For the first time this season, all four of the Big West Track & Field weekly awards were handed out to seniors as Cal Poly's Phillip Reid, Long Beach State's Kim Heinz and UC Santa Barbara's Stephanie Rothstein and Eugene Bradley were honored.
Reid (Oxnard, Calif.), who won his fourth Men's Track Athlete of the Week honor this season, claimed the award after competing in the 1,500-meter run in the Cal Poly-UC Santa Barbara dual meet. The senior won the race in 3:43.00, setting a personal best and recording the 15th-best time in the country and third all-time in Mustang history. Rothstein (Phoeniz, Ariz.) garnered her second Women's Track Athlete of the Week after setting a conference record in the 5,000-meter run at the Cardinal Invitational dual. The senior clocked a 16:12.77 in the race, finishing seventh overall and fourth among collegiate athletes. She broke the previous record set by former Gaucho Lauren Christman by nearly four seconds.
Bradley (Antioch, Calif.) took home the Men's Field Athlete of the Week honor after his performance in the Cal Poly-UC Santa Barbara Dual. The senior recorded a distance of 212-4.00 in the hammer to claim the gold. His mark is tops in the Big West this season. Heinz (Florence, Mont.) won the Women's Field Athlete of the Week after wining the javelin at the Steve Scott Invitational. The senior had a winning throw of 162-8.00, more than 16 feet longer than the second place finisher.
Big West Multi-Event Championships on Tap this Weekend
The first part of the 2007 Big West Track & Field Championships are on the docket this weekend as the seven conference schools send representatives to Northridge for the multi-event championships.
The combined events will be the first leg of the 2007 Championships with competition slated to begin Friday morning. The men's event with be a decathlon consisting of the 100-meter dash, long jump, shot put, high jump, 400-meter dash, 110-meter hurdles, discus, pole vault, javelin and 1,500-meter run. The women's competition will be a heptathlon with the athletes performing the 100-meter hurdles, high jump, shot put, 200-meter hurdles, long jump, javelin and 800-meter run.
Six squads will also compete in other meets as they look to claim NCAA Regional marks. Four clubs (Cal State Fullerton, Cal State Northridge, Long Beach State, UC Santa Barbara) head to Claremont to compete in the Claremont Classic. Cal Poly will head to Modesto to take part in the Modesto Relays, while UC Riverside’s final meet before the Big West Championships will be in Pasadena at the Occidental Invite.