The championship rounds of any event are usually when athletes either shine in the spotlight or wither under the heat of the moment. The tense nature and finality of the event lends itself to athletes who simply crack under the spotlight. This, however, was not the case for the UC Davis women’s track and field team, who recently claimed their second straight Big West conference title. The Aggies simply dominated the competition, finishing with a total team score of 172.50 points. This was a full 44 points ahead of second-place finisher UC Santa Barbara. “Today’s championship outcome serves as a very satisfying conclusion to a year and season structured around the achievement of the highest team objective,” said Aggie coach Drew Wartenburg. “The goal for our women’s team was to bring both a balanced and deep lineup to the conference meet, and event outcomes went as projected for the most part.” UC Davis did indeed manage to win many events in the championships. The 4×400 relay team reclaimed its title... ...

Track and field, which is considered by most as an individual sport, still has a championship that is in some ways defined by a team effort. While most distance runners, sprinters, throwers and jumpers participate in individual events, except for the relays, the success of the such individual events is also a success for the schools. One sprinter or thrower cannot win a Big West team title for the team. It takes a complete team effort of a stellar cast of athletes to claim that particular crown. The Aggies hope that they have the particular group of athletes needed to win both men’s and women’s Big West Championships. The women in particular have recently put on a fine showing at the Causeway Duel, where they tied with Sacramento State in overall team points 94-94. Sophomore Ashley Marshall raced her way to an incredible showing in the meet, as she ran to victory in the 100-meter and 200-meter dashes. Marshall put up blazing times of 11.48 seconds in the 100 and... ...

In a sport where a tenth of a second matters, the UC Davis track team has blown through previous records by leaps and bounds. Just last weekend at the Sun Angel Classic in Tempe, Ariz., the records for the 100-, 200- and 800-meter sprints were completely demolished. The Aggies did well in a wide array of events in Arizona. One of the standouts of the event was sophomore sprinter Ashley Marshall, as she broke two UC Davis records. She now owns the women’s 100-meter record by posting a blazing time of 11.55 seconds. Furthermore, she beat the 200-meter record which she previously set, by running a personal and school-best time of 23.54 seconds. Marshall was not the only one who did well in Arizona, as senior Lauren Wallace’s time of 2:04.89 beat the previous women’s 800-meter record of 2:07.91. Both Wallace and senior Shanie Landen broke the old record. In fact, Landen broke the record running 2:07.87 in an earlier race last Sunday, only to have her record broken by... ...

After setting multiple school records over the weekend at the University of Washington Invitational, the UC Davis track and field team will have a week’s rest under its belt before the all-comers meet on Saturday. Head coach Drew Wartenburg and the rest of the coaches came out of the Evergreen State satisfied. “We approached the meet hoping to set a positive tone both for the indoor and the outdoor season,” Wartenburg said. “Starting Friday afternoon, with the early events continuing all through Saturday competition, the coaching staff was pleased across the board with the results that we got from the athletes, so it was a great weekend.”         Wartenburg also said this past week has been a good gauge of how the team is doing so far this year. “In a general sense, we’re probably a little bit ahead of where we were last year at this time, which is always a good measure,” he said. With a set roster, only a few athletes from the track and field team... ...

The UC Davis Track and Field team competed over the weekend on Friday and Saturday at the University of Washington Invitational. The event is the first official meet of the season and included some of the best collegiate and professional athletes in the country. UC Davis had 14 competitors in events and performed solidly overall as a unit. Dempsey Indoor is one of the premier indoor tracks in the NCAA and it seems as if the athletes enjoy performing there. With this event being the first chance to compete in a national setting, the Aggies made the most of their opportunities. Senior Melanise Chapman set the school record in the 200-meter dash, breaking her own previous record of 24.93. She finished first in her heat and sixth overall with a mark of 24.80 seconds. Sophomore Cekarri Nixon finished second in their heat with a time of 25.07 seconds to round out a solid 1-2 punch for the Aggies in the race. Senior Sarah Sumpter won the 5,000-meter with a school... ...

