CSUN Across Line First in Last Event at UCLA

The time of 3 minutes 11.93 seconds was not as fast as they had hoped for, but the members of Cal State Northridge’s 1,600-meter relay team were nonetheless ecstatic after winning the final event of Saturday’s triangular track and field meet against UCLA and UC Irvine in Westwood.

When Matador sophomore Akiem Brown held off UCLA senior Marcus Reed in the final straightaway, it marked the first time Northridge had beaten UCLA in the 1,600 relay, an event in which the Bruins have won eight NCAA titles.

“This does a great deal for our morale,” Brown said. “If we had lost after having the lead, we definitely would have been down.”

Northridge assistant Tony Veney, who set a then-UCLA record of 1:48.5 in the 880-yard run in 1973, might have been more excited than anyone with the victory.

“I’m thrilled to have four young men who can come in here and run that competitively,” Veney said. “We’ve been getting closer and closer to them (in the 1,600 relay) over the last two or three years, but we always seemed like we were intimidated by them when we came here. This was the first time that I sensed that the guys thought they had a real chance to win.”

Marshall Evans, who won the 100 in 10.89 seconds and the 200 in 21.59, ran a 48.7-second opening leg for Northridge in the 1,600 relay. He was followed by Troy Collins (47.3) and Chris Brown (47.5) before Akiem Brown--no relation to Chris--ran a 47.9 anchor leg.

UCLA totaled 98 points to win the men’s meet, followed by Northridge (76) and Irvine (15).

The Bruin women won with 97 points, Northridge had 52 points and Irvine totaled 19.

Cherise Ellison of Northridge won the 200 in a wind-aided 24.66 and was second in the 100 in 12.03.

Other Matador winners were Kristen Dunn in the javelin (155 feet 4 inches) and Tannel House in the long jump (19-0).