Motley, Prieto Try to Max Out Indoors

Clinte Motley and Brandi Prieto of Cal State Northridge have been big fish in the relatively small Big Sky Conference pond the last few seasons.

But they will try to earn All-American recognition for the first time when the NCAA indoor track and field championships are held at the University of Arkansas today and Saturday.

Motley, a junior from Alta Loma High, has won seven Big Sky titles in indoor and outdoor track and has scored 84 points in the indoor championships, the most in history.

Prieto, a senior from North Torrance High, has won nine conference titles and last month became the first Big Sky athlete to win four consecutive titles in one event, taking the women’s triple jump in the indoor championships at Northern Arizona.

Neither has reached the final rounds of the NCAA championships.

Motley finished 11th in the men’s triple jump in indoor championships last year.

Prieto was 16th in the women’s triple jump in the indoor championships last year and 18th in the outdoor meet.

“I didn’t have many expectations for them last year,” said Jeff McAuley, a Northridge assistant who coaches Motley and Prieto. “I was more interested in them getting the experience of competing in the NCAAs for the first time. . . . But they’re ready to go this time. They just have to get one good jump at nationals and they can be All-Americans.”

The 6-foot-2, 183-pound Motley competes in the high jump today and the triple jump on Saturday.

His high jump best of 7-3 ties him for eighth among entrants in that event and his triple jump best of 52-9 1/2 ranks 12th.

“I’m ready to jump far and to jump high,” he said. “[The NCAA championships last year] was my first big collegiate meet. It was exciting to be there, but it was also nerve-racking to see people in person who you had only seen on paper before.”

Motley bounded a lackluster 50-2 3/4 to finish 10th in the triple jump in the USA Track & Field indoor championships at the Georgia Dome last week. But he says that experience will help him this week.

“It was nice being around the top U.S. [triple] jumpers like LaMark Carter and LaVar Anderson,” Motley said. “I felt comfortable around them. I felt like I belonged and that will help in the NCAAs.”

The 5-11 Prieto recalls feeling intimidated by other competitors in the NCAA indoor championships last year.

“I’ve learned that if you get too caught up in what other people are doing, you lose focus on what you’re trying to accomplish,” she said. “I’ve learned that when I start worrying about other people, it just turns me off.”

McAuley says Motley and Prieto just need to focus on becoming All-Americans by finishing among the top eight competitors of U.S. citizenship in their events.

“They can’t get distracted by a girl or guy who pops a big jump in the first round,” he said of the triple jump. “They’re not going into this meet trying to win, so they just need to concentrate on what they’re trying to do and compete well.”