Morrison (heptathlon), Suleman (triple jump), Stewart (60 hurdles) Win for Cal
Hammed Suleman
Feb. 26, 2011
SEATTLE, Wash. - Golden Bears captured three titles on the second day of the MPSF Track & Field Indoor Championships Saturday. Mike Morrison led the group with an NCAA meet automatic qualifying total of 5,694 points in the heptathlon, while Hammed Suleman won the triple jump and Ray Stewart prevailed in the 60-meter hurdles.
In the team competition, both the men's and women's squads placed sixth. Stanford led the men's field and Oregon won the women's race.
"Saturday was a good day for the Golden Bears, and I thought everyone competed very hard," said director of track & field Tony Sandoval. "The trio of Mike Morrison, Hammed Suleman and Ray Stewart dominated their respective events. We had a number of indoor PRs, and I was especially impressed with those who competed in multiple events and scored. Other than for Morrison, we'll have to wait out the descending order next week to see which athletes qualify for NCAAs on provisional marks."
Morrison successfully defended his 2010 heptathlon crown, winning by 280 points over second-place Casey DiCesare of UCLA, who finished with 5,414 points. Morrison didn't finish below third in any of the seven events and will now have a chance to improve on his third-place NCAA national showing from last year.
Morrison's point total was just above the NCAA standard of 5,675 to earn an automatic berth at the championships, which will be contested March 11-12 in Fayetteville, Ark. In addition to his performance, Kevin Kuechler took eighth in the heptathlon with 5,014 points and Idarre Coles was 11th with 4,717.
Suleman captured the triple jump with a personal-best 52-10.75, which puts him ninth on Cal's all-time performer list. Only Lenards Ozolinish, set the school indoor record of 54-2.50 in 1995, has leapt further for the Bears over the past 16 years.
Suleman prevailed by just 1.50 inches over runner-up Jonathan Clark of UCLA, whose top effort was 52-9.25. Suleman posted his winning jump on his fifth attempt, then had to hold his breath as Clark closed the margin on his final try. The Bears picked up another point in the event when freshman Taylor Kientzel-Means placed eighth with a PR 46-9.50.
Stewart won the 60-meter hurdles in 7.91 seconds, a 0.03 margin over runner-up Eric Hersey of Oregon. Earlier this season, Stewart set a Cal record with a time of 7.77 seconds at the Husky Indoor Classic in mid-February.
In addition to Stewart, the Bears picked up additional points in the hurdles from Aaron Burney, who was sixth in 8.27, and Monte Corley, who was seventh in 8.29.
In the men's 800 meters, freshman Jordan Locklear finished third in 1:50.96, a mere 0.68 seconds out of first. Locklear was second to UCLA's Scott Crawford (1:50.28) in the first section, while Washington State's Joe Abbott squeezed between the two by running 1:50.86 in section 3.
Steve Sodaro ran a PR 8:05.68 to take seventh in the 3000 meters, just ahead of eight-place finisher Collin Jarvis, who was timed in 8:06.08.
Patrick Kowalsky, the defending champion in the shot put who underwent shoulder surgery in the offseason, came through with a season-best effort of nearly three feet to claim third at 57-3.50.
The best finish for a member of the women's team was third, a level achieved by four different athletes - Cherrelle Garrett (60 meters), Kirsten Meister (high jump), Allison Stokke (pole vault) and Aziza Baker (triple jump).
Garrett, who was eighth in the 200 Friday night, ran a season-best 7.49 seconds in the 60 Saturday afternoon. Meister also notched her best effort of the year by clearing 5-8.50 in the high jump, while Baker led a 3-4 finish in the triple jump, going 40-2.00 to teammate Amanda Hunter's 40-0.75.
In the pole vault, Stokke set a PR by going over the bar at 13-7.75. Her previous best was 13-7.00. Theresa Raub also PR'd in the event, taking fifth at 13-1.75 to clear 13 feet for the first time.
