April 11, 2012

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THIS WEEK IN CAL TRACK & FIELD: One of the longest running traditions in track & field comes to Berkeley Saturday when the Golden Bears host the 118th edition of the Big Meet, California's annual dual with Stanford, at Edwards Stadium.

The Bears hold a 66-49-2 record in the men's competition, while Stanford owns a 21-11 series edge over the Cal women.

This weekend's activities begin at 9:30 a.m. with the women's hammer. The first event on the track will be the women's 3000-meter steeplechase at 1 p.m. A senior recognition ceremony will be held at 3:35 p.m., followed by the final two races - the men's and women's 4x400-meter relays.

Last year, Stanford had the upper hand in both duals, taking the men's meet, 98-65, as well as the women's, 88-75. Cal's men most recently won in 2006, and the Bear women prevailed the last time the schools met in Berkeley, pulling out an 84-79 decision with a clinching victory in the 4x400m relay.

BIG MEET SERIES HISTORY: The first track & field meeting between Cal and Stanford occurred in 1893 on the grounds of the Olympic Club in San Francisco when the Golden Bears outscored their rivals, 91-35. Cal's men won 25 consecutive Big Meets from 1972-96, while Stanford has claimed the past five. On the women's side of the ledger, competition began in 1980 and the series remained fairly even for the first 20 years before Stanford ran off a string of nine in a row from 2000-09.

RECAPPING THE 2011 BIG MEET: Cal picked up a total of 15 victories - six for the men and nine for the women - but it wasn't enough to overcome Stanford. The Cardinal downed the Bears, 98-65, in the men's competition and, 88-75, in the women's events. Cal swept the men's long jump and women's discus and hammer, while Tracey Stewart was a two-time winner in the women's long jump and triple jump, and Ray Stewart took the 100 meters and 110-meter hurdles. First-place finishers returning for the Bears for the 2012 meet include Chase Wheeler (men's long jump), Chad Jones (men's triple jump), Alima Kamara (women's 400m), Sofia Oberg (women's 1500m) and Linda Oseso (women's hammer).

RECAPPING LAST WEEKEND: The Bears entered two meets last week - the Stanford Invitational on Friday and Saturday and the San Francisco State Distance Carnival on Friday only. At Stanford, Collin Jarvis (13:42.31) and Taylor Bryson (16:05.72) posted two of the fastest 5000-meter times in school history, with their marks moving them into the fourth position on Cal's all-time men's and women's performers lists, respectively. Nicole Larson won the women's pole vault with two-inch PR of 12-9.50, while Amanda Hunter claimed the women's collegiate triple jump at 40-2.25.

A handful of Golden Bears also competed at SF State, where they picked up three victories - Matt Carpowich in the men's 5000 meters, Arielle Stevenson in the women's 800 meters and Kelsey Santisteban in the women's two-mile race.

BEARS IN THE TOP 10: Three Golden Bears rank among the top 10 in the country in four events this week. Hammed Suleman has gained notice in both the long jump (T5th, 25-5.25) and triple jump (9th, 52-1.25), marks he set at the Jim Click Shootout. In addition, Collin Jarvis is eighth in the men's 5000 meters (13:42.31) and Taylor Bryson is seventh in the women's 5K (16:05.72). Suleman's two marks, as well as Jarvis' time, are the best outdoor performances in those events among Pac-12 teams this season. Deborah Maier, who has yet to run outdoors in the spring, tops the conference list in the women's 5000 based on her indoor time of 15:29.24.

ALL-AMERICAN BEARS: Six Golden Bears earned a total of nine All-America certificates for their performances at the NCAA Indoor Championships March 9-10 - the most ever for the school at the national indoor meet. Junior Deborah Maier, who posted runner-up finishes in both the 3000m and 5000m, received two first-team honors, while the other Cal competitors earned second-team status - Chelsea Reilly (3000m, distance medley relay), Sofia Oberg (800m, DMR), Angelica Weaver (DMR), Taylor Bryson (DMR) and Malaina Payton (long jump).

ALL-TIME PERFORMER UPDATES: Several Golden Bears have recorded marks this spring that have either placed them among Cal's all-time top-10 performers or improved their standing on the lists. They include: Collin Jarvis (5000m, 13:42.31, 4th), Matt Miller (10,000m, 29:30.72, 5th), Carisma Lyday (100m, 11.73, 6th), Taylor Bryson (5000m, 16:05.72, 4th), Angelica Weaver (400mH, 59.13, 7th), Juliana Green (3000mSC, 11:37.62, 7th), Nicole Larson (pole vault, 12-9.50, 8th), Amanda Hunter (triple jump, 41-8.00, 7th) and Cheri Chan (javelin, 131-4, 9th).

GOLDEN BEAR NOTES: The Cal women are ranked 10th in the USTFCCCA Program of the Year rankings after taking 18th at the NCAA cross country meet and 15th at the NCAA indoor meet ... both the men's and women's cross country teams earned All-Academic recognition for having GPAs above 3.0 in the fall; in addition, Deborah Maier and Chelsea Reilly received individual academic honors ... former Cal distance runners Magdalena Lewy Boulet (10th) and Brooke Wells (19th) placed in the top 20 at the U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials in January ... over the summer, Angelica Weaver captured the USA junior title in the 400m hurdles with a time of 59.83, while Monte Corley won the 400mH crown at the Pan Am Junior Championships in a Cal freshman-record 51.21.