May 12, 2007

NORTHRIDGE, CA - The Cal State Fullerton men's and women's track and field teams both finished in fifth place following the final day of competition of the 2007 Big West Conference Track & Field Championships hosted by Cal State Northridge on Saturday.

Four Titans took home individual honors while also posting regional qualifying times and Fullerton's women's 4x400m relay squad also took home the title while posting a regional qualifying mark.

Senior Kandace Wilson was the big winner on the day for the Titans as she placed first in the women's 400m with a time of 54.64 (just .03 off the regional qualifying mark) and was a member of the 4x400m squad that raced to a winning time of 3:39.18. Nancy Blake gave Fullerton a 1-2 finish in the 400m as she finished right behind her teammate with a time of 54.77.

Wilson was also a member of the third-place 4x100m relay (46.23) and finished third in the women's 200m with a time of 24.26.

Dinah Clark took home the gold in the women's 110m hurdles with a regional qualifying time of 13.77.

On the men's side, Chris Epstein won the men's 400m in a regional qualifying time of 47.05 and Roberto Archibold was the Big West champion in the 400m hurdles with a regional qualifying time of 52.29.

Both were members of the Titans' 4x400m relay squad, along with teammates Maurice Chappell and Chase Frasier, that finished second in the event in a time of 3:12.71.

"This meet was full of highs and lows for us," said Head Coach John Elders. "We had a rough day on Friday but I was proud of how we came back and performed on Saturday. It was great to finish with winning the women's 4x400.

"We had high expectations going into this meet and we probably didn't live up to that. But I'm proud of our kids and how we competed.

"It's a testament to the quality of the conference. The Big West in the last few years has developed into one of the premier track and field conferences in the country."

Other highlights included Lamar Jackson's third-place finish in the men's 110m hurdles with a time of 14.53 and Jordan Horn's third-place finish in the men's 5000m with a time of 14:39.67. Garrett Myers placed third in the triple jump at 49 feet, 2 1/2 inches and Todd Merrigan was second in the pole vault at 16 feet, 3/4 inch. Jameena Hunt broke her school record in the women's shot put again, recording a best of 44 feet, 3 1/4 inches to finish ninth.

Complete results are available through the Big West Conference's website at www.bigwest.org.