Seven first-place finishes, six by the women and one by the men, highlighted Saturday?s track and field Sacramento Spring Invitational at Hornet Stadium.

“The coaches agreed that this was a very good track meet for us as a whole,” head coach Joe Neff said. “We rested a few athletes, which enabled us to concentrate on helping individuals who haven?t qualified for the Big Sky meet yet. And we did have a few that qualified.”

The open meet, which was Sac State?s final home contest of the season, featured representatives from San Francisco State, Sonoma State, CSU Stanislaus, U.C. Davis, Chico State, Seattle University, and Santa Clara University. Team scores were not accounted for. Hornet freshman Shanita Bryant and seniors Karen Trapini and Tracy Dahl dominated the jump events in the women?s competition.

Bryant topped the long-jump competition with a 20-foot-2 leap, her lifetime outdoor best and the BSC?s farthest outdoor mark this year. She also took second in the 200-meter dash (24.35).

Trapini hopped, skipped and jumped to a first-place finish in the triple jump (11.78 meters) and also took second in the long jump, setting a new personal record (19-feet-9 3/4) in the event.

Dahl drew a first-place tie with Chico State?s Christa Tebbs and Jen Swanson (unattached) with a 12-4 measurement in the pole vault. Dahl?s mark is now the program?s all-time highest.

“She just missed a couple 12-10 (vaults), but I think that she?s close to hitting 13 (feet),” Neff said.

Tina Limon won the 5,000-meter run in 19 minutes flat, Renee Warner took first in the 100-meter high hurdles in 14:35 and Chrissy Clark earned the top honor in the 3,000-meter steeplechase in 12:23.76.

Sac State?s lone male winner was Rokeem Osby, who jumped a 6-10 in the long jump. Stephanie Byrd and Iran Serrano are the Hornets? new BSC championship qualifiers. Byrd?s improvements in the 100 and 200 meters have finally paid off, as she recorded a 12.13 and 25.09, respectively, on Saturday. Serrano placed fifth in the pole vault with an 11-4 and will join teammates Shawna Peterman and Dahl in the event at the conference finals.

“It?s always nice to be able to qualify three people in one event,” Neff said.

Other notable performers included Monica Crawford, