CSUN TRACK NOTEBOOK: CSUN STARTS RUN FOR RECORDS.Byline: Jill Painter Staff WriterThe 1978 Cal State Northridge women's track team was loaded with talent. From world-class Olympic sprinter Florence Griffith Joyner to long- distance runner distance runner n. A runner who competes in distance races. Julie Brown
Until now. Maybe. The Matadors again have stockpiled a group worthy of comparison to the 1978 team, which won the outdoor national track championships (known as the Association of Intercollegiate Athletics for Women then) in 1978, 1979 and 1980. CSUN CSUN California State University Northridge sprints coach Jeff McAuley thinks this year's team is even better. And he's not just comparing it to previous track teams. ``The way we're looking at it, it's not only the best team we've ever had, it's quite possibly one of the best teams the Northridge campus has ever had,'' McAuley said. ``We just hope something so special doesn't go completely unnoticed. It's very feasible that this women's team will finish in the top five in the national dual-meet rankings.'' The Matadors have been ranked as high as third by Team Power Rankings for the indoor track season. CSUN is ranked ninth this week heading into today's finals of the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation The Mountain Pacific Sports Federation is a college athletic conference whose member teams are located in the western United States. The conference participates in the NCAA's Division I. track meet at Northern Arizona University Northern Arizona University (NAU) is a public university in Flagstaff, Arizona in the United States. As of Fall 2007, the university has 21,352 students, 13,989 of these are situated in the main Flagstaff campus<ref name="Enrollment" />. in Flagstaff Flagstaff, city (1990 pop. 45,857), seat of Coconino co., N Ariz., near the San Francisco Peaks; inc. 1894. Lumbering, ranching, and a lively tourist trade thrive in the region, where many ruined pueblos, numerous state parks, several lakes, and large pine forests . CSUN's 1,600-relay team (Frances Santin, Malinda Malone, Kasaundra Perkins and Aisha Margain) already broke the school record and ran the second-fastest time in the nation of 3 minutes, 38.08 seconds at the Tyson Invitational in·vi·ta·tion·al adj. Restricted to invited participants: an invitational golf tournament. n. An event, especially a sports tournament, restricted to invited participants. Adj. 1. in Fayetteville, Ark. It was an impressive time, considering it's still the indoor season. Malone isn't expected to run in the event today because of a hamstring strain. Santin, an All-American last year, is always a factor in the middle-distance events. She has a best of 2:07.43 in the 800 meters. Sprinter LaShaunda Fowler has run a best of 8.4 in the 60-meter hurdles. The distance-medley team of Liz Camy, Leianna Matthews, Santin and Angela Talarico set a school record with an 11:58.68. Annetta Wells ran the 400 in 54.40, breaking her own indoor school record. Laura Sauao (weight throw) and Dee Scott (triple jump) should help bolster CSUN's points in field events. McAuley believes CSUN will win the Big West Conference outdoor season. But it's the Mountain Pacific title he'd love to add to the team's growing list of accomplishments. ``There's no doubt in my mind about (the Big West),'' McAuley said. ``If we can win the MPSF MPSF Mountain Pacific Sports Federation , that would be the biggest win for our program. |
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