Grizzly Track and Field Fares Well at Outdoor Season Opener

Kristen McGlynn
The Paw Print

Last Saturday, the Adams State men and women’s track and field programs traveled to Greeley for the Tom Beninch Classic, the opening meet of their 2010 outdoor season. Despite the windy conditions, several athletes turned in top performances of the meet which boasted such Division I schools as Colorado State, Colorado University, and host-school University of Northern Colorado.
On the women’s side, Indira Spence won the 100-meter hurdles in 13.77 seconds and Lindsey Grasmick finished thirteenth. Spence returned in the 100-meters to take second place in 12.77  finishing behind Blair Gilkes of CSU-Pueblo. Jazmine Ralph finished tenth in the 100-meters with a time of 13.18. Ralph returned in the 200-meter dash with a time of 26.90 to take sixth-place, followed by Amanda Doyle in twelfth.
In the distance events, Janette Cary was second in the 3000-meter steeplechase, turning in an 11 minute 30 second race time which provisionally qualifies her for the DII National meet. Teammate Cassie Mitchell, after an unfortunate fall early on in the race, finished third with a time of 11:54. Later in the day, Ashley Quintana finished second in the 5000-meters with a time of 18:16.True freshman Alicia Nelson opened her outdoor career with a win in the 1500-meters with a time of 4:38. Teammate Kristen McGlynn was fourth in 4:46. Jessica Adams ran 2:17 in the 800-meters to finish second, ahead of teammate Sophia Monroe who took third with a time of 2:19. Grasmick was eighth with a time of 2:21.
The 4×100-meter relay team of Grasmick, Spence, Ralph, and Renee Harris finished a close third behind Wyoming and UNC with a time of 47.90 seconds. The 4×400-meter team of Adams, Cary, Mitchell, and Monroe placed fourth with a time of 4:04.
In the field events, Jenna Bohnen finished eighteenth in the hammer throw of 133 ft. 2 in. Tamara Fowler took third place in the javelin throw with a mark of 119 ft. 1 in. while teammate Jessica Adams place seventh with a mark of 110 ft. 2 in.
Bohnen returned in the discus to place fourth with a throw of 146 ft. a new personal best and a NCCA provisional qualifying mark. Fowler and Bohnen would return in the shot put to finish second and sixth, respectively, Fowler hitting a mark of 43 ft. 6 in. Doyle and Harris paired up for a second and fourth place finish in the women’s long jump. Doyle jumped 18 ft. 7 in. while Harris’s best mark was 18 ft. 1 in. Annelise Pradal was third in the pole vault, clearing 11 ft. 7 in.
On the men’s side, Michael Geiger placed ninth in the 110-meter hurdles in 16.19 seconds and Pierce Fair was eleventh. Josh Browning was ninth in the 100-meters with a time of 11.48. In the 400-meter dash, James Douglas, competing unattached, placed tenth with a time of 51.35, while teammates Joseph Jallow and Jason Mannerberg finished fourteenth and seventeenth, respectively.
In the distance events, Reuben Mwei took second in the 1500-meter with a time of 3:56 while Dean Huffer ran 3:58 to finish third, and Brandon Birdsong ran 4:05 to place thirteenth. Drew Soucy was second in the 800-meters with a time of 1:54. ASC athlete Edwin Cruz, competing unattached, won the 5000-meters with a time of 15:05, while Antonio Lopez finished fourth in  15:28. Michael Flowers took twelfth place in the men’s 3000-meter steeplechase with a time of 10:10.
The 4×100-meter relay team of Josh Browning, Mannerberg, Justin Cropper, and Fair took fifth with a time of 42.90. In the throwing events, Jake Santerre was the top finisher in the hammer throw placing tenth with a toss of 169 ft. 5 in. Teammate Daniel Maldonado was eleventh with a mark of 162 ft. 4 in. Maldonado returned with an eighth place finish in the discus throw. His mark of 160 ft. 5 in. was a personal best effort. ASC athlete Wesley Lavong, competing unattached, finished thirteenth. In the shot put, Lavong edged out Maldonado to place sixth with a throw of 51 ft. 11 in. Maldonado took seventh with a mark of 51 ft. 2 in.
In other field events, Douglas took second place in the long jump with a mark of 23 ft. 10 in. Teammate Mannerberg placed fifth with a jump of 22 ft. 4 in. In the pole vault, Blair Sohl was the top ASC finisher, placing fourth after clearing 15 ft. 1 in. Codie White placed tenth in the event.
The Grizzlies next meet will be the Colorado University Invite on Saturday, April 10 in Boulder.