Report by LBSU
Senior Kenneth Medwood led the Long Beach State men’s track and field team to a second-place finish behind host Cal State Northridge at the Big West Championships Saturday afternoon. The men compiled 145 points, while the women finished seventh with 53 points.
Medwood was the 400-meter hurdle champion as he crossed the finish line in a school-record 49.66 seconds. Medwood bettered his previous school record of 50.37, which he established at the Beach Invitational. Junior Sam Jeter made it a one-two finish for LBSU, taking runner-up honors with a lifetime-best 50.24.That mark ranks him second in 49er history.
Nimrod Piggee took third in the 110 hurdles, clocking in at 14.65 seconds.
Matt Maldonado chipped in a runner-up performance in the 1500-meter run (3:50.55), while Alex Freitas took third in the 800m (1:50.23).
Both Chris Sweeney (48.68) and Alex Goldberg (48.79) put points on the board in the 400m dash as they finished fifth and sixth, respectively.
LBSU had three scorers in the 200m, led by Richard Crawford, who placed fourth overall in 21.90 seconds. Louis Ward (22.01) and Medwood (23.37) also finished fifth and seventh.
Both of the men’s relay squads had top three finishes. The quartet of Nathan Alade, Crawford, Piggee and Jeter finished second in the 4×100 with a time of 41.04 seconds. The 4×400 team of Medwood, Goldberg, Freitas and Jeter finished third overall (3:13.50).
In the field events, Cesar Puga had a runner-up showing with a toss of 172-04. He was also the 49ers’ top finisher in the shot put with a season-long 53-08.25, which was good enough for fifth place. Peter Fourtounis added a fourth-place performance in the discus (162-00), while Rajan Bains finished sixth in the discus and eighth in the shot put.
Kevin Jenkins also took second in the triple jump with a lifetime-best 49-06.25, while Eric Nowell placed sixth overall (47-11.25).
On the women’s side, Kristen Kiefer finished fourth in the 400 hurdles with a season-low 62.12. Anastasiya Kholev also scored, claiming eighth place (63.95).
Jennifer Rodriguez bettered her lifetime best in the 1500m, clocking in at 4:33.68, which ranks ninth in school history.
Katrina Graves-Johnson led The Beach in the high jump, placing fifth (5-06.50), while Sara Macey took seventh (5-06.50).
Rachel Hammar and Alexandra Cervantes also scored in the shot put. Hammar finished fifth overall with a distance of 43-05.75, while Cervantes took eighth (40-07.75).
Long Beach State returns to action in two weeks when it heads to Austin, Texas, for the NCAA West Regional Championships, May 27-29.