Track & Field Closes Out Regular Season on High Note
May 12, 2007

Competing in their final event of the season before Nationals, the Cal State San Marcos Track & Field team turned in a very strong performance at Occidental.

It was a big day all-around for the squad, with school records being set and more athletes qualifying for Nationals.

First, the men’s 4x100-meter relay team finally earned its “A” qualifying standard. Billy Walker, Austin Sylvia, Kyle Leavy, and Nick Stein have been running well enough to easily earn the standard, according to coach Steve Scott, but have been having trouble with their hand-offs. That was not the case on Saturday, as the group successfully got the baton around the track, finishing in 4th place with a time of 41.78.

Joining them in earning the “A” standard was the men’s 4x400-meter relay team. The team of Kevin Ott Wright, Stein, Turner, and Cory Dart finished third, running a school-record time of 3:16.35.

The women’s 4x400-meter team had a day to remember as well, setting the school record with a time of 3:48.06. Lucia Asbury, Namadhjlah McIntosh, B.B. Shey, and Samantha Showns have been excellent this season, and figure to be a factor at Nationals.

Individually, the Cougars achieved similar success. Ott Wright and Dart pulled a very difficult feat on Saturday, as both set personal records in the 400-meter hurdles (52.89 and 53.02, respectively) before helping the 4x4 team earn that “A” standard. Dominique Younger also set his personal record in the hurdles with a time of 54.18.

Two more school records fell, courtesy of Samantha Showns and Sergio Gonzalez. Showns ran the 400-meter in 55.81 seconds – and did it from lane one, the most difficult position on the track. Meanwhile, Gonzalez broke the 800-meter school record, completing it in 1:52.87.

The biggest surprise of the day came from Mike Crouch. The freshman, who had a breakout season for the cross country team last fall, is duplicating that success on the track this spring. He earned an “A’ standard in the 1,500-meter, running 3:51.87. According to Coach Scott, that puts him at a mile time of around 4:08. Despite this, Crouch won’t compete in the 1,500 at Nationals, instead focusing on the 5,000.

With his team peaking at the right time, Coach Scott expects a very strong performance at Nationals. The event will take place in Fresno from May 24-26, and a record number of Cougars will be there representing the school.