Hot Start for Track and Field

CLAREMONT, Calif. (Feb. 21, 2009) – The Occidental College track and field teams began the 2009 track and field season with a bang at the Pomona-Pitzer All-Comers Meet.

On the women’s side the highlight of the meet came in the pole vault. Oxy and Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference record holder Kera Bartlett opened her senior season with a solid 11'02" clearance. Bartlett will be looking to improve on that mark in the coming weeks and will also contribute on our 4 x 100m relay team.

Junior Lisa Warren was another pole vaulter in good early season form as she cleared a new collegiate best of 9'8".

First year team member Claire Larson will primarily compete in the 800m. On Saturday, she started her collegiate career off with an impressive 61.33 in the 400m, before running a 5:41.56 mile.

Tiger cross-over athlete Season Falker-Rodriguez was in the form of her life at the weekend. She set personal records in an unbelievable three individual events before recording a huge life time best 4 x 400m relay split. Falker-Rodriguez started her day off with an 8'6" clearance in her first ever pole vault competition. The sophmore followed that with a life time best mark of 13.64 in the 100m. Next  up came a life time best in the 200m of 27.68, before a huge three second improvement in the 4 x 400m. Falker-Rodriguez's third leg split was a great early season mark of 60.7.

For the men, the 4 x 100m relay team got the meet off to a great start for the Tigers. The team of Joe Hernandez '09, Matt Tsujimura '11, Dorian Vaughn '10, and Andy Dakopolos '09 got the stick around in a very solid time of 43.76. Look for them to drop that mark considerably in the coming weeks.

Tsujimura also looked good in his individual events of the 100m, 200m, and long jump. In the 100m Tsujimura, a sophomore transfer student from Loyola Marymount University, ran a solid 11.41, before running 23.18 in the 200m, and jumping 20'10 in the long jump.

Freshman Will Moseley got his season off to a good start with a PR of 51.68 in the 400m. Look for Moseley to post some solid marks later this season in his primary event of the 800m. Juan German was another first year who looked good in his first collegiate competition throwing the hammer 119', but had a series of impressive throws over 130' which just landed out of the sector.

Next up for the Tigers will be the 2009 Rossi Relays. Saturday, Feb. 28 the teams will travel to Claremont to compete head-to-head with a number of SCIAC rivals as well as some NAIA, DI and DII opposition.

Video: http://www.youtube.com/user/slamthejam