SEATTLE – San Francisco State senior
Sheila Cleland (Union City, California, Redwood Christian, Chabot College) captured first place in the weight throw on Saturday to lead the Gator indoor track and field squad at the University of Washington's Husky Winter Preview in Seattle, Wash. Cleland's winning throw covered 48 feet, eight inches, outdistancing runner-up Krissy Trandle of Central Washington (46-10.75).
SF State also received second-place efforts from freshmen
Alicia Chambers (Roseville, California, Oakmont),
Mhiah Vickers (Westlake, California, Westlake)and
Luisa Musika (Milpitas, California, Milpitas). Chambers was the top collegiate performer in the 60-meter dash with a time of 7.87, finishing behind Kayla Smith (7.72), who ran unattached. In the 60-meter hurdles, Vickers crossed the tape at 9.32, just .04 seconds behind another unattached competitor, Liz Fuller of Washington (9.28). Meanwhile, Musika impressed in her Gator debut as well with a runner-up toss of 45-05.0 in the shot put.
Not to be outdone, the SF State 4x400 relay team of junior
Tyler Dalbey (Petaluma, California, Santa Rosa Junior College), freshmen
Carrie Thomas (Fremont, California, Milpitas), sophomore
Kelsey Feeley (Palo Alto, California, Gunn) and Chambers came in with a 4:03.61 clocking, finishing just behind first-place Western Washington (4:03.01).
Other top-five Gator performances from the afternoon included freshmen
Felicia Terwilliger (Eureka, California, West Warwich (Rhode Island))and
Meagen Moiola (Morro Bay, California, Morro Bay) in the high jump (t3
rd- 5-4.25), sophomore
Kendra Rimbach in the long jump (4
th – 16-3.0) and Feeley in the 800 meters (4
th - 2:22.95). Terwilliger's and Moiola's jumps established a new school indoor record, shattering the previous height of 5-1.
"This was without a doubt the best indoor meet ever for an SF State track and field team," said Gator head coach Terry Burke. "This is an incredibly exciting group to be around and today was just a glimpse of their potential greatness. I was feeding off their energy the entire day and I am still revved up about what I can see coming in the near future and long term."
SF State resumes its indoor schedule on Saturday, Jan. 17, 2009, when it travels to Albuquerque, N.M. for the Lobo Open.
