CSUN track & field continued to compete and was ready to go up against Division I elite programs at the NCAA Western Regional Preliminary Championships in Austin, Texas.
CSUN sent a total of 19 athletes to compete in 26 separate events with the hopes of qualifying for the NCAA Championships in Eugene, Ore., on June 7-10.
CSUN women’s track team had a lot of momentum going into this event after they captured Big West Championship two weeks prior. On top of that, senior sprinter Lexis Lambert was named the Big West Women’s Track Athlete of the Year.
Not only did Northridge take home the Big West Women’s title, but also had six individual champions, four of who are women. They are: Briana Cueva (SR) Discuss, Shot Put; Marie Veale (RSR) 100m dash; Lexis Lambert (SR) 200m, 400m; Monique Griffiths (RSR) Hammer Throw; Daniel Swarbrick (SR) Discuss and Xavier Brown (FR) 100m Dash.
A total of 10 women competed for Northridge in 16 different events, the 100m, 200m, 400m, 4x100m Relay, 4x400m Relay, 100m hurdles, pole vault, shot put, discuss and hammer throw.
Matador Women:
400m: The Matadors had two participants for this event. Lambert, the Big West Women’s Athlete of the Year, was the only one to advance on to the final round after placing third in her heat and 16th overall. In the quarterfinals Lambert was able to seal her ticket to Eugene after placing third in her heat and ninth overall with a time of 52.82s.
Hammer: On the first day of the event the Matadors got off to a great start as Monique Griffiths sealed herself a spot in Eugene after placing fourth among the top 12. Her throw placed at 65.58m, only .24m behind the throw that clinched her the Big West individual title.
4x100m Relay: In this event, the Matadors had Courtney Robinson (JR), Ashley Bamberg (SR), Lexis Lambert (SR) and Marie Veale (RSR) running and they did not disappoint. The four Matadors clinched a spot in the Championships finishing in second place in their heat and fifth overall out of 24 groups of runners.
Discus: In the discus throw, the Matadors’ Big West Champ Briana Cueva moved onto the Championships by throwing .39 Meters. Cueva threw a 53.50 meter throw sealing the twelfth and final spot in the Championships.
Matador Men:
110m Hurdles: It was a quiet showing for the Matador men as junior Joshua Turner was the only CSUN athlete to make it out of the first round in his event. Turner finished fourth in his heat with a 14.07s time and ended up 21st overall, advancing as the plus six to make it past the first round. However, the junior from Auburn was unable to secure a spot for the Matador Men after running a disappointing 14.38s time.
The Matadors have a total of six athletes, all of who are women, who will participate in the NCAA Championship rounds in Eugene, OR, June 7-10.
The women who will represent Northridge are: Marie Veale (RSR) 4x100m relay; Lexis Lambert (SR) 4x100m relay and 400m; Courtney Robinson (JR) 4x100m relay; Monique Griffiths (RSR) Hammer Throw and Briana Cueva (SR) Discus Throw.