Taylor Dutch was seventh in the women's mile in a PR 4:48.97. She just missed Cal's school record of 4:48.89 set by Chelsea Reilly last year. Reilly was 13th in Saturday's race in 4:54.86, while teammate Taylor Bryson placed ninth in 4:53.13.
Cal begins the outdoor season next Saturday, March 5, when the Bears host the Cal Outdoor Opener at Edwards Stadium. In addition to Cal, teams from
MPSF Indoor Championships
Seattle, Wash.
Complete Results
Men's Results
Team Standings - 1. Stanford 107.50; 2. Arizona 102; 3. UCLA 82.50; 4. Oregon 79; 5. Arizona State 72.50; 6. California 66; 7. Washington State 63; 8. Washington 57; 9. Long Beach State 20; 10. Cal State Northridge 13.50
60 meters - Ray Stewart DNS
400 meters - 18. Tojsh Kennedy 49.25; 19. Monte Corley 49.42
800 meters - 3. Jordan Locklear 1:50.96
3000 meters - 7. Steve Sodaro 8:05.68; 8. Collin Jarvis 8:06.08
Mile - 15. Maxime Chevee 4:17.39
60-meter hurdles - 1. Ray Stewart 7.91; 6. Aaron Burney 8.27; 7. Monte Corley 8.29
4x400-meter relay - 8. Tojsh Kennedy, Jordan Locklear, Nick Porter, Monte Corley 3:17.76
High Jump - 11. Nick Ridge 6-8.25 (2.04m); 13. Brian Carmichael 6-8.25 (2.04m)
Triple Jump - 1. Hammed Suleman 52-10.75 (16.12m); 8. Taylor Kientzel-Means 46-9.50 (14.26m); 10. Chad Jones 46-2.00 (14.07m)
Shot Put - 5. Patrick Kowalsky 57-3.50 (17.46m)
Heptathlon (points in parentheses)
60-meter hurdles - 2. Mike Morrison 8.29 (910); 5. Kevin Kuechler 8.55 (848); 15. Idarre Coles 9.25 (692)
Pole Vault - 3. Mike Morrison 15-3.75 (4.67m) (810); 11. Kevin Kuechler 13-0.25 (3.97m) (609); 12. Idarre Coles 12-0.50 (3.67m) (527)
1000 meters - 2. Mike Morrison 2:45.17 (817); 5. Kevin Kuechler 2:49.62 (770); 8. Idarre Coles 2:54.32 (721)
Final Standings - 1. Mike Morrison 5694; 8. Kevin Kuechler 5014; 11. Idarre Coles 4717
Women's Results
Team Standings - 1. Oregon 138; 2. Arizona 128; 3. Stanford 96.50; 4. Arizona State 92; 5. Washington 62.50; 6. California 60; 7. UCLA 33; 8. Cal State Northridge 22; 9. Washington State 16; 10. UC Irvine 9; 11. Long Beach State 4
60 meters - 3. Cherrelle Garrett 7.49
400 meters - 8. Angelica Weaver 55.89; 12. Ashley Cooke 56.49; 15. Kayla Dixon 56.61
800 meters - 16. Taylor Dutch 2:13.30
Mile - 7. Taylor Dutch 4:48.97; 9. Taylor Bryson 4:53.13; 13. Chelsea Reilly 4:54.86
3000 meters - 8. Rowena Tam 9:29.82; 13. Taylor Bryson 9:41.59
60-meter hurdles - 8. Emani Truluck 8.56
4x400-meter relay - 6. Ashley Cooke, Kayla Dixon, Charnell Price, Angelica Weaver 3:47.15
High Jump - 3. Kristen Meister 5-8.50 (1.74m); 10. Gianna Fernandez 5-4.50 (1.64m)
Pole Vault - 3. Allison Stokke 13-7.75 (4.16m); 5. Theresa Raub 13-1.75 (4.01m)
Triple Jump - 3. Aziza Baker 40-2.00 (12.24m); 4. Amanda Hunter 40-0.75 (12.21m)
Shot Put - 8. Linda Oseso 45-8.00 (13.92m); 10. Chioma Amaechi 43-10.75 (13.38m)
Courtesy Cal
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