Northridge Women Set School Record in 800 Relay at Mt. SAC

As school records go, a time of 1 minute 37.32 seconds in the women’s 800-meter relay doesn’t approach some of Cal State Northridge’s more significant marks, but it was a positive way for the Matadors to conclude the Mt. San Antonio College Relays before an estimated 6,500 Saturday.

Until that point, Northridge’s performance in the meet could have been best described as so-so.

Brian Godsey (3:53.46 in the men’s 1,500), Tyrone Gayles (180 feet 9 inches in the hammer throw) and Tannel House (19-7 1/2 in the women’s long jump) turned in personal bests, but the disappointments offset those positives.

Garrett Noel, the school record-holder in the men’s javelin at 244-9, did not compete because of an injured right (throwing) hand.

The Matadors’ 1,600 relay team, which set a school record (3:09.81) last week, did not run after Marshall Evans strained his right hamstring on the anchor leg of the 400 relay earlier in the meet.

Erin Morris, who is tied for second on the all-time Matador list in the women’s 100 low hurdles (13.63), finished sixth in her heat in 14.59 after straining a muscle in her right hip midway through the race.

Derek Scurry, the school record-holder in the men’s long jump (26-3 1/2), fouled on his first two attempts, leaped 23-9 on his third and failed to qualify for the final three rounds .

“Nobody was really (fired) up today, you could see it,” Northridge assistant Tony Veney said. “That’s why I so was proud of the way the girls ran (in the 800 relay). . . . Every girl just ran hard.”

Senior Kim Young, who finished third in her heat of the 100 hurdles (14.05) led off the 800 relay with a time of 25.2. She was followed by junior Janine Stewart (24.6), sophomore Tamika Bradfield (24.1) and senior Charlotte Vines (23.4).

Vines nearly caught Fresno State (1:36.91) for second place after taking the baton about eight meters behind the Bulldogs’ anchor runner.

“If Charlotte just could have gotten the baton a little bit closer to (Fresno State), she could have caught her,” Veney said.

Godsey used a strong finishing kick to place fifth in his heat of the 1,500. The former Taft High standout was in ninth place with 400 meters remaining, and in eighth with 200 to go before moving up three places.

House finished third in the women’s long jump in the university-open division and moved to seventh on the all-time Northridge list, and Gayles added nearly two feet to his best in the hammer to place fifth in the university-open division.

In other events, Darcy Arreola of Nike Coast finished fifth in the women’s invitational 1,500 in 4:26.11, and Chad Malesich of Texas San Antonio placed fourth in his heat of the men’s 1,500 in 3:51.35.

Arreola won the 1,500 in the 1991 NCAA championships as a Northridge senior.

Malesich is a former standout at Camarillo High.