Scott Kretzmann
ASC Sports
Information Director
PUEBLO, Colo. – Adams State athletes put forth winning efforts in 11 events during competition at the Colorado State-Pueblo Invitational, and saw four NCAA qualifying marks reached during their second trip of the season to the ThunderBowl this weekend.
The Grizzlies previously competed at the CSU-Pueblo Open in March, and will be making their way to the ThunderBowl one more time this season, for the 2012 NCAA Division II Outdoor Track & Field Championships from May 24-26.
Weekend action got underway with day one of the decathlon on Thursday for the ASC men. Sophomore Esteban Vigil (Las Vegas, N.M.) was in action in the competition, where he bested the rest of the field in three events and was among the top three in six of the 10 events. Wins in the 100 meter dash, long jump and 400 meter dash led to a third place finish with 5,065 points.
On Friday, the Grizzlies were treated to a javelin win from junior Zach Dunbar (Lake Havasu, Ariz.) in provisional qualifying fashion with a mark of 61.57 meters (202 feet). Sophomore Joe Hochandel (Fort Morgan, Colo.) was also in action in the javelin, placing third with a mark of 47.44 meters (155’8”).
Freshman Jamarius Mathis (Fountain, Colo.) gave the ASC throwers their second men’s qualifying effort of the weekend when he hit a provisional mark in the discus on Saturday. Mathis, who won the event, threw for a distance of 50.04 meters (164’2”). He added to that a third place finish in the shot put with a mark of 15.75 meters (51’8 ¼”), leading a 3-4-5 Adams State showing in the event, with sophomore Miguel Narez (Swink, Colo.) and senior Brady Schreibvogel (Keenesburg, Colo.) right behind.
On the track freshman Boris Berian (Colorado Springs, Colo.) and the Grizzlies 4×100 meter relay squad were each responsible for provisional qualifying marks.
Berian led the field in the 400 meter dash by nearly three seconds, and was the only runner to cross the line in a qualifying time with a clocking of 47.34 seconds (47.45 adjusted). Additionally, Berian was a third place finisher in the 200 meter dash, an event won by senior Rushane Scott (Allentown, Pa.) in a time of 22.20 seconds (22.27 adjusted).
Scott was joined by teammates Derek Brown II (St. Louis, Mo.), Justin Cropper (Fountain, Colo.) and Justin Smit (Monument, Colo.) in winning the 4×100 relay with a provisional time of 40.88 seconds (41.00 adjusted).
Smit and Cropper would also run well in the 100 meter dash, finishing first and third, respectively, with times of 10.59 seconds (10.62 adjusted) and 10.78 seconds (10.81 adjusted).
Aaron Williams led a 1-2-3 Grizzly finish in the 110 meter hurdles, and was also the leader of 1-2 finish in the 400 meter hurdles. In the 110 meter hurdles, Williams was first across the line with a time of 14.88 seconds (14.92 adjusted), edging out Alex Jordan (Highlands Ranch, Colo.) in second and Michael Geiger (Parker, Colo.) in third. Jordan would also play bridesmaid in the 400 meter hurdles to Williams’ winning time of 54.43 seconds (54.65 adjusted).
Stepping up in distance, Steve Lezama (Fort Worth, Texas) clocked a time of 1:58.42 (1:57.82 adjusted) for the win at 800 meters, while John Luterbach (Wales, Wis.) placed second in the 1500 meter run in 4:13.55 (4:08.46 adjusted).
Grizzlies’ were also the winners of both the long and triple jump Saturday. Senior Pierce Fair (Aurora, Colo.) was just shy of the provisional standard in the triple jump with a winning mark of 14.46 meters (47’5 ¼”), and sophomore Alex Estes (Yampa, Colo.) topped the long jump field at 6.74 meters (22’1 ½”).
ASC returns to action next weekend in three locales, as Grizzlies are slated to take part in the Mt. SAC Relays in Walnut, Calif., the Beach Invitational hosted by Long Beach State in Norwalk, Calif., as well as the Western State Open in Gunnison, Colo.
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