UC Irvine Track and Field Invitational : Arizona State’s Tolbert Rushes Through Warmup, 100-Meter Hurdles

Arizona State junior Lynda Tolbert set a UC Irvine Invitational and stadium record Saturday in winning the 100-meter hurdles in 13.11 seconds.

Tolbert was forced to rush through her warmup after arriving at UC Irvine less than an hour before the start of her race.

“I normally take from an hour and 30 minutes to two hours to warm up, but because we arrived late, I warmed up for only 50 minutes,” said Tolbert, who set her personal best of 12.76 last year in Zurich. “I had to rush my warmup, and because of that, I was just expecting to take it easy. Maybe if I was able to warm up as long as I normally do, I would have gone a lot faster.”

Former American record holder and USC standout Patty Van Wolvelaere set the old meet and stadium record of 13.27 in 1978.

Gayle Watkins of Pomona’s Southern California Cheetahs finished second in 13.66, while Cal Poly Pomona’s Doris Williams finished third in 13.7.

Pam Page of Team Elite, one of the favorites, was disqualified because of a false start.

In other events, Arizona State’s Theresa Barrios, a University High School graduate, took the early lead and was never threatened while winning the 5,000 meters in 17:04.8.

Barrios, who ran the distance in a personal-best 16:43 three weeks ago, was followed by UC Irvine’s Shama Factor, who finished with a personal best of 17:30.83, and Dodie Zamora of New Mexico, who finished in 17:34.2

“I was hoping to go under 16:30, but I felt a little sluggish and tired,” said Barrios, who was trying for the 16:22 time she needed to qualify for the TAC National Championships in June. “It was kind of nice to be alone in front throughout the race because it made the race go faster for me.”

In the 1,500 meters, Maria Akraka of Sweden passed Cal State Fullerton’s Mary Kenney and UC Irvine’s Beth McGrann with less than two laps to go and pulled away to win the event in 4:21.73.

McGrann, who battled Kenney for the lead during the early part of the race, finished second in 4:33.35. San Diego State’s Wendy Peterson was third in 4:36.71.

Kelli Lewis of UC Irvine was fourth in 4:38.38, while Kenney faded to fifth in 4:38.58.

In the 100 meters, UC Irvine’s Sjondrala Vaughn was edged at the tape by Watkins, who won in 12.23.

Vaughn was second in 12.23 while Karen Nilson of San Diego State was third in 12.31.

Alisa Harvey of Athletics West was an easy winner in the 3,000, beating Jenny Scott of Cal State Fullerton by more than 17 seconds. Harvey’s time was 9:41.50.

Bakersfield High junior Melissa Weiss and former USC competitor Sabrina Williams were double winners Saturday. Weiss won the shotput (44-9) and discus (158-9), while Williams took the long jump (20-0 1/2) and triple triple (41-5).

Another featured performer, Diane Williams of Los Angeles, won the 200 in a hand-timed 23.7.

The men’s competition will be today at UC Irvine, beginning at 10 a.m.