After a week off from competition, the Long Beach State track and field team returns to Seattle, Wash., for the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Indoor Championships, Feb. 26-27.

The MPSF Championships will be held at the University of Washington’s Dempsey Indoor facility for the eighth consecutive year. The two-day meet begins on Friday with the men’s weight throw at 12:30 p.m. and concludes at 6:55 p.m. with the women’s 800-meter run. Saturday’s action opens at 11 a.m. with the men’s 60m hurdles, while the women’s 4×400 meter relay will bring the meet to a close at 3 p.m.

A GLANCE AT THE MPSF CHAMPIONSHIPS
The MPSF Indoor Championship features 10 teams, which includes a combination of Pac-10 and Big West schools. On the women’s side, Oregon enters the meet as the nation’s top-ranked team, while Arizona is ranked 16th. The Oregon men rank second nationally, followed by No. 5 Arizona State, No. 13 Stanford, No. 18 Arizona and No. 22 California.

The 49ers will be sending 14 men and 14 women to Seattle this weekend. On the men’s side, Colin Dunbar,Peter Fourtounis and Rajan Bains are all scheduled to compete in the weight throw and shot put. In other field events, Alex Black will look to lead a trio of high jumpers, while Kevin Jenkins is set to participate in the triple jump. Matt Maldonado (mile) and Alex Freitas (800m) are expected to anchor LBSU in the distance events, while Nimrod Piggee is also looking for a strong showing in the 60m hurdles. Nicholas Armstrongwill compete in the heptathlon.

On the women’s side, Alexandra Cervantes and Rachel Hammar will handle the throwing duties with both the weight throw and shot put.Kristen Kiefer, Krissy Knowles and Aiyana Welsh are set to compete in the 60m hurdles, while Tayler O’Connor, Janelle Coulter andKatrina Graves-Johnson are slated for the high jump. In the distance events, Annie Randall will participate in the mile, while Alisia Barajas and Jennifer Rodriguez will run the 3000m.

MALDONADO SHATTERS MILE SCHOOL RECORD
Matt Maldonado led The Beach at the Husky Classic on Feb. 13 as he turned in the top time in school history in the mile. Maldonado crossed the finish line in 4:03.94, shattering the previous school record of 4:11.85, held by Mario Cobian. Maldonado finished fifth overall in his heat.

BLACK, DUNBAR POST NCAA PROVISIONAL QUALIFYING MARKS
Alex Black (high jump) and Colin Dunbar (weight throw) both notched NCAA provisional qualifying marks in their respective events at the NAU Team Challenge on Feb. 6. Black cleared a lifetime-best 7-00.50 to win the high jump as he now ranks third on the 49er all-time top 10 list. Dunbar, meanwhile, was the top performer in the weight throw with a toss of 64-06. His mark also put him third in school history.

UP NEXT
Long Beach State kicks off the outdoor season at the Ben Brown Invitational in Fullerton, Calif., March 5-6, before closing out the 2010 indoor season at the NCAA Indoor Championships (March 12-13) in Fayetteville, Ark. 

Reports From LBSU