May 11, 2005

The postseason has finally arrived! After months of training, preparing and racing the Big West Championships begin tomorrow May 12th with the Decathlon and Heptathlon competitions. Friday, May 14th marks Day 1 of all other Track & Field events. A lot like the Holiday season, the Gauchos are confident they have done everything well enough to have a few presents underneath the tree; however they will not know what they are until that day when they finally get to open them.

The four day meet will showcase nine Big West teams including, CS Fullerton, CS Northridge, CS San Luis Obispo, Idaho, Long Beach State, UC Irvine, UC Riverside, UC Santa Barbara and Utah State. At the end of the four days the team with most points will be awarded either the Men's Championship or the Women's Championship. An individual may earn points for their team by finishing in the top eight scoring positions in a given event, with scoring as follows from 1st place to 8th place: 10-8-6-5-4-3-2-1. The Women are fielding one of their strongest squads in recent history. Relying on a powerful distance squad and great individuals in the throws and sprints, the Gauchos will be fighting to finish in the top three for the first time since 1996.

Wednesday, May 11th & Thursday, May 12th

To begin the meet, Danielle DeBeaubien will compete in the Heptathlon over two days on Wednesday, May 11th and Thursday, May 12th. She is currently ranked 8th with 4,246 points in a tough Conference. The NCAA leader, Kurrat from Idaho is scheduled to compete.

Friday, May 13th

Friday kicks off the first day of the remaining Track & Field events. With mostly prelims being contested on the track there, all throwing events are finals on Day 1.

At 12:00pm, the Women's Hammer gets set to go. Amy Haapanen (Jr.), Big West Conference Record Holder in this event will walk into the ring as the favorite with a throw of 187-04 this year. Dixon of Riverside and Vakalahi of Northridge will provide some heat, however Heather Quinn (Jr.) of UCSB may surprise some as the 4th seed with a throw this year of 179-09. In a preseason meet this year she launched one 183 feet.

In the Long Jump, Katie Kramer (So.) is ranked 8th with a jump of 18-07.25. Kim Christiansen (Jr.) and Chelsea Haverty (Fr.) will also compete in this event. In the High Jump, the Gauchos are without their top two jumpers of 2005 but will look to veteran Rachel Elbinger (Sr.) who has come on strong lately jumping 5-05 to sneak in for points. She is ranked 13th, while Jennifer Kitzmann (So.) just ahead has a best mark of 5-05.75.

The final event contested in the field on Friday will be the Women's Discus. In this event the Gauchos go in ranked 1st and 2nd with Haapanen (165-09) and Quinn (163-02) leading the charge.

With only two track finals on Friday, the Gauchos nonetheless will look for some of their major points to come from these events. At 3:00pm the Steeplechase will begin with School Record Holder, Bethany Nickless (Fr.) set to go as the 4th ranked steepler with a time of 10:48.79. Laura Zung comes in ranked 7th at 11:17.33 while Rebecca Zamola is 9th with a time of 11:27.21.

The other final will feature a blue wave of Gauchos as eight are entered in the 10,000m race at 7:55pm. With four of the women part of the squad that finished 17th in the nation in Cross Country, UCSB has the capability of picking up major points. The four include Megan Lewis (So.), Seanna Martin (Jr.), Hadas Moser (So.) and Stephanie Rothstein (So.). Kramon from Long Beach St. will push these four as they vie for All-Conference positions. Also competing is Christie Farson (So.), Nickless, Zamola and Zung with the last three coming off of afternoon steeples.

Saturday, May 14th

The Javelin starts off Saturday's finals in the field at 11am for women. Rebecca Richey (Jr.), School Record Holder in this event is again our top thrower for 2005. She comes into the meet ranked 8th. DeBeaubien will come back after competing in the Heptathlon to throw in the Javelin. She is ranked 9th behind Richey.

In the Women's Pole Vault, Heidi Nyberg (So.) and Jessica Horn (So.) go into Big West tied for ninth. However, only six inches separate them from second place. It will be a close battle for the top eight spots, coming down to makes and misses at each height.

The Women's Triple Jump features our School Record Holder in Kim Christiansen going in ranked ninth with a jump of 38'06. Katie Kramer who has been jumping well lately is ranked 11th with a triple of 37'09.

The Shot Put will close out the Big West Championships for the field events at 3:00pm on Saturday. The only event in which Haapanen is not ranked 1st in will be close between her and the one seed, Dixon of Riveside. Haapanen is 2nd with a Shot of 50'08.25 while teammate Quinn is 4th at 47'09.

On the track the 1500m will be barnburner with one of the fastest fields in some years. Lauren Christman (Jr.) School Record Holder for the Gauchos at this event is the 1st seed with a time of 4:20.90. Kamau of Idaho is second with a time of 4:22.37, but finished just ahead of La. Christman two weeks ago at the Cardinal Invite. Ranked 4th is sister Lindsay Christman (Jr.) with a time of 4:23.90 and 7th is Cosette Smith (Sr.) at 4:27.28. Smith was last year's 10,000m champion.

The 400m finals may include Kylie McCuen (Jr.) who goes in ranked 2nd with a time of 55.23. Only Winfield of Long Beach has bettered her time with a 55.03, however McCuen has shown race after race that she is tough to beat, coming in second only once this year at this distance. Kerry Gamble (Fr.) coming off of sickness this winter has progressively done better at each meet. She carries with her a 56.57 best, good for the 5th seed.

In the 100m, Elise Geiger (Jr.) could sneak into the finals. She had been running personal bests before twisting her ankle in late March. Racing for the first time two weeks ago, Geiger could help in the short sprints.

The 400m Hurdles have three Gauchos just ranked outside the top eight positions. Stellamarie Hall (So.), Laurie Schakett (So.), and Noelle Phares (Fr.) will also attempt to squeeze into the finals from Friday's prelims.

In the 200m, McCuen will come back, also ranked 2nd at this distance behind Goodwin of Northridge, her 24.07 was run just two weeks ago. Geiger coming off the 100m will also attempt to qualify for finals in the deuce. She is currently ranked 6th with a 24.85.

The final distance event of the meet, the 5,000m has six Gauchos ranked in the top eight. Potentially big points for UCSB, La. Christman will lead the charge ranked first with a 16:26 after competing in the 1500m earlier in the day. Smith (16:30) and Li. Christman (16:44) are ranked 2nd and third respectively also attempting the double. Ripplinger of Utah St. will attempt to break up the Gaucho pack with a 16:46 best, while Lewis (16:51) and Rothstein (17:04) who is coming off injury will come off a 10K the night before hoping to also seal up some points. Martin at 17:11 is ranked 8th in the 5K. Also, set to compete for the Gauchos is Nickless (17:26), Moser (17:27) and Farson (18:10) and Zamola (18:16).

The relays for the Gauchos are dependent on the health of some of the sprinters. Haven't run at full strength since March, if all engines are go, look for some surprises in the 4x100m and 4x400m with UCSB ranked 8th and 7th respectively.

Come out join the Gaucho Family in Irvine. See www.ucsbtrack.com for complete time schedules and meet information.