April 8, 2004

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. -

Meet Entries
Meet Schedule
Big West Challenge Cup Records (PDF)

UCSB will host the 12th annual Big West Challenge Cup on Saturday April 10th at Pauley Track, as they take on conference rivals CS Long Beach, UC Irvine, and CS Fullerton. The field events begin at 9:30am with the women's hammer throw and the gun will go off for the first running event, the women's 3,000m steeplechase, at 1:00pm. Admission for adults is $5, which includes a meet program, students with school ID and children are free. KCSB 91.9FM will also be broadcasting the meet live.

The Gaucho women, led by multiple school record holders, senior sprinter Jasmine Washington and sophomore thrower Amy Haapanen are favored to win this year's edition of the 4-way meet. Washington holds the UCSB records in the 100m, 200m and 400m. Her 400m time of 53.58, not only leads the Big West in 2004, but also ranks 11th in the NCAA this year. Washington is entered in the 200m and 400m Saturday and is also scheduled to run legs on both relays. Haapanen has broken Gaucho records in the shot put, discus, and hammer this year, all of which are NCAA Regional qualifiers. She owns the 16th best NCAA mark in the discus (167' 8") in 2004.

Junior Cosette Smith leads the distance assault for the Gaucho women. Smith has the fastest time in the Big West at 5,000m this season and was the runner-up in the conference in both the 1,500m and 5,000m last year. Smith will make her 2004 debut in the 1,500m this Saturday.

Two key match-ups will set the tone for Saturday's meet on the women's side. Haapanen, whose '04 best is 185' 7" in hammer, will go up against Long Beach State's Stephanie Sampson who has thrown 186' 6" in the event this year. The steeplechase showcases a rematch of a very close result from the All-Cal Cup earlier this year. UC Irvine's Jenny Liou edged Santa Barbara senior Desiree DeJesus, 10:56.08 to 10:57.30 in March at Irvine. DeJesus was just off the NCAA Regional mark of 10:57.18 and should also put the UCSB record of 10:54.73, set by Lisa Dunn in 2001, in jeopardy as well on Saturday.

The middle distance events will also feature some very tight competition. Smith who has a personal best 4:33.87 in the 1,500 will team up with sophomore Roseann Peters (4:33.55) against Irvine's Jenna Keith (4:33.07) and Kim Ramirez (4:34.99). Ramirez (2:12.75) and Keith (2:13.29) are also scheduled to double back in the 800m where they will face sophomore Gaucho twins Lauren (2:11.61) and Lindsay Christman (2:13.94).

The high jump competition should be outstanding, with four athletes already over the regional standard of 5' 8" this year. The Gaucho freshmen trio of Devon Tracy (5' 8"), Jennifer Kitzmann (5' 7"), and Heather Hernandez (5' 7") will have their hands full with Anteater jumpers Annmarie Turpin (5' 9.25") and Orlisha Henlon (5' 8") as well as sophomore 49er Emily Forsythe (5' 9.75"), who has the top mark entering Saturday's meet.

If the team competition is still in doubt going into the final event, the meet should come to a thrilling conclusion. All four schools have run between 3:51 and 3:52 in the 4x400m relay this year.

Long Beach State has won the past two editions of the meet, while the Gaucho women last took home the Challenge Cup trophy in 2001.