Oct. 23, 2012

BERKELEY - Earlier this month, a pair of former Golden Bear track & field athletes finished among the top 10 in an event far removed from Cal's Edwards Stadium - the U.S. National Women's Bobsled Push Championships in Lake Placid, N.Y. Cherrelle Garrett took third in the competition, while Tracey Stewart was ninth.

Garrett, who ranks No. 2 in school history in the 100 meters with a best of 11.38 from 2009, was attracted to bobsled after taking some time off from her track career. After only five days on the track, she posted her top-three finish in a field of 16 that included several track & field veterans, including Olympians Hyleas Fountain, Tianna Madison and Lolo Jones.

"When I heard about bobsled, I thought, `This is something I can do,'" Garrett said after the Oct. 5 races. "Look at all of these great athletes here; I'm so excited to be here. It feels like this is where I should be."

Garrett recorded times of 5.02 and 4.97 for a combined time of 9.99 seconds, just behind Aja Evans (9.65) and Katie Eberling (9.78) and ahead of Fountain (10.01). Stewart, the No. 3 triple jumper on the Cal all-time list, was ninth in 10.13 seconds.

Coaches and pilots will select teams for upcoming selection races based on push athlete combine test scores and push championship results. Complete results from the push championships can be found here.