Four Bears Win Titles at MPSF Indoor Championships

Four Bears Win Titles at MPSF Indoor Championships
Cal Men Take 3rd, Women 5th at Conference Meet

Mark Matusak won the 3000 meters at the MPSF meet.

Feb. 27, 2010


SEATTLE, Wash. - Mark Matusak [Torrance, Calif. (Loyola HS, Los Angeles) and Deborah Maier [Cameron Park, Calif. (Ponderosa HS, Shingle Springs) won the men's and women's 3000-meter titles, respectively, to lead the Cal track & field team at the MPSF Indoor Championships Saturday on the University of Washington campus. In addition, Patrick Kowalsky [Denver, Colo. (J.K. Mullen HS)] captured the shot put competition and Mike Morrison [Chesapeake, Va. (Great Bridge HS)] prevailed in the two-day heptathlon to give the Golden Bears four individual crowns at the meet.

The Cal men finished in third place in the team standings with 90 points behind winner UCLA (108.50) and runner-up Stanford (95.50). The Bear women were fifth with 64.50 points.

Overall, Cal athletes posted 11 personal bests, exceeded eight NCAA provisional qualifying standards and set one school record Saturday.

Perhaps the most significant achievement was by Maier, who won the women's 3000 in 9:20.05 despite falling down midway through the race. Not only was her time a Cal indoor school record, breaking the time of 9:36.26 set by Alison Greggor [Novato, Calif. (San Marin High School)] last year, but it also was lower than the Bears' outdoor mark of 9:21.42 run by Marilyn Davis (Miramonte HS, Orinda 1981) in 1986.

"After Deborah fell at the mile mark, she kept her composure and had an unbelievable kick to win," Director of Track & Field Tony Sandoval said.

Despite her mishap, Maier crossed the finish line more than four seconds ahead of her nearest pursuer, Arizona's Hannah Moen, who came through at 9:24.87. Earlier this season, Maier shattered the Cal indoor record in the 5000 by more than 30 seconds with her time of 15:58.49 at the Husky Classic in Seattle.

Matusak led a 1-3 Cal finish in the men's 3000 with his time of 7:59.67. Michael Coe [Lompoc, Calif. (Cabrillo HS)] claimed third in 8:01.23, just behind Stanford's Elliott Heath. It was Matusak's first individual conference crown; the senior was part of the Bears' winning distance medley relay in 2009.

Both Matusak and Coe have already automatically qualified for the NCAA indoor championships in two weeks - Matusak in the mile (school-record 3:58.36) and Coe in the 3000 (he ran 7:52.14 earlier this month).

Kowalsky was the biggest surprise winner with his victory in the shot put, the first event of the morning. His best effort after four throws was 57-11.75. But in his fifth attempt, he surged to the lead with his PR toss of 59-0.75 (18.00m), nearly two feet farther than his previous best.

"Patrick throw was phenomenal," Sandoval said. "When our field events people win, it gets everyone fired up."

Morrison edged Robert Robinson of Cal State Northridge for the heptathlon title, finishing with 5,655 points to Robinson's 5,540. Morrison took over the lead for good after the sixth event - the pole vault - when he cleared 16-0.75 to pick up 880 points. Robinson managed a clearance of 13-9.25, which was good for 673 points. Cal's Kevin Kuechler [Mission Viejo, Calif. (Mission Viejo HS) was sixth with 5,055 points.

The victory was the first conference title for Morrison, a transfer from Florida who was the 2007 SEC Freshman of the Year and placed third at the '07 NCAA indoor meet in the heptathlon. In addition to today's result, Morrison also tied for third in the long jump Friday.

Oregon's Andrew Wheating captured the mile in 3:58.20, with Coe taking fourth in an NCAA provisional qualifying time of 4:02.68. The field was bunched behind Wheating, as Coe missed out on a second-place finish by less than a second behind UCLA's Marlon Patterson (4:02.16) and Arizona State's Brandon Bethke (4:02.41). Cal's Steve Sodaro [Tiburon, Calif. (Redwood HS)] fell just shy of putting points on the board, taking ninth in a personal-best 4:06.54.

The Bears got a runner-up finish in the women's 800 from freshman Sofia Oberg [Lidingo, Sweden (International HS)], who ran a personal-best 2:06.40 in her first MPSF meet. Mercedes Marchbanks [Redwood City, Calif. (Sequoia High School) took third in the women's triple jump (39-11.50), while Sebastian Sam had a PR 1:49.82 in the men's 800 to claim fourth.

Other notable performances on the day came from Brian Carmichael [San Jose, Calif. (Oak Grove HS)] in the high jump, who finished eighth with a height of 6-9.50, more than three inches better than his previous PR. Linda Oseso [Santa Clara, Calif. (Santa Clara HS)] bettered her PR in the shot put by two-and-a-half feet to tie for sixth at 45-5.25.

"Most of our strong events come on the second day," Sandoval said. "We came on at the end, and to have four individual champions says something. Unfortunately, we don't have enough depth across the board to move up in the team standings."

MPSF Indoor Track & Field Championships
Seattle, Wash.

Saturday's Cal Men's Results


Final Team Standings
1. UCLA 108.50, 2. Stanford 95.50, 3. California 90, 4. Arizona State 79, 5. Arizona 67, 6. Washington State 59, 6. Oregon 59, 8. Cal State Northridge 47, 9. Washington 41, 10. Long Beach State 16

Triple Jump
5. Hammed Suleman [Antioch, Calif. (Deer Valley HS)] 49-2.25 (14.99m)

High Jump
8. Brian Carmichael 6-9.50 (2.07m)

Shot Put
1. Patrick Kowalsky 59-0.75 (18.00m)*

Mile
4. Michael Coe 4:02.86*; 9. Steve Sodaro 4:06.54

60-meter hurdles
7. Ryan Holmes [South Pasadena, Calif. (Loyola HS)] 8.47

400 meters
12. Tom Blocker [Sacramento, Calif. (Jesuit HS, Carmichael) 49.45

800 meters
4. Sebastian Sam [San Jose, Calif. (Oak Grove HS)]1:49.82*

3000 meters
1. Mark Matusak 7:59.67*, 3. Michael Coe 8:01.23*, 17. Yosef Ghebray [Union City, Calif. (James Logan HS) 8:17.68

4x400-meter Relay
7. Sebastian Sam, Kellan Patterson [Oakland, Calif. (Berkeley HS; City College of San Francisco], Ryan Holmes, Tom Blocker 3:17.73

Heptathlon: 60-meter hurdles
3. Kevin Kuechler 8.30 (908 points) - PR; 4. Mike Morrison 8.42 (879 points)

Heptathlon: Pole Vault
2. Mike Morrison 16-0.75 (4.90m) (880 points); 9. Kevin Kuechler 13-1.50 (4.00m) (617 points)

Heptathlon: 1000 meters
4. Mike Morrison 2:51.42 (751 points), 5. Kevin Kuechler 2:53.48 (730 points)

Heptathlon: Final Standings
1. Mike Morrison 5,655 points, 6. Kevin Kuechler 5,055 points

Saturday's Cal Women's Results


Final Team Standings


1. Oregon 133, 2. Stanford 113, 3. Arizona 109, 4. Arizona State 75, 5. California 64.50, 6. UCLA 53.50, 7. Washington State 45, 8. Washington 34, 9. Cal State Northridge 27.50, 10. Long Beach State 7.50.

Pole Vault
5. Allison Stokke [Newport Beach, Calif. (Newport Harbor HS) 13-1.50 (4.00m)*; 10. Cyrena Giordano [Redwood Shores, Calif. (Saint Ignatius College Prep, San Francisco)12-7.50 (3.85m); 13. Theresa Raub [Arlington Heights, Ill. (Prospect HS)] 12-1.50 (3.70m)

Mile
8. Taylor Dutch [Newport Beach, Calif. (Orange Lutheran HS)] 4:51.80

60-meter hurdles
7. Emani Truluck [Malibu, Calif. (Malibu HS)] 8.68

Triple Jump
3. Mercedes Marchbanks 39-11.50 (12.18m), 7. Amanda Hunter [Inglewood, Calif. (Marlborough HS)] 39-3.25 (11.97m)

400 meters
6. Alima Kamara [Stockton, Calif. (Cesar Chavez HS)] 55.66, 21. Hayley Huxtable [Santa Cruz, Calif. (Scotts Valley HS) 57.89, 22. JAsmine Joseph [Carson, Calif. (Long Beach Poly HS] 58.72

60 meters
7. Cherrelle Garrett [Hayward, Calif. (Mount Eden HS)] 7.57

Shot Put
T6. Linda Oseso 45-5.25 (13.85m)

800 meters
2. Sofia Oberg 2:06.40*

3000 meters
1. Deborah Maier 9:20.05*#, 17. Alison Greggor 9:41.03, 18. Taylor Bryson [Costa Mesa, Calif. (Newport Harbor HS)] 9:49.52, 27. Taylor Dutch 10:03.82

4x400-meter Relay
8. JAsmine Joseph, Sofia Oberg, Hayley Huxtable, Alima Kamara 3:46.83

