SDSU the Big Winner on First City College Track and Field Day

Taking advantage of a solid mixture of youth and experienced returning athletes, San Diego State’s men and women emerged as winners of the city’s first college track and field championship Saturday.

Division I SDSU, Division III UC San Diego and Point Loma of the NAIA met for the first time in a team scoring meet. SDSU ran away with both the men’s and women’s competitions, while six athletes set stadium records at UCSD’s new North Campus Track Facility, which was playing host to only its third event.

The UCSD women are taking a special liking to their new home; they set four school records.

“I think this is a good meet for all of us,” UCSD Coach Mark Stanforth said. “State will come out on top in the score, but it’s good competition all the way around.”

SDSU’s men won with 88 points. PLNC scored 63 and UCSD 47.

The Aztecs won the women’s meet with 100 points, followed by UCSD (46) and PLNC (23).

“We’re two weeks before the (NAIA) district championship, and we don’t want to jeopardize anyone,” PLNC Coach Jim Crakes said, “but it’s also the first city championship, so we want to be competitive.”

Crakes said the Crusaders might have challenged the Aztecs had they not lost Christian Andreasson when he pulled a muscle during the long jump. Andreasson failed to put up a mark in that event and also missed the triple jump (where he is ranked No. 2 in the NAIA) and the javelin. PLNC was also without hurdler Kwami Moore, out with a muscle strain, and steeplechaser Sean O’Hara, who injured a knee last week.

PLNC’s Ronnie Skold, basically a 400 hurdler, skipped his specialty and took up some slack by winning five events: the 110-meter hurdles (15.43), 100 (11.05), 200 (22.25), long jump (22-feet-9) and triple jump (45-1 1/2).

Teammate Rick Penman set a stadium record with the NAIA’s seventh-best steeplechase of the year, 9:17.56, despite being unchallenged. He posted the third-best mark last week (9:13.54) against a competitive field.

UCSD’s David Myers, who had failed by mere tenths of a second in his three previous efforts to meet the Division III national championship qualifying mark of 1:52.4 in the 800, went under that barrier while trying to run down SDSU freshman Anthony Hale in the day’s best race. Myers clocked 1:51.79, second to Hale’s 1:51.59.

Vicki Dunckley led UCSD women, who entered the school record book. She clocked 1:06.19 in the 400 hurdles, beating her own record 1:06.22 and finishing second to SDSU’s Stephanie Williams’ 1:03.51. Other school record-setters were Diane Fritz in the 100 hurdles (third, 15.46), Shannon Quigley in the shotput (first, 46-11 1/2) and the 1,600 relay team (second, 4:04.12).

SDSU senior Pat Thiss won the hammer throw (197-6) and men’s shotput (47-6 1/2). Aztec junior Stephanie Williams won the 100 hurdles (14.46) and 400 hurdles (1:03.51), and junior Marla Runyon won the 400 (59.14) and high jump (5-5 1/4).