The last track meet before the Big West Outdoor Championships (May 11-14) at UC Irvine’s Anteater Stadium will be this weekend, as CSUN will host the Northridge Open at Matador Track.
The meet will be tossed into motion with the hammer throw Friday at 2 p.m. Then, Saturday at 11:30 a.m. the field events get under way, before the meet is kicked into high gear with the track events starting at 1 p.m.
The Matadors, UC Santa Barbara, UC Irvine, and CSU Fullerton will send a few athletes to compete beside other non-collegiate athletes that are working on the USA National trial times. The Northridge Open is open for anyone to compete.
The meet will not showcase the stars of the track teams but instead will be a tune up for athletes that need to refine their game. The Matadors, along with most track and field teams in the Big West, are resting their top athletes this weekend on the heels of the Big West Outdoor Championship.
“This is the culmination of the whole season,” said Jeremy Fischer, Matador assistant track and field coach. “So we’re resting them for conference, which is the most important meet of the season for us. Everyone is qualified for the conference meet. We are trying to achieve marks for the NCAA regional meet.”
One Matador competing in the meet will be Jonathan Moore, a freshman long jumper who needs to improve his jump to qualify for the NCAA regional meet. Moore’s best long jump of the season was 22-7.75 (6.90) at the Cal State Los Angeles Twilight Meet April 9. He needs 7.34 to qualify.
In the triple jump Moore needs a 15.08 to qualify, with his best jump being the 48-0 (14.63) he achieved at the Mt. Sac relays, held in Walnut, Calif., April 15-17.
“I know what I have to do,” Moore said. “I just (have to) make sure I get my steps because I have been fouling a lot in recent weeks. It’s just a matter of me hitting the board right and have my form and I know I will get my mark.”
Moore had a rough start to the season, having to battle though a quad injury that he is now fully recovered from.
“I need to make sure I get fair jumps in,” Moore said. “I have had some big jumps but they have been fouls. I need to make sure I make my jumps count and everything else will fall into place. I look forward to jumping at home (because of) the home field advantage. Plus I can have some of my family come down to see me.”
“We are using this meet (Northridge Open) to keep them (our jumpers) sharp for next week,” said Vince O’Boyle, head coach of the UC Irvine track and field team. “Most of our distance runners will go to the Oxy Invitational at Occidental College (in Eagle Rock) and we are resting our sprinters and hurdlers.”
The Matadors will compete in the NCAA Division I Men and Women’s outdoor track and field west qualifying regional in Eugene, Oregon May 27-28. The west includes, 40 men’s team and 42 women’s teams from Arizona, California, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, Utah and Washington.
The Matadors had two team members honored as Big West Track and Field athletes of the week for April 27. Deanna Goodwin, a sophomore who competes in the 100m and 200m, and senior Tim Selby for his hammer throw.
Selby threw 60.14 feet, finishing second at a five-team meet at Cal Poly. Goodwin ran the 200 meters with a time of 24.78, finishing fourth at the Poly meet.
The Matadors could have up to five members of the team competing in the USA nationals seniors and juniors this summer. The athletes that will compete in the nationals want to place in the top three to earn a ticket to the world championships. The only automatic qualifier is Tony Smith, who is ranked ninth in the long jump and 11th in the triple jump.
