Chris Day
ASC Sports Information
Sophomore Kristen McGlynn and the 4X100-meter relay quartet of freshman Chelsea Fenderson, junior Indira Spence, senior Jazmine Ralph and junior KayMarie Jones both set NCAA Division II Championship Automatic qualifying times as every Adams State College women that competed set NCAA qualifying marks at the 53rd Annual Mt. SAC Relays here at Hilmer Lodge Stadium.
After the relay team set a blazing quick time of 45.10 seconds to win the University/Open section of the event in the afternoon, McGlynn turned in an effort of 16:19.07 in the Olympic Development section of the 5,000 meters. Both times will rank as high as third on the national performance lists by the end of the weekend.
The Grizzlies also had five other NCAA Division II Championship provisional qualifying efforts in four different events throughout the day.
Jones got the day started with a time of 14.01 seconds in the 100-meter hurdles, just 0.21 seconds off her season-best set Thursday night at the Cal State-Los Angeles Twilight Open. She then came back to run the anchor leg in the Grizzlies’ relay effort that was the same margin off the Grizzly school record of 44.89 seconds set her during Adams State’s 2008 NCAA Division II Championship win. Spence ran the anchor leg on that team as well.
That Grizzlies then turned their attention to the shot put ring as redshirt freshman Katie Kruger, who leads the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference performance list at 13.77 meters (45’ 2 ¼”) turned in a effort of 13.49 meters (44 feet, 3 ½ inches).
The Grizzlies’ efforts then moved to the track as junior Lindsey Grasmick clocked a personal-best time of 2:13.38 in the 800 meters.
It was then McGlynn’s time to shine as she turned in an outdoor personal-best time of 16:19.07 in the 5,000 meters while competing in the same race as former Grizzly great Zoila Gomez, who finished in 16:10.98. McGlynn broke Gomez’s indoor school record in February with a time of 16:16.51.
Gomez, a 2-time World Championship competitor in the marathon, still holds the Grizzlies’ outdoor school record of 15:57.93, set at the 2004 Mt. SAC Relays.
Finally, the Grizzlies received two more NCAA provisional qualifying efforts in the “B Section” of the University/Open Division from Cassie Mitchell and Kelly Lamb, late additions to the event.
After both had run personal best times in the 3,000-meter steeplechase here on Thursday, Mitchell turned in a time of 17:03.08 in her first Grizzly effort at the distance. Lamb, also running the event for the first time as a Grizzly, finished in 17:07.16, which was also well under the NCAA provisional qualifying standard of 17:20.00.
The Grizzly men also set six NCAA qualifying marks. After having notched provisional marks in the 1,500 meter run last weekend, senior Ryan McNiff and junior Drew Graham were back on the track for Olympic Development Elite section of the event Friday where each would cross the line with automatic qualifiers.
Owners of the top two performances in NCAA Division II coming into the race, McNiff would overtake the No.1 spot with a new personal best of 3 minutes, 42.49 seconds, 3.6 seconds faster than a week ago. Graham would shave 8/10ths of a second off his time from a week ago with a finish in 3:45.19.
Also adding his name to the list of Grizzlies with national qualifying marks in the 1,500 meter run was senior Drew Soucy, who was more than two seconds faster than last week with a provisional time of 3:51.69 in the open section.
2011 indoor all-Americans Senior Brandon Birdsong and sophomore Keegan Calmes also achieved their first qualifying marks of the outdoor season, as both came in under the minimum standard of 14:35.00 for the 5,000 meter run in the open ‘A’ heat.
Birdsong, who placed sixth indoors in the 5k in March, was more than 10 seconds under his previous outdoor best which he set last year at Mt. SAC. With what could currently rank as the No. 6 time in D-II, Birdsong crossed the line in 14:16.72. The 5k was Calmes’ first outdoor action of the season and his longest race on the track for the Grizzlies, but he came in close on the heels of Birdsong with a time of 14:18.33.
Senior James Douglas reached the NCAA Championships provisional mark for the second time this season with a mark of 7.28 meters (23’1”) in the long jump, but was 1/10th of a meter short of his best mark of the season from last weekend’s Sun Angel Classic.
In the 400 meter dash, junior Calvin Fletcher posted his best time in the Green & White while slicing nearly a full second off his only other outdoor attempt of the season with a time of 48.19 seconds, just 19/100ths of a second from a provisional mark.
Senior Jake Santerre went beyond his previous best in the hammer throw by more than half-a-meter, recording a heave of 52.51 meters (172’3”).
Freshman Alex Estes, already with a provisional mark in the long jump, came up short of the standard on Friday, recording a best leap of 6.99 meters (22’1”).
Grizzy grads Aaron Braun and Brian Medigovich were also in action at the Mt. SAC Relays running the elite invitational division of the 5k. Braun, who currently runs for the McMillan Elite club in Flagstaff, Ariz. was the event winner in 13:27.01. Medigovich, who runs for Brooks Hansons and continues to train in Alamosa, finished 20th in 13:51.52.
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