Kaymarie Jones
The Paw Print
Seven Adams State University women and three men hit NCAA National Provisional marks in Track and Field, receiving tickets to the 2013 NCAA Indoor National Championships, which will be held at the Crossplex Complex in Birmingham, Ala.
The Grizzlies started their weekend Friday at the Albuquerque Convention Center with the unseeded men’s and women’s 400m open, the men’s high jump, and the women’s weight throw. The men unluckily got a mark on the national list, but the women later blazed forward, leading the way to better results on day two.
With lifetime personal best throws coming from ASU junior Katie Kruger and sophomore Angelica Payton, Coach Gersick shows a great start during his second season at his alma mater. Kruger, a NCAA all-American, slammed the weight down at the 15.73m mark on Friday and Payton landed hers at the 12.9m mark. On Saturday, both moved on to the shot put where Kruger finished eighth throwing a distance of 13.93m and Payton finished 21st with a distance of 11.36m.
Pocket Rocket, Zenobia Sims, gave her junior year a fresh start in the women’s 60m dash in 7.63 seconds. As the only female sprinter for the Grizzlies competing that day, Sims finished sixth out of fifty-two athletes, winning section one of a two-section final and ranking 11 on the NCAA national list. Chaz Butler’s 6.83 seconds and Justin Smit’s time of 6.90 seconds were good enough to take both Grizzly sprinters to the men’s 60m finals but was not good enough to move either up on the national list. In the finals, Butler finished fourth clocking at 6.85 seconds and Smit finished eighth at 6.92 seconds. Division II 60m national leader, Dario Horvat of Grand Canyon, won the event in 6.69 seconds
In the 60m hurdles, Jamaican sprint/hurdler and ASU freshman Ackieha Burnett reminded the field that Adams State is still able to produce great hurdlers. Burnett won her finals and ran a personal best time of 8.68 seconds, finishing seventh overall and moving up to seventh on the national list. Michael Geiger and Alex Jordan were also in the midst of the battlefield, hurdling their way to 10th and 12th place finishes in the men’s 60mh. After an intense battle in the heats, Geiger and Jordan three-stepped to 8.50 seconds and 8.61 seconds respectively. Both Geiger and Jordan are second and third on the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC) list.
The women’s 400m open saw the 2012 NCAA Outdoor 400m national champion, Kayon Robinson, weaving her way through an intense heat on Saturday. The junior finished second in her heat in 56.16 seconds while ASU freshman, Megan Hannafious from Pueblo, Colo., completed her two laps in 1:00:66. Derek Brown, with his fastest 400m open of his collegiate career, stopped the clock at 50.06 seconds, preparing him for the faster meets to come. Brown, however, was not so lucky in the men’s 200m, finishing in 22.99 seconds.
The four lap race, the women’s 800m, was covered by a junior from Evergreen, Tayler Warren, and senior sprint/hurdler from Jamaica, Kaymarie Jones. Warren led the way in 2.00.24, pulling Jones out of her comfort zone. Unattached Adams State athlete and two time NCAA 800m national champion, Boris Berian, wowed the arena when he completed his four laps in 1.49.68. His teammate, Jacob Rider, who was out on injuries for a couple seasons, finished fifth in 1.55.95. Quin Ralston, 2.00.32, Steve Lazama, 2.00.33, and Chris Anderson, 2.00.98, finished 10th, 11th and 13th.
NCAA two-time national champion and national record holder, Alicia Nelson, ran an electrifying race in the women’s mile. Nelson’s time of 4.56.52 is at the top of the NCAA Division II national list. Her teammates, Alyssa Selve, 5.12.18, and Kelsy Corbin, 5.26.65, showed great progression and are looking to hit provisional times in their next race. In the men’s mile, sophomore Tabor Stephens was out-runned by UTep’s Anthony Rotich, but finished in a NCAA automatic qualifying time of 4.08.75. Stephen Emery, Kyle Materson, Jake Krolich, and Nicholas Hedges, finished in 4.22.93, 4.26.49, 4.27.27, and 4.36.84
Sophomore Lauren Martin and junior Kelly Lamb fought hard in the women’ 3000m on Saturday night. Martin victoriously topped the field in 10.01.55 while Lamb finished fifth in 10.05.65. Jesse Burnett, getting into the groove, finished in 10.21.63. In 8.29.21, Matt Daniels finished third in the men’s section, racing against Division I athletes from UTep, BYU and Northern Colorado. Adams State unattached athlete, Brady Selner, finished in 8.48.74.
ASU high jumpers, Alex Estes and Dyson Mortensen, had a rough day clearing the bar. Both struggled to jump higher than the 1.89meter mark and had to settle for that height during this early track season. Estes went back in the men’s long jump to redeem himself but could only jump as far as 6.52m. Jake Hochanadel threw his way onto the NCAA national list hitting a provisional mark of 17.34m in the men’s weight throw. Two of Hachanadel’s teammates joined him in the shot put, but Hachanadel failed to make a mark. Joel Osbourne threw 14.30m and Zach Baxter completed his six throws at 14.33m.
The Grizzlies will travel back to Albuquerque, N.M. this weekend for the University of New Mexico Invitational.
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