The Cal Poly men’s track and field team finished third with 134 points at the Big West Track and Field Championships while the women’s team finished sixth with 60 points as the Big West championships concluded Saturday afternoon at the Matador Track on the Cal State Northridge campus.
The men’s team was paced by three runners finishing with points in the 5000 while the women’s team had two jumpers with points in the triple jump.
Senior Carl Dargitz paced the three Mustangs that finished with points in the 5000. Dargitz finished third with a time of 14:32.62 while senior Joe Gatel was fifth with a time of 14:46.32. Senior Nathan Huerta was the third Mustang to score points with his seventh place finish and a time of 14:48.46.
Freshman Taylor Herrera scored for the Mustangs with two 3rd place finishes. Herrera was third in the 200 with a time of 21.50 while duplicating his finish in the 100 and time of 10.61.
Junior Tony Hodges finished fourth in the 400 with a collegiate best of 48.62.
The Cal Poly 4 x 100 meter relay team posted their fastest time of the season and a third place finish anchored by junior Jarred Houston (Herrera, Marty Affentranger, Hodges) in a time of 41.38.
In the 4 x 400 meter relay the team of Suprenant, Affentranger, Hodges and Quentin Greenlaw finished fifth with a time of 3:15.02
Other Mustangs scoring in running events included sophomore Eric Suprenant with his sixth place finish in the 400 hurdles (52.02). Blake McDowell and Aric Champagne finished seventh and eighth in the 800 with times of 1:51.81 and 1:54.06.
Sophomore Jordan Goffena was seventh in the 110 hurdles with a time of 15.26 while Brandon Shirck was sixth in the 1500 with a time of 3.53.80.
In field events the Mustangs posted two point scorers in the shotput with sophomore Daniel Erdman finishing third with a mark of 55-feet, 2 inches and freshman Korben Boaz sixth with a mark of 53-feet, 1.75 inches.
Boaz backed it up with a fifth place finish in the discus with a mark of 159-feet, 2 inches.
In the pole vault, sophomore Kyle Inks finished third when he cleared 16-feet, 2 inches and teammate Kevin Jones finished eighth at 15-feet, 8.25 inches.
Cal State Northridge won the men’s championship with 173 points followed by Long Beach State with 145. Cal Poly was third (134), nosing out UC Santa Barbara with 132.50. UC Davis took fifth (91) with UC Irvine sixth (58.50). UC Riverside (43) and Cal State Fullerton (42) rounded out the teams.
The women’s team led in the field events with two finishing in the point of the triple jump. Junior Jasmine Pickett finished second with a leap of 42-feet, 4 inches. Tenise Brewer was fourth with a mark of 40-feet, 3.50 inches.
Sophomore Whitney Sisler finished second in the high jump. She cleared 5-feet, 10.75 inches.
In the track events, freshman Kayleigh Tyerman finished second in the 1500 in a time of 4:30.31 while Brewer scored points in a second event with her third place finish in the 100 meter hurdles with a time of 13.91.
Senior Erinne Benny finished sixth in the 100 with a time of 12.33 with Kristen Sanzari finishing seventh in the 800 and a time of 2:14.13.
The 4 x 100 meter relay team of Benny, Oganna Agu, Pickett and Brewer finished fifth with a time of 46.40.
Cal State Northridge won the women’s championship in a tight battle with 193 points followed by UC Santa Barbara with 188. UC Davis was third (113) and Cal State Fullerton fourth (97). UC Riverside held down fifth with 71 points with the Mustangs sixth with 60 points. Long Beach State finished seventh (53) and UC Irvine eighth (43).