Chris Day
ASC Sports Information
The 2011 outdoor track and field season kicked off this weekend as the Grizzlies were in action at the ThunderBowl for the Colorado St.-Pueblo Open, and Adams State was led by pair of first place finishes from senior Blair Sohl in the pole vault and sophomore Dyson Mortensen in the high jump.
The season opening meet got underway with the men’s and women’s hammer throw events on Friday evening and continued on Saturday. No team scores were kept.
Sohl, who earned his first all-American honors with an eighth place finish at the NCAA Indoor Championships just two weeks ago, recorded a clearance of 4.60 meters (15 feet, 1 inch) to top the field in Pueblo.
Mortensen, a provisional qualifier who barely missed the cut for the national meet in high jump during the indoor season, started off his outdoor campaign by winning the event with a provisional qualifying height of 2.10 meters (6’10 ¾”), the only qualifier of the day for Adams State. He was joined in the top three of the high jump by redshirt freshman Devin Bolich, who recorded a new outdoor personal best of 2.00 meters (6’6 ¾”), matching his indoor best from this winter.
On Friday evening, redshirt freshman Wesley Lavong took runner-up honors in the hammer throw, a solid follow up to his ninth place finish at the NCAA Indoor Championships in Albuquerque, N.M. with a mark of 53.19 meters (174’6”).
Junior Jake Santerre finished fourth in the hammer with a best toss of 51.67 meters (169’6”), his second best mark in the event. Redshirt freshman Joe Hochandel and junior Brady Schreibvogel placed seventh and eighth with throws of 45.92 meters (150’8”) and 45.82 meters (150’4”), respectively.
Redshirt freshman Jovanny Godinez was also a runner-up for the Grizzlies, placing second in the 10,000 meter run with a time of 32 minutes, 16.17 seconds (31:20.53 altitude adjusted). Sophomore Joey Divizia was one spot behind, placing third in 32:47.21 (31:50.67 adjusted) and sophomore Jordan Patterson ran fifth in 33:24.00 (32:26.41).
Sophomore Michael Geiger (Parker, Colo.) ran to a time of 15.43 seconds in the 110 meter hurdles, good for second place and ahead of two more Grizzlies in the top ten. Freshman Sean McCoy placed fourth in 15.69 and sophomore Alfred Hines, Jr. was 10th in 16.40.
Senior James Douglas, back in action for his final season of eligibility, placed second in the long jump with a mark of 6.89 meters (22’7 ½”). Freshman Alex Estes, an all-American after placing third indoors in the long jump, took fifth on Saturday with a jump of 6.59 meters (21’7 ½”). Junior Pierce Fair rounded out the Grizzly long jumping trio with a mark of 6.25 meters (20’6 ¼”) for seventh, and would also place fourth in the triple jump with at 13.67 meters (44’10 ¼”).
Competing unattached in the 1500 meter run, freshman Tabor Stevens clocked a time of 3:58.58 (3:53.79 adjusted), and junior Frances Herrera ran a time of 4:21.29 (4:16.04 adjusted). Also competing unattached in the event was 2010 ASC grad Brian Medigovich, now competing post-collegiately for the Hansons-Brooks Distance Project, who placed second in 3:56.45 (3:51.70 adjusted).
Freshman Jamarius Mathis took fourth as the lone Grizzly throwing in the shot put on Saturday, recording a best of 14.51 meters (47’7 ¼”). Mathis was also in action in the throwing in the discus, where he would record a distance of 44.25 meters (145’2”).
Sophomore Miguel Narez led the Adams State contingent in the discus, blasting to new PR with a sixth-place worthy 46.84 meters (153’8”). The mark was more than five meters beyond his previous best in the event.
Senior Josh Browning and freshman Chris Jamison finished fifth and sixth in the 100 meter dash for ASC, posting times of 11.35 and 11.58 seconds, respectively.
Senior Steven Lara was in action in the 400 meter dash where his time of 49.57 seconds was good for sixth place.
In the 5,000 meter run, redshirt freshman Christopher Magtoto took seventh, crossing the line in 16:20.00 (15:56.20 adjusted). He was followed by Grizzly freshman Drew Ryther who placed ninth in 16:33.50 (16:09.30 adjusted).
The Grizzlies had two 4×100 meter relay squads in action on Saturday. The team of Browning, Douglas, Hines and junior Calvin Fletcher finished second in 42.80 seconds. The group of Jamison, Estes, junior Justin Cropper and freshman Michael Petherick wasn’t far behind, placing fourth in 43.25 seconds.
Next on tap for the Grizzlies is the Sun Angel Classic hosted by Arizona State University in Tempe, Ariz. on April 9. Some members of the Adams State squad will return to Pueblo on April 14-16 for the Colorado St.-Pueblo Invitational, while others will travel to Walnut, Calif. for the Mt. SAC Relays.
Cool!