UCI’s Preato Wins 5,000, Is Second in 3,000

UC Irvine’s Jade Preato circled the Anteaters’ track more than anybody at the Big West championships this past weekend with more than 11 miles of competitive running.

Preato’s thoughts on the distance? She giggled.

“I didn’t think about it like that,” she said.

Preato followed Friday’s 10,000-meter victory by cruising to an easy first-place finish in the 5,000 and a strong second in the 3,000 Saturday at UC Irvine’s track stadium. She was named the conference’s track athlete of the year for her performance.

She won the 5,000 in 17 minutes 38 seconds, not exactly a blistering pace, but still more than 16 seconds faster than second-place Kim Neighbour of Nevada.

Preato finished second to UNLV’s Diane McCarthy in the 3,000 later in the day with a time of 10:08.68, and narrowly missed becoming the first conference runner to sweep all three distance races.

Still, Preato was pleased with the double victory. She became the second Irvine runner to win conference titles in the 5,000 and 10,000 in the same year, joining Beth McGrann, who did it in 1988 and 1989. Fresno State’s Cindy Amster did it in 1991.

Joining Preato on the victory stand was Irvine’s Gregor Neumann, who won the decathlon with 7,090 points. It was the fourth consecutive year an Irvine athlete has won the decathlon. Matt Farmer won it the previous three years.

Preato’s victories helped the Irvine women finish fourth in the team competition with 75 points. Utah State won with 141.

Conference newcomer Nevada scored 230 points and became the first men’s team other than Fresno State to win the conference title since San Jose State’s victory in 1982. Fresno State left the Big West this year to join the Western Athletic Conference.

Utah State was led by triple-winner Bode Osagiobare and double-winner Kim Barnes.

Osagiobare, named the conference’s track athlete of the year, won the 100 in an NCAA provisional qualifying time of 10.39 seconds and the 200 in 20.89, qualifying him for the NCAAs by a hundredth of a second. He also ran a leg on the Aggies’ winning 1,600 relay.

Barnes won the women’s 100 (11.93) and the 100 hurdles (13.95), but was denied a victory in the 400 hurdles for failing to clear a hurdle. Her 400-hurdle time of 59.4 would have met NCAA provisional qualifying standards.

UNLV’s Jean Fletcher took first in the 1,500 (4:40.24) and 800 (2:14.32).

Fletcher won a controversial 1,500. Meet officials recalled the race after three runners--Irvine’s Rayna Cervantes, Cal State Fullerton’s Ruth Viramontes and Cal State Long Beach’s Stacy Pando--collided in the first turn.

The race was postponed for more than 10 minutes while Pando, who hit her head in the fall, was treated.

UC Irvine Coach Vince O’Boyle said the officials made the right call. Meet rules say the race can be recalled within 100 meters of the start.

“They were probably 120 meters out (when the race was recalled),” O’Boyle said. “But in my opinion, they made the right decision. Stacy fell and hit her head, and that’s pretty serious.”

Fletcher won in 4:40.24, Cervantes was second in 4:41.16, Viramontes was fifth in 4:42.79 and Pando sixth in 4:44.92.

Irvine’s Mike Nielsen also had a tough day in the 1,500. Nielsen, who entered the meet with the conference’s top time (3:48.72), took over the lead with 500 meters left but faded to fourth in the final 200.

UC Santa Barbara’s Damian Capozzola won in 3:50.15, while Nielsen finished in 3:53.42.

“Mike did what he had to,” O’Boyle said. “He made his move with 500 to go. He ran a good race.”

The Irvine women’s 400-relay team of Pam Kurtela, Andrea Dean, Lana Banks and Jamie Karrer struggled with two handoffs and finished third.

Kurtela also struggled in the 200, finishing fourth in 24.54. She entered the championships with the conference’s top time in the 200 (24.62).

She also finished second in the 100 (12.07 seconds).