ALAMOSA, Colo. (April 1, 2017) – A majority of Adams State University student-athletes returned to action on Saturday to begin the outdoor season. The Grizzlies were active at the UNM Don Kirby Tailwind Invitational and the San Francisco State University Distance Carnival.
UNM Don Kirby Tailwind Invitational
Adams State braved the elements as cold and rainy conditions greeted the Grizzlies in Albuquerque for their outdoor season opener. Despite the unfavorable weather, the Grizzlies notched four event titles in a meet featuring NCAA Division I and Division II competition.
Malena Grover (4:48.81) ran to a women's 1500m crown as teammates
Aden Alemu (4:53.69) and
Cari Steen (4:58.62) placed second and third place, respectively.
Austin Anayna (1:53.95) won a title in the men's 800m and was closely followed by teammate
Robert Guinn (1:55.10) who took second overall.
Brecht Van Waes (15.83m) took home a title in the men's shot put as
Sam Reid (15.28m) and
Garrett Quintana (13.48m) finished fourth and seventh place, respectively.
The Adams State women's 4x100m relay team also ran to a title with a time of 47.53. Running in the event for ASU were Owekeika Watson,
Dianna Johnson,
Jessica Scherrer, and
Sunayna Wahi. The group of
Heather Shoats,
Miranda Vigil,
Aftynne Lujan, and
Serena Canegan took sixth place in the 4x100m relay with a time of 52.73.
Sean Fontana (4:07.44) was the runner-up in the men's 1500m as
Noel Prandoni (10:44.66) took third in the women's 3000m.
Micah Ballantyne (11.40) clocked a fifth place mark in the men's 100m dash.
Augie Larranaga ran in two races on Saturday and took fourth in the 400m at 49.64 and fifth in the 200m with a time of 22.27.
Wyatt Cunningham (23.48) also competed in the 200m and placed ninth overall.
In the women's long jump,
Kiana Gomez (5.16m) finished in sixth as teammate
Miranda Vigil (4.97m) took ninth.
A pair of Grizzlies represented ASU in the women's javelin led by a 10
th place mark from
Serena Canegan (27.07m) as
Katherine Smith (26.09m) placed 12
th. Two ASU women were also active in the shot put with
Makenna Plott (9.30m) taking 12
th and
Breann Hawman (8.80m) taking 14
th.
Jackson Roberts (9:25.53) finished 10
th in the men's 3000m as
Sid Samtaney (55.54) finished 15
th in the men's 400m.
San Francisco State University Distance Carnival
Oliver Aitchison competed in the San Francisco State University Distance Carnival, taking first place in the men's 800m. The Adams State senior clocked a time of 1:48.99, setting a new meet record and beating out NCAA DII competitor David Ribich of Western Oregon.
When asked how he felt about his performance, Aitchison said "I did what I set out to do; I got the win and the national qualifier, so it was a good weekend."
The race started conservatively, with Aitchison coming through the first lap in 53 seconds and running patiently before kicking hard with 300m to go.
Aitchison's time is a Division II automatic qualifying mark and currently places him second on the national list for the 800m. The time is just shy of his personal best in the event (1:48.72), set in 2015.
Aitchison is now the third Grizzly to notch an automatic qualifying time during the outdoor season (Sydney Gidabuday & Kyle Masterson).
For any future updates on ASU track & field, stay connected with www.asugrizzlies.com.
