Strametz Earns Top Marks for CS Northridge : College track: Meet director thrilled with California-Nevada championships.

Neither of his teams was crowned champion and none of his athletes won individual titles, but Cal State Northridge Coach Don Strametz received plenty of congratulations at the conclusion of the inaugural California-Nevada collegiate track and field championships at UCLA’s Drake Stadium on Sunday.

Strametz, the meet director, and Fresno State assistant Bob Fraley envisioned the meet two years ago as a way of reviving lagging interest in collegiate track in the Golden and Silver states, yet it wasn’t until after the final event--the men’s 1,600-meter relay--that he sat back and savored what had transpired.

“I’m ecstatic,” Strametz said. “I couldn’t be happier with the way things turned out for a first-time meet. Did you see the level of excitement among the athletes before the men’s (1,600-meter) relay?

“I don’t think there has been that kind of electricity in this stadium in a long time.”

Northridge sprinter Cherise Ellison, who helped lead the Matadors to a fourth-place finish in the women’s meet, expressed similar sentiments.

“I think (the meet) is good,” she said. “It’s exciting. It almost feels like it’s the final meet of the season. You have to remind yourself that there are still some other meets left.”

Twenty-one schools took part in the two-day meet with athletes from 11 schools winning titles in 36 events.

California won the men’s meet with 132 points, followed by UCLA and Fresno State (124 each), USC (109) and Stanford (64). Nevada finished sixth with 53 points with Northridge and Cal State Los Angeles tied for seventh with 44.

UCLA, led by 1,500 and 3,000 champion Beth Bartholomew, won the women’s meet with 168 points. The Bruins were followed by Fresno State (93), Stanford (75), Northridge (71) and Cal (58).

Several Northridge athletes placed higher than Troy Collins in their respective events, but no Matador performed up to their potential more than the fifth-year senior from Hemet High.

Collins finished sixth in the men’s 800 in a personal best of 1 minute 50.4 seconds and ran a 46.8-second 400 leg on the Matadors’ 1,600 relay team that placed sixth in the second-fastest time (3:09.94) in school history.

“I was happy with my time, but I didn’t run according to plan,” said Collins, who set his previous best of 1:51.30 in a heat Saturday. “I was glad to let someone else take the lead, but I let them get too far ahead of me.”

Erick McBride of Cal State Bakersfield, who set the Northridge record of 1:49.09 in 1990 before transferring to Bakersfield, led the field through the first 400 in 52.6 with Collins (1:54.4) in eighth.

Collins moved into seventh at the 600 mark (1:21.5) before finishing sixth in a time that moved him to third on the all-time Matador list.

Ellison, Lori Miller and Marshall Evans also posted personal bests for Northridge.

Ellison ran 24.59 seconds to finish second in the women’s 200. She also finished fourth in the 100 (12.11) and anchored the Matadors to fourth in the 400 relay (47.14).

Miller placed third in the women’s 1,500 in 4:35.26 and Evans finished seventh in the men’s 200 in 21.39. Kristin Dunn (154 feet 11 inches in the women’s javelin), Teresa Stricklin (47-4 1/4 in the shotput) and Tannel House (18-9 1/4 in the long jump) scored second-place finishes for Northridge.