The Long Beach State track and field team had a strong showing at the NAU Team Challenge as it completed action in the one-day event with 11 top three finishes Saturday at J.L. Walkup Skydome.
The 49er men finished second behind UCLA with 33 points, while the women took fourth (19 points).
Senior Alex Black won the men’s high jump with a personal-record 7-00.25. That mark stands as the third-best in indoor school history behind Dwight Stones (7-06.50) and John Temidara (7-02.75). Senior transferBrad Zarembski made it a one-two finish for The Beach as he cleared 6-08.75 to rank seventh on the all-time charts.
In the triple jump, junior transfer Eric Nowell led a group of four 49ers with a second-place performance (47-08). Classmate Kevin Jenkins wasn’t far behind in fourth with a leap of 46-08.
Senior Colin Dunbar led the LBSU throwers by claiming the weight throw title and a posting a runner-up finish in the shot put (55-03.75). Dunbar notched a lifetime-best 64-06 in the weight throw to put him third in school history, while his mark in the shot put ranks him fourth on the all-time charts.
Senior Kenneth Medwood took second in the 400-meter dash, running the eighth-fastest time in 49er indoor history at 48.12. Junior transfer Sam Jeter also had a solid showing, placing third with a mark of 48.45 (9th in school history).
In the 60m hurdles, junior Nimrod Piggee was Long Beach State’s top finisher as he claimed runner-up honors with a time of 8.18 to put him third on the 49er all-time charts.
On the women’s side, Long Beach State swept the medal honors in the high jump as senior Tayler O’Connor (5-08) and sophomore Katrina Graves-Johnson (5-08) took first and second, respectively. Their marks were both lifetime bests and put them in a tie for sixth in the 49er record books. Sophomore Janelle Coulter completed the sweep, finishing in third at 5-06 (8th in school history).
Freshman Kayla Kamaka added a third-place performance in the pole vault, clearing 11-11.75 to rank tied for fifth on the all-time top 10 list.
In other jumping events, senior Miia Mobley finished second in the triple jump, topping her own school record with a leap of 39-10.50. Sophomore Gabrielle Broomfield chipped in with a fourth-place finish (37-08.50).
Senior B.J. Triplett led the sprinters, taking third in the 200m (25.19) and fourth in the 60m (7.86).
With a young group of throwers, the 49ers were paced by sophomores Rachel Hammar and Destanie Yarbrough. Hammar led the way in the shot put (42-01.50), while Yarbrough was LBSU’s top finisher in the weight throw (45-09.75).
Long Beach State returns to action next weekend with a split squad. One group will return to Flagstaff, Ariz., for the NAU Invitational (Feb. 13), while another group will head to Seattle, Wash., for the Husky Classic (Feb. 13-14).
NAU Team Challenge
Feb. 6, 2010
Men's Team Scores 1. UCLA (54) 2. Long Beach State (33) 3. Arizona State (21) 4. Southern Utah (13) 5. Northern Arizona (8)Women's Team Scores 1. Arizona State (42) 2. Northern Arizona (34) 3. Cal State Fullerton (24) 4. Long Beach State (19) 5. Southern Utah (9) 6. UCLA (1)
Reports From LBSU