*denotes NCAA provisional qualifying time
#denotes Cal school record

2010 Roster
Coaches


Men
NAME EVENT(S) Year/Class Hometown (High School)
James Attarian 1500-5000 SO Dublin, Calif. (Dublin HS)
Nate Beach 5000-10,000 RS FR Lafayette, Calif. (Acalanes HS)
Tom Blocker 200-400 FR Sacramento, Calif. (Jesuit HS)
James Brewer 800-1500 SO Cheltenham, England
Aaron Burney 110 hurdles SO Roseville, Calif. (Granite Bay HS)
Jeff Butler Discus-Shot Put FR Saratoga, Calif. (St. Francis HS)
Brian Carmichael High Jump SO San Jose, Calif. (Oak Grove HS)
Maxime Chevee 5000 RS FR St. Julien en Genevois, France
Michael Coe 1500-5000 RS JR Lompoc, Calif. (Cabrillo HS)
Andres Diaz 3000SC-5000 FR Eagle Rock, Calif. (Loyola Prep HS)
Yosef Ghebray 5000-10,000 RS SR Union City, Calif. (Logan HS)
Ryan Holmes 110 hurdles SO South Pasadena, Calif. (Loyola HS)
Collin Jarvis 1500-3000SC-5000 FR Vista, Calif. (Rancho Buena HS)
Austin Jett 1500 RS SO Bonita, Calif. (Eastlake HS)
Chad Jones Triple Jump-Long Jump-110 hurdles FR Union City, Calif. (Bishop O'Dowd HS)
Kari Karlsson 5000-10,000 JR Reykjavik, Iceland
Colin Kennedy Javelin RS SO Santa Barbara, Calif. (Laguna Blanca HS)
Tojsh Kennedy 100-200-400 JR Hawthorne, Calif. (Bishop Montgomery HS)
Patrick Kowalsky Shot Put-Discus RS JR Denver, Colo. (J.K. Mullen HS)
Cameron Kroll Pole Vault RS SO Reno, Nev. (Reno HS)
Kevin Kuechler Decathlon JR Mission Viejo, Calif. (Mission Viejo HS)
Connor Landry Pole Vault JR Newcastle, CA/ (Placer HS)
Ethan Mark 800-1500 FR Lafayette, Calif. (Acalanes HS)
Mark Matusak 1500-5000 RS SR Torrance, Calif. (Loyola HS)
Justin Miller Pole Vault SR San Ramon, Calif. (California HS)
Matt H. Miller 5000-10,000 RS SO Orange, Calif. (El Modena HS)
Matt K. Miller 3000SC-5000 RS SR Manhattan Beach, Calif. (Loyola Prep)
Kyle Mills-Bunje Decathlon-Pole Vault RS JR Menlo Park, Calif. (Saint Francis)
Mike Morrison Decathlon-Pole Vault RS JR Chesapeake, Va. (Great Bridge HS)
Dash Oliver 100-200 FR Castro Valley, Calif. (Castro Valley HS)
Miles Palacios Shot Put-Discus-Hammer Throw RS SR Lafayette, Calif. (Diablo Valley College)
Kellan Patterson 100-200 SR Oakland, Calif.(Berkeley HS; City College of San Francisco)
Matt Petersen 5000-10,000 FR Davis, Calif. (Davis HS)
Renaud Poizat 5000-10,000 FR Arcadia, Calif. (Arcadia HS)
Nick Porter 100-200 JR Sherman Oaks, Calif. (Notre Dame HS)
Sebastian Sam 400-800 SO San Jose, Calif. (Oak Grove HS)
Charles Saseun 100-200 FR Rancho Cucamonga, Calif. (Rancho Cucamonga HS)
Cody Schmidt 1500-5000 FR Torrence, Calif. (Redondo Beach HS)
Simon Schmidt 1500-5000 FR Torrence, Calif. (Redondo Beach HS)
Ryan Shuler Pole Vault SR Granite Bay, Calif. (Granite Bay HS)
J.P. Slater 3000SC-5000 FR Pasadena, Calif. (Loyola Prep HS)
Steve Sodaro 3000SC RS JR Tiburon, Calif. (Redwood HS)
Hammed Suleman Triple Jump-Long Jump FR Antioch, Calif. (Deer Valley HS)
Mike Tracy High Jump FR Windsor, Calif. (Windson HS)
Maurice Valentine Jr. 110 hurdles-High Jump RS FR Castro Valley, Calif. (Castro Valley HS)
Shane Vereen 100 JR Valencia, Calif. (Valencia HS)
Chris Vizcaino 5000-10,000 JR Lafayette, Calif. (Campolindo HS)
Keagan Wethington 200-400 JR Union City, Calif. (Logan HS)
Chase Wheeler 100-200-Long Jump FR San Ramon, Calif. (De La Salle HS)
Ryan Young Javelin RS SR Silverdale, Wash. (North Kitsap HS)

