By Bill Sheehan
A trio of Titans helped the Cal State Fullerton men's indoor track and field team cap its inaugural season on a high note and made a little history in the process.
Christian Wood, Shallamar Poole and Charles Kelly became the first Fullerton student-athletes – men or women – to win individual titles at the annual Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Indoor Track and Field Championships. The two-day finals were held last month in Spokane, Washington.
Wood won the long jump with a leap of 7.24 meters (23 feet, 9 inches), Poole cleared 2.11 meters (6 feet, 11 inches) to capture the high jump and Kelly ran 8:02 to take the 60-meter hurdles. All three recorded personal bests and set school indoor records.
Competing as an indoor team for the first time, the Fullerton men's team placed third behind BYU and Long Beach State in a five-team field. The Titans women's team finished sixth among nine schools. Fullerton competes in the MPSF in the indoor season and the Big West in the outdoor season.
Marques Barosso, Fullerton's first-year track and field head coach, said both squads are in a good position for the outdoor season.
"We have the pieces to elevate our program. We as staff must put it together. Our team is well balanced, and we will show that during the outdoor season," said Barosso, who served on the Titans staff for seven years before replacing retiring John Elders in September.
Wood, a redshirt junior from Fresno, got things rolling on Day One of the MPSF finals with his victory in the long jump. He said he was happy to share the spotlight with Kelly and Poole after their Day Two triumphs.
"Shallamar flies high, and Charles runs really fast. They came through and made school history," said Wood, who also finished second in the triple jump with a 14.18-meter (46-feet, 6.25-inch) effort. "It's good to have more than just one person winning. I'm happy for my teammates."
Wood, who has also competed in sprints, the 400 meters and relays for Fullerton, aims to improve on his 30th place in the long jump at last year's NCAA Outdoor Track and Field West Preliminaries. "This year, my goal is to reach the NCAA nationals, at least in the long jump, make All-American and land somewhere between 25 and 26 feet," said Wood.
Wood is 'someone we can rely on,' coach says
He is the most confident member of the jump squad, if not the whole program, said Barosso. "Christian knows what he can do, says what he can do and does it. He is someone we can rely on in the field events."
A marketing and advertising major, the 22-year-old would like to explore how cryptocurrency and cryptographic assets such as non-fungible tokens, or NFTs, are transitioned to augmented and virtual reality.
He also wants to work on making advertisements more immersive for users. In his free time, Wood enjoys writing and performing different genres of rap music
Poole, a junior transfer from Mount San Antonio College in Walnut, also has high expectations for the outdoor season.
"I want to take care of business -- win the Big West Conference high jump and qualify for the NCAA regionals. My ultimate goal is to reach nationals and hopefully take the championship home," said Poole, who was born in Los Angeles but raised on Saint Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands. He attended Alta Loma High School in Rancho Cucamonga.
Overcoming injuries to shine at MPSF finals
The 22-year-old said he was slowed by shin splints and fatigue but was able to bounce back at the MPSF finals. "It was a great experience competing in the indoor championships," said Poole, who also competes in the long jump and may take a stab at the sprints too.
He cited Barosso when explaining his decision to attend Fullerton. "I appreciated how Coach B made me feel wanted and gave me the best offer. I'm thankful for that."
Poole will compete with chip on his shoulder, Barosso predicted. "Shallamar wants to go out and be one of the best high jumpers in the nation. He wants to show some Big West and NCAA schools what they missed out on."
A kinesiology major, Poole envisions a career as a physical therapist. At Mount SAC, the 6-foot-5 athlete also played basketball. He has fun dunking on people, especially his teammates, during pickup games.
Kelly, a redshirt senior from Palmdale, was the Big West's Men's Co-Track Athlete of the Year in 2021 after winning conference championships in the 100 hurdles (14.10) and 400 hurdles (51.23) and running the second leg of the victorious 4x400 relay team.
Kelly says the indoor season paid dividends
"The weakest part of my hurdles is the first 60 meters of the race. It takes me a while to get going. The indoor races have helped me learn to get out fast and compete early instead of waiting to the sixth or seventh hurdle," Kelly said.
"The [MFSP 60-meters finals] race was very intense. A lot of competitors were coming off personal bests in the prelims. For me, it was being in the right race at the right time, to drop a PR," said Kelly, who placed 24th in the 400-meter hurdles and 39th in the 110-meter hurdles at the 2021 NCAA West Preliminaries.
Kelly, whose 2022 goals include making it to the NCAA finals and the U.S. trials for the World Championships. said his teammates enjoyed their first year of competing indoors, especially at the MPSF finals. The meet was held at The Podium, a new 4,237-seat facility built by the city of Spokane.
"It was a new for all of us, seeing how indoor track works," Kelly said. "At The Podium, for example, the athletes were high jumping in the middle of a 100-meter runway and running on a 200-meter hydraulically banked track. It was an amazing experience."
Barosso praised Kelly for being a leader. "Charles is the veteran of our team. He has been crucial to our team culture, leadership and championships. And he has a way of calming people down when that is needed," he said.
Kelly, 22, will graduate in May with a communications degree, with an emphasis in public relations and a minor in Human Services. He wants to pursue a career as a probation officer. "I want to give people a better second chance at life. Some probation officers look in the wrong direction when it comes to those who they are supposed to help. I look forward to changing that."
They want to keep the Titans' winning streak going
Fullerton's outdoor track and field teams have excelled in recent years, with the men winning Big West titles in 2017, 2018 and 2021 and the women taking the conference crown in 2019. (No championships were held in 2020 because of the Covid-19 pandemic.) Barosso, Kelly and Wood see no reason why this should change.
"I'm super-excited about our teams. We have talented people in the sprints, distance races and in the field events," said Barosso, who added that his first year as head coach has been busy but fun. "Our confidence is sky high. We know what we can do."
Kelly, who also competes outdoors in the 400 meters and 4X100 relay outdoors, said the Titans are looking to continue the winning tradition.
"There are a lot of new faces on the team and among the coaches, so I'm excited how this translates to competing. Indoors, we faced a lot of injuries, but the team members were able to pull it together at The Podium. We'll need to continue competing to the best of our abilities when we move outdoors."
Wood, echoing the late UCLA basketball coach John Wooden, said the key is to go out and execute. "Our focus isn't win-win-win. It's more important to implement what we have been practicing on race days. If we do that, we'll be fine, and the wins will come."