium

Hammed Suleman is ranked 10th nationally in the indoor triple jump.

March 1, 2011

THIS WEEK IN CAL TRACK & FIELD: One week after the MPSF Indoor Championships, Cal track & field makes the quick transition to outdoors, hosting the Cal Outdoor Opener Saturday at Edwards Stadium.

The tentative schedule shows the field events starting at 9:30 a.m. and the running events getting underway at 1:00 p.m. The final event is the men's 4x400-meter relay at 4:20 p.m. The final schedule will be posted on CalBears.com once all entries have been entered.

In addition to the Golden Bears, five other teams will make the trip to Berkeley: Stanford, UC Davis, Fresno State, San Francisco and Cal Poly.

Live meet results from the season-opening event in Berkeley will be available online at: http://www.rtspt.com/events/cal/opener11/.

MPSF INDOOR RECAP: Three Cal athletes - Mike Morrison (heptathlon), Hammed Suleman (triple jump) and Ray Stewart (60-meter hurdles) - captured conference titles at the MPSF Championships Feb. 25-26 in Seattle. Morrison, who defended his crown from 2010, scored 5,694 points to earn an automatic berth to the NCAA meet March 11-12 in College Station, Texas. He set the Cal record in the seven-event competition while finishing third at the 2010 NCAA Championships (5,826).

Suleman posted a PR in the triple jump while surpassing 50 feet for the fourth time in four meets this season. His effort of 52-10.75 put him ninth on Cal's all-time performer list. Only Lenards Ozolinish, who set the school indoor record of 54-2.50 in 1995, has leapt further for the Bears over the past 16 years.

Stewart sprinted to the finish in 7.91 seconds, a 0.03 margin over runner-up Eric Hersey of Oregon. Earlier this season, he set a Cal record with a time of 7.77 seconds at the Husky Indoor Classic in mid-February.

In addition, Chioma Amaechi was runner-up in the women's weight throw (PR 59-4.24), and four Bears placed third in their respective events - Jordan Locklear (men's 800, 1:50.96), Cherrelle Garrett (women's 60, 7.49), Kirsten Meister (women's high jump, 5-8.50) and Allison Stokke (women's pole vault, 13-7.75).

NATIONAL INDOOR RANKINGS: The Golden Bears are ranked among the nation's top 30 in six different events this season, led by Hammed Suleman, who is tied for 10th in the triple jump. Allison Stokke, currently 19th in the pole vault, will try to improve her standing at a last-chance indoor meet in Seattle Saturday.


Ray Stewart 60m hurdles 19th 7.77
Jarvis/Corley/Locklear/Sodaro Men's DMR 12th 9:38.69
Hammed Suleman Triple Jump T10th 52-10.75
Mike Morrison Heptathlon 11th 5,694
Dutch/Weaver/Tam/Reilly Women's DMR 26th 11:23.91
Allison Stokke Pole Vault 19th 13-7.75

LOOKING BACK AT THE 2010 OUTDOOR OPENER: Last year's Outdoor Opener was held at Stanford, where Cal athletes captured nine events. Among the notable performances were by then-freshman Alima Kamara, who was a double-winner in the 200 (24.24) and 400 (54.15) meters, and Steve Sodaro, who established a PR in the 1500 (3:46.96).

HOME MEET SCHEDULE: In addition to this week's Outdoor Opener, Cal will host two other meets at Edwards Stadium this season. The Cal Multis meet March 23-24 will feature A and B divisions in both the decathlon and heptathlon. The annual Brutus Hamilton Invitational is a two-day event April 22-23 that often produces some of the top times in the world, especially in several of the distance races.

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