Women
NAME EVENT(S) Year/Class Hometown (High School)
Aziza Baker Triple Jump-Long Jump FR Richmond, Calif. (St. Mary's HS)
Natalya Beneby 400 hurdles-400 JR Nassau Bahamas (St. Andrew's School)
Kimyon Broom 100 hurdles-100 SR Inglewood, Calif. (Serra HS)
Mary Bruzzone Javelin FR Lafayette, Calif. (Acalanes HS)
Taylor Bryson 1500-5000 RS SO Costa Mesa, Calif. (Newport Harbor HS)
Laurynne Chetelat 1500-5000 SO Davis, Calif. (Davis Senior HS)
Michelle Davis 5000 SO San Rafael, Calif. (San Rafael HS)
Kayla Dixon 200-400 JR Winnetka, Calif. (Grover Cleveland HS)
Taylor Dutch 5000 SO Newport Beach, Calif. (Orange Lutheran HS)
Crystal Esparza 1500-5000 SO Riverbank, Calif. (Fred Beyer HS)
Gianna Fernandez High Jump FR Morgan Hill, Calif. (Presentation HS)
Shannon Forbes 400 hurdles JR Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif. (Peninsula HS)
Cherrelle Garrett 100-200 JR Hayward, Calif. (Mount Eden HS)
Cyrena Giordano Pole Vault JR Redwood Shores, Calif. (Saint Ignatius College Prep)
Alison Greggor 1500-5000 RS JR Novato, Calif. (San Marin High School)
Hillary Hayes 1500-5000 FR Huntington Beach, Calif. (Edison HS)
Kristin Holmes 100-200-Long Jump RS SR Claremont, Calif. (Claremont HS)
Danielle Hoolko Heptathlon JR La Jolla, Calif. (La Jolla HS)
Nicole Hough 1500-5000 FR Redondo Beach, Calif. (Redondo Union HS)
Dantia Hudson Heptathlon SO Oakland, Calif. (Skyline HS)
Robyn Hunte 100-200-Long Jump SR Antioch, Calif.
Amanda Hunter Triple Jump-Long Jump RS FR Inglewood, Calif. (Marlborough HS)
Hayley Huxtable 200-400 JR Santa Cruz, Calif. (Scotts Valley HS)
Jasmine Joseph 200-400 FR Carson, Calif. (Long Beach Poly HS)
Alima Kamara 200-400 FR Stockton, Calif. (Cesar Chavez HS)
Ellie Keene 5000 SO Vista, Calif. (Rancho Buena Vista HS)
Keena Kohl 5000 SO Yorba Linda, Calif. (Esperanza HS)
Jackie Lewis 100-Long Jump JR Fresno, Calif. (Hoover HS)
Deborah Maier 1500-5000 SO Cameron Park, Calif. (Ponderosa HS)
Mercedes Marchbanks Triple Jump-Long Jump RS SR Redwood City, Calif. (Sequoia High School)
Kristen Meister High Jump SR Toledo, Ohio (Maumee Valley Country Day HS)
Kendall Morris Discus SO Modesto, CA (Beyer HS)
Ashleigh Nickerson 100-200 FR Weddington, N.C. (Providence Day School HS)
Sofia Oberg 400-800-1500 FR Lidingo, Sweden (International HS)
Linda Oseso Hammer Throw RS SO Santa Clara, Calif. (Santa Clara HS)
Malaina Payton 100-200-Long Jump FR Vallejo, Calif. (Fremont Media College Prep HS)
Theresa Raub Pole Vault JR Arlington Heights, Ill. (Prospect HS)
Chelsea Reilly 800-1500 RS SO Davis, Calif. (Davis Senior HS)
Kristin Rimbach High Jump FR Los Altos, Calif. (Los Altos HS)
Kiely Smith Shot Put-Discus-Hammer Throw RS JR San Jose, Calif. (Valley Christian HS)
Tracey Stewart Triple Jump-Long Jump RS JR Richmond, Calif. (James Logan HS)
Allison Stokke Pole Vault JR Newport Beach, Calif. (Newport Harbor HS)
Rowena Tam 3000SC-5000 RS JR San Diego, Calif. (University City HS)
Laureina Toler 400 hurdles FR El Sobrante, Calif. (Bishop O'Dowd HS)
Emani Truluck 100-200-100 hurdles SO Malibu, Calif. (Malibu HS)
Angelica Weaver 200-400 FR Fontana, Calif. (Rancho Cucamonga HS)


Coaches


Tony Sandoval - Director of Track and Field
Ann Detmer - Assistant Coach (recruiting assistant, distance)
Ed Miller - Associate Head Coach (field/multi events)
Sean Carey - Volunteer Assistant Coach
Mike Gipson - Recruiting Coordinator (sprints, hurdles, relays)
Magdalena Lewy - Volunteer Assistant Coach
Jordan Paul - Volunteer Assistant Coach
John Rembao - Director of Operations (jumps, women's multi events)
Scott Slover - Assistant Coach (pole vault)
Mark Jellison - Volunteer Assistant Coach
Zech Whittington - Volunteer Assistant Coach


Courtesy Cal