Every year, the Cal/Nevada Championships feature the best collegiate track and field programs in the state of California.

Sac State?s squad used that same meet this past weekend at UC Irvine to see where it measures up against Pac-10 powers like UCLA, Cal and Stanford and with good reason: To prove that they belong.

Objective met.

Of the 25 teams that competed in the talent-laden women?s division, Sac State wound up near the top in sixth place with 46 points, outscoring Western Athletic Conference rival Fresno State (10th, 36) in the process.

It was the first time since joining the Division I ranks that Sac State placed higher than the Bulldogs. San Diego State won the female competition with 110 points.

The Hornets? men?s contingent accumulated 17 points and shared the 12th spot with UC San Diego in the competitive men?s division, which drew 20 teams in all. In the end, Cal edged out second-place UCLA 127-125.33 for the title.

“Being in this meet every year allows us to see the UCLAs, and other Pac-10 and highly competitive schools,” Hornet assistant coach Mike Gipson said. “And for us to come out and have the women place sixth and the men 12th is great with the Big Sky (Conference Championships) coming in a few weeks.”

“It?s also a nice recruiting tool,” Gipson added. “We get to tell (potential) recruits that we placed sixth at this meet, and that shows how competitive we?re becoming.”

Sac State was unable to enter new names to its BSC qualifying list over the weekend, but several athletes whom have already qualified managed to improve their positions for the league finale.

Freshman Shanita Bryant now occupies the league?s fastest 200-meter time of the year after finishing the race in 24.30 seconds at Anteater Stadium Sunday afternoon. The mark placed her sixth at the meet and fifth in Hornet history. She also took sixth in the 100 (12.00) and topped the long-jump competition on Saturday with a 19-foot-08 3/4 measurement.

Jennifer Burkhalter also stamped her name in the Sac State record books. She took four seconds off her previous personal record in the 800 after blazing to 2:08.52 seconds second-place finish, now the second fastest in school history. The time was a second short of the NCAA provisional qualifying mark (2:07.50). In the 400, Burkhalter finished seventh in 57.19.

“Jennifer?s effort didn?t show in the results,” Gipson noted. “She had to run the 400 a half hour after running the 800. I could tell before the 400 that the other race (fatigued) her. She was still breathing real hard.”

Renee Warner, ranked seventh going into the finals, skipped a few spots ahead for third place in the 100-meter high hurdles (14.14). Tina Limon earned herself a lifetime best mark in the 1,500 during the preliminary round on Saturday, when she ran a 4:36.82 for third place in her heat. She later took ninth in the final, clocking in at 4:39.60.

Monica Crawford hurled her second farthest mark of 45-08 1/2 in the shot put for ninth place. She set the program record in the event two weekends ago at the All-Women?s Invitational, where she popped a 45-10 1/2. Other notable field performances were Karen Trapini in the long jump (sixth, 18-04 1/2) and Tracy Dahl in the pole vault (three-way tie for 10th, 12-02 1/2).

Sac State?s 4×100 meter relay team of Stephanie Byrd, Joni David, Myesha Kirtman, and Bryant was the runner-up to San Diego State, which outsprinted the Hornets? time (46.07) by a half second.

“That was the girls? second fastest time of the year and they made absolutely no mistakes in their race,” Gipson said. “San Diego State, women on women, just has a faster team than us.”

In addition to the relay, David competed in the 100 and 200 where she placed seventh (12.03) and eighth (24.90), respectively.

The standout for the Hornets? men?s team was sophomore sprinter Jonathan Davis, who proved to be the favorite in the 100-meter going into the finals. He ended up, as expected, on top (10.63).

“He was already the favorite to win it, so it was just a matter of him running a smart, technical race,” Gipson said. “He did just that, but I thought he could have won by a little bit more. He showed the other guys too much respect in a sense.”

Brent Sims, a freshman, continued to impress his coaches following a 48.42 finish for seventh place in the 400. He was two one-hundredths off his personal record.

“At this point in time last year, Brent was in high school running (the 400) in about 49.9,” Gipson said. “So this is a big year for him.”

In the 800, Dustin Diaz improved his BSC qualifying and season-best time to 1:52.95. But the mark wasn?t enough to advance him to the final round. Teammate Stephen Gaitan beat his previous lifetime record by over a second, timing in at 1:53.32. Jacob Mills rounded out Sac State?s distance corps with a 10th-place finish (9:17.79) in the 3,000 meter steeplechase.

Sims and Gaitan sided with Kenan Smith and Shawn Hooper for the 4×400 relay, where they took seventh at a season best 3:14.80.

Senior Rokeem Osby was the Hornets? highest placer in the field events. He claimed sixth place in the high jump at 6-09 1/2.

Sac State hosts the Spring Invitational this Saturday at Fred Anderson Field.