CCAA TRACK CHAMPIONSHIPS : Northridge Women Take Second Place

The Cal State Northridge women had to settle for second at the California Collegiate Athletic Assn. track and field championships Saturday night at UC Riverside.

Defeating CSUN in both the men’s and women’s meets was Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, whose women won their ninth consecutive title. The San Luis Obispo men dethroned four-time defending champion Cal State Los Angeles.

The San Luis Obispo women racked up 236 points to outdistance Northridge, which had 150 points. It was the sixth year in a row that CSUN had placed second in the conference. Cal State L.A. (44), Cal State Bakersfield (41), Cal Poly Pomona (34) and UC Riverside rounded out the scoring.

In the men’s competition, the Mustangs won with 186 points, followed by Los Angeles (150), Northridge (141), Bakersfield (92), Pomona (17) and UC Riverside (12).

Northridge’s Kevin Hendrix was named the male athlete of the meet after winning the 100 and the 200 meters in 10.53 seconds and 21.17, respectively. Hendrix also anchored the 400-meter relay team that also included Chris Pippins, Melvin Jones and Wade Smart to a second-place finish in 40.79.

“There’s was no way we could win this meet,” said CSUN Coach Don Strametz, who was named the women’s CCAA Coach of the Year. “The SLO women were untouchable and our men had only an outside shot. We weren’t going to quadruple people in order to score points.”

Nevertheless, several Northridge athletes came up with some fine multi-event performances.

Lisa Gill and Tonya Conner became the seventh and eighth automatic qualifiers for the Lady Matadors at the NCAA Division II championships, May 24-26 in Hampton, Va.

Gill won the heptathlon with 4,939 points and Conner placed second in the triple jump at 40 feet 3 1/2 inches. CSUN’s Lolita Pile, who won the long jump Friday, won the triple jump at 40-4 1/4.

Gill also placed third in the javelin with a toss of 123-11.

Charlotte Vines won the 100 in 12.17--0.01 ahead of teammate Laural Isles--and combined with Isles, Pile, and Kim Young to win the 400-meter relay in 46.53.

Isles came back to win the 200 in 24.72 and Vines was third (24.83).

Other Northridge winners included Chris Perry in the long jump (25-3 1/4) and Cela Taylor in the 400 (56.16).