May 15, 2009
Irvine, Calif. - Juliane Masciana won the 3000 meter steeplechase in meet record time and Laron Brown and Johnathan Golden finished one-two in the men's high jump to highlight Cal State Fullerton's efforts Friday on the opening day of the Big West Conference Track and Field Championships.
Masciana ran 10:23.36 to win by five seconds over Carly Harris of Long Beach State while Brown edged Golden on fewer attempts after both cleared 6-feet, 10 3/4 inches. Teammate Lamar Oliphant tied for sixth at 6-feet, 8 1/4 inches.
In other finals, Fullerton got third-place finishes from Grace Gonzales in the 10K and from Jameena Hunt in the shot put. In the women's pole vault, Kelly MacLean and Alison Stamos finished third and fourth, both clearing 12-feet, 1 1/2 inches. In the men's long jump, Brown took fourth and Garrett Myers was sixth.
Scoring after seven events has the Titan women in fourth place and the men are fifth, both among eight schools.
In running preliminaries, two school records fell. Ciara Short won both of her heats in the 200 and the 400 and her 200 time of 23.85 broke her school record of 23.96. Lauren Williams nipped her school record in the 100 hurdles, improving it from 13.54 to 13.52 with a winning performance.
On the men's side, Myers qualified for the finals in the 400 while Erik Estrada did the same for the 800 and Bryan Luther did likewise in the 100 and 200.
"It was a great first day for our ladies," said Head Coach John Elders. "This sets us up nicely for tomorrow with a chance to finish in the top three.
"The highlight for the men was our 1, 2 and 6 finish in the high jump."