College Highlights : Strong Effort Surprises Northridge Track Coach

Cal State Northridge track Coach Don Strametz was surprised by his team’s success after a double-dual meet Saturday against UC Riverside and host Cal State Los Angeles.

The CSUN men’s team, which had placed a close second to Cal State L. A. at last year’s California Collegiate Athletic Assn. championships, has been hit hard by injuries and is not at full strength. Yet the Matadors narrowly lost to the defending CCAA champions, 84-78, and handily defeated UC Riverside, 129-27.

“I can’t believe we came that close to them,” Strametz said. “They must have made a mistake in the scoring.”

There were no mistakes, just solid performances by several Northridge athletes combined with Cal State L. A.’s own injury woes.

Tyrone Jeffries and Dan Lange led the CSUN men with Division II qualifying performances.

Jeffries, a sophomore from Muir High, placed third in the 110-meter high hurdles with a wind-aided time of 14.37 seconds and won the 400-meter intermediate hurdles with a personal best of 52.49.

Jeffries’ victory in the 400 qualified him for the Division II championships in San Angelo, Tex.

Lange also set a personal best, placing third in the hammer throw with a distance of 185 feet, 4 inches. Lange, the defending CCAA champion, had a previous best of 181-9.

In the women’s meet, Darcy Arreola’s two victories helped the Lady Matadors beat Cal State L. A., 91-48, and UC Riverside, 86-23.