Track and field at UC Davis is now underway. The season officially started on Jan. 12 in Davis with the John Pappa Blue-Gold Intrasquad meet. The team then traveled to the University of Nevada, Reno to compete in the pole vault. The director of track and field and cross country, Drew Wartenburg, thought the pole vaulters performed well in Reno, but there was room for improvement. “It wasn’t our best result that we were hoping for, but it was our opening meet,” Wartenburg said. “Each time out, we’ll look to tweak things and improve and so as we go up to University of Washington this Friday and Saturday, we will look to improve on the foundation that we started last weekend in Reno.” The team will travel to University of Washington for the UW Invitational two-day meet from Jan. 25 to 26. Athletes will compete in one of the premier indoor track facilities in the NCAA, the Dempsey. Drew Wartenburg is excited to get things started. He has spent the... ...

While it seemed that the women’s track and field team was stealing the headlines every week, one of the Aggies’ most impressive contributors this year was from the men’s team. Junior pole vaulter Ethan Ostrom had a 2012 season that will go down in UC Davis history. After becoming just the third Aggie in history to top the 5.2-meter mark in 2011, Ostrom continued to soar to new heights this season. The Cottonwood, Calif. native finished first on three occasions this season, including at the Causeway Classic and the Hornet Invitational. He also took second at the Big West Conference finals with a height of 5.25 meters, just three inches better than teammate junior Mike Peterson, who took third. Ostrom’s season ended in bittersweet fashion at the NCAA Regional at Texas, where he broke the UC Davis pole vaulting record with a height of 5.35 meters, beating Tom Moore’s mark set in 2001, but came up short of advancing to the NCAA Finals in a jump-off. Despite the frustrating end... ...

UC Davis track and field will be represented by two athletes in the National Finals, which will be held at Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa beginning Wednesday. Senior Sarah Sumpter placed 12th at the NCAA West Prelim Meet at the University of Texas in the 10,000m run with a time of 34 minutes, 24.87 seconds. The finish was enough to steal the last qualifying spot for the NCAA Finals in the event. Sumpter, already the Big West Women’s Track Athlete of the Year, will have a chance to further add to her running of accomplishments. Also traveling to Drake will be Ashley Hearn to represent the Aggies in the discus. Hearn’s 54.13m (over 177 feet) discus throw was a school record that earned her a ticket to the NCAA Championships. The Rocklin, Calif. native held the previous record for the event with a mark of 52.7m (173+ feet). Hearn’s monstrous throw at the NCAA West prelims was good for fifth place overall and first in her flight. She will... ...

Sarah Sumpter became the first woman in UC Davis’ five-year NCAA Divison I track and field history to qualify for the NCAA Championship Finals on Thursday. Sumpter finished 12th on Thursday night in the 10,000-meter run at the NCAA West Prelim Meet atTexas. Sumpter, the Big West Women’s Track Athlete of the Year, secured the last qualifying spot for the national finals, which will be held at Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa next month. She was timed in 34 minutes, 24.87 seconds, almost three seconds ahead of Weber State’s Sarah Callister, who was 13th. “Sarah found herself in the unenviable position of bouncing between 11th and 13th place before locking up a trip to the national championships on the final lap of the race,” said head coach Drew Wartenburg. Senior Ashley Hearn will join Sumpter in Iowa, after qualifying for the finals with a school record discus throw of 54.13 meters on Friday. Hearn’s throw, which converts to 177 feet, 7 inches, broke her own UC Davis mark of... ...

Event: NCAA West Regional Where: Myers Stadium — Austin, Tex. When: Thursday through Saturday, all day Who to watch: Junior Melanise Chapman’s performance at the Big West Championships was a promising start of post-season competition, and could provide the momentum the Aggies need to perform at the NCAA West Regional. Chapman tied school records with victories in both the 100m and 200m, with times of 11.67 seconds and 24.09 seconds, respectively. She also was a member of both of UC Davis’ third-place relay teams. Did you know? In the 2010 NCAA West Preliminary Meet at Texas, the Aggie men and women posted phenomenal results. Two-time Big West champion Thomas Phillips finished 32nd in the 400 with his third-fastest time of the year. On the women’s side, Lauren Wallace placed 33rd in the 800m prelims with a 2:10.53. Kaitlin Gregg placed 19th and Sarah Sumpter placed 31st in the women’s 10,000m. Preview: The Aggies begin their quest for positive results in this year’s NCAA Championships with a meet at Myers Stadium.... ...

