Sac State?s track and field team had a busy weekend with four different meets to attend to.

A handful of athletes ventured south with assistant coach Mike Gipson to take part in three prestigious meets: the Pomona-Pitzer Invitational in Claremont, the 2001 Long Beach State Invitational and the Mt. Sac Relays in Walnut.

Meanwhile, head coach Joe Neff kept the majority of his competitors in town for the 2001 Sacramento Spring Classic.

“It wasn?t a big meet, but we at least had the chance to compete and qualify a couple athletes (for the Big Sky Conference Outdoor Championships) in the process,” said Neff, whose team was originally slated for the Woody Wilson Invitational in Davis, but withdrew before the event.

Earlier last week, sophomore Monica Crawford was honored as the Big Sky Conference?s Field Athlete of the Week, making her the third Hornet athlete in four weeks to receive the award. She set a new school outdoor record of 45-10.5 in the shot put last Saturday during the All-Women Invitational in San Diego. She also threw a lifetime best, 150-9 feet, in the hammer throw, placing her third in the program?s outdoor record books.

At the Sacramento Spring Classic, junior Shawna Peterman qualified in the pole vault, after taking second place on an 11-foot-four vault. Teammate Tracy Dahl won the event at 11-10, while Iran Serrano rounded out the Hornets with a 10-10.

Howard Story outpaced the competition in the 800-meter run, clocking in at 1:53.75, a tenth of a second off the BSC qualifying mark. But Neff said that the sophomore should be able to compete in the conference meet.

“I?ll get it (BCS) this week,” Story said. “Missing by only a tenth of a second really adds fuel to my fire to run faster.”

Dustin Diaz, who has already secured a spot for the Big Sky Champinships, was the runner up in the 800 (1:54.38), followed by Stephen Gaitan (1:54.90) and Anthony Elwell (1:56.45). Mike Santarosa finished second in the 3,000 in 9:23.

Molly Peterson ruled the distance events on the women?s side, placing first in the 1,500 (5:02.15) and the 3,000 (10.48.6). Also succeeding in multiple events was Jeremy Espino, who took second in the 200 (23.73) and third in the 100 (11.6).

Tim McGaillian threw a personal best measurement of 156-2 feet in the javelin, while Rokeem Osby and Sandra Butler claimed the high jump with marks of 6-8 and 5-6, respectively.

Gipson and company kicked off the long weekend at the Pomina-Pitzer Invitational on Friday. Brent Sims led the way with a 10th place finish in the 400, qualifying himself for the conference with a 48.40 mark.

“That should put him pretty high on the Big Sky list,” Gipson said.

Sophomore sprinter Jonathan Davis tallied a 10.96 for sixth place out of 57 participants in the 100. Freshman Shawn Hooper finished 15th in the 400-meter intermediate hurdles (56.58) and Charles Amey took 18th in the 110-meter high hurdles. Former Sac State standout Jimmithee Banks, representing Sacramento Track Club, won the long jump after leaping 23-051/2. He also finished fourth at Mt. Sac, notching a 23-6 1/4 jump.

The Hornet women?s team was well represented, with three athletes placing in the top 10. Shanita Bryant spearheaded the small group with a second-place finish in the long jump (19-01 1/4). Renee Warner was fifth in the 100-meter low hurdles, with teammate Myesha Kirtman following close behind at 15.55 for eighth place. Jennifer Burkhalter tied for seventh place in the 400, timing in at 56.28.

Also at the event were Joni David and Stephanie Byrd, who took 20th (12.39) and 32nd (12.57) out of 78 entrants in the 100.

At Long Beach, Davis won his meet in the 100, placing second overall. Sims was second (ninth overall) in his heat in the 400 after running a 49.25 mark. Amey, meanwhile, finished sixth overall in the 110 hurdles (15.29).

Warner won her heat (eighth) in the 110 hurdles (14.88) while Kirtman competed in the 100, where she finished sixth overall (12.60). Sac State?s women?s 4×100 meter relay team (Byrd, David, Bryant, Kirtman,) outran the field with a time of 46.68.

Later on that evening, the team traveled to Hilmer Lodge Memorial Stadium for the Mt. Sac Relays, where Bryant made her presence felt once again in the long jump. She matched the top measurement of 19-9 1/2, but later bowed to USC?s Disia Page in the tie breaker, consequently placing her at second.

On Sunday, Bryant took 23rd in the 100 (12.42), while Warner and Kirtman each placed 13th in the 100 (10.72). The women?s 4×100 team claimed its second race of the weekend at Mt. Sac, clocking in at 46.43.

“We had a tough weekend and everyone may have been too tired to compete,” Gipson said. “But they should be better for it. All in all, it was a productive weekend.”

Next up for Sac State is the Cal-Nevada Championships in Irvine.