The UC Davis women’s track and field team battled and edged UC Santa Barbara to win their first Big West Conference title on Saturday in Irvine, Calif. The Aggie men finished sixth overall at the meet. Overall, UC Davis was strong in the event’s final day, posting 18 scoring performances on Saturday, which included four titles, four runner-up placings, three third-places and a trio of fourths. The Aggies scored in three of the four field events Saturday and in all 10 events on the track. The Aggie women finished with 170 points while the Gauchos remained close behind at 169.50. Junior Melanise Chapman and senior Sarah Sumpter won two individual titles apiece, while senior Ashley Hearn and sophomore Alycia Cridebring each captured one. Champan tied school records with victories in both the 100m and 200m and helped the Aggies’ 4x100m relay finish third. Cridebring brought home UC Davis’ first win on Saturday with first place in the 1500m while Sumpter delivered a meet-record performance in the 5000m to take first,... ...

Event: Big West Championships Where: Anteater Stadium — Irvine, Calif. When:  Friday and Saturday, all day Who to watch: Freshman Raquel Lambdin posted a phenomenal performance at the Sacramento State Open. She led a close 1-2 Aggie finish in the 800-meter run, posting a season-best time of 2:11.57. It is the third fastest time for the Aggies season and allowed her to edge fellow teammate Melinda Zavala in the race. Did you know? Last year in the 2011 Big West Championships at Cal State Northridge the UC Davis men were in third after the first day while the Aggie women were in fourth. The following day, the Aggie men placed second and the women third at Big West. The athletes posted strong performances as they claimed six individual championships and posted numerous groundbreaking results. Preview: The Aggies begin their quest to post high results in this year’s Big West Championship at Anteater stadium this weekend. The Aggies have been consistently posting strong performances at previous meets, the most recent of which... ...

With only one week left until the Big West Conference Championships the Aggies knew it was important to find their stride this weekend. Despite the winds, UC Davis’ athletes combined for two wins and 12 second place finishes overall. Freshman Raquel Lambdin represented the Aggie women in the winner’s circle this Saturday after spearheading a 1-2 Aggie finish in the 800m. Lambdin finished in 2:11.57 — a season best for the Camarillo, California native. She was trailed by sophomore teammate  Melinda Zavala who finished in 2:11.78 — a season best time as well. Several other women claimed runner-up titles this weekend. Junior Melanise Chapman claimed second place in the 100m sprint — finishing in 11.59s. Freshman Ashley Marshall placed fifth in the 100m with a time of 11.95s. Fellow freshman Cekarri Nixon impressed in the 200m — finishing second with a time of 24.42s. Senior Tonie Williams placed second in the 400m after finishing in 56.83s. Junior Kayla Carter grabbed another runner-up title in the 100 hurdles. Senior Lauren Radke... ...

Losing to Sacramento State is never fun, but UC Davis’ bus still carried a lot of winners back over the Causeway Friday night. Although the Hornets topped the Aggies in points, UC Davis’ men and women claimed nine event wins apiece during the Causeway Classic Track and Field Duals. The women were bested 102-86 but juniors Kayla Carter and Melanise Chapman managed to produce some highlights for Aggie fans. Carter blazed through the 100m hurdles, finishing first with a time of 13.6s. She followed that up with another first place performance in the 400m hurdles with a time of 1:00.73 — good for third in UC Davis history. Sophomore Kellie Grigg joined Carter in the 400m hurdles and the two combined for a 1-2 Aggie finish. As usual, the Aggies could depend on senior Sarah Sumpter to walk away with an award. She dominated the 3,000m for UC Davis, finishing in a time of 9:33.40 which beat former Aggie Kim Conley’s meet record by 12s. The feat also earned Sumpter... ...

Event: Causeway Dual vs. Sacramento State Where: Hornet Stadium — Sacramento When: Friday, all-day Friday Who to watch: Junior Emily Bush spearheaded the field aspect of last week’s Woody Wilson Memorial Classic when she broke the school record for the women’s pole vault. The Orangevale, Calif. native earned the Big West Conference Female Field Athlete of the Week after clearing 4.02m, nine inches higher than her previous personal record. Did you know? Bush was one of three Aggies to earn conference honors this week. She was joined by seniors Jonathan Peterson and Sarah Sumpter, who pulled Big West Male and Female Track Athlete of the Week, respectively. Preview: This weekend puts Aggie Pride on the line as UC Davis travels across the Causeway to face its rival, the Sacramento State Hornets. The Aggies have been breaking personal and school records left and right lately. Head coach Drew Wartenburg hopes that the team can continue on this trajectory all the way to the conference championships in a few weeks. “We’re finally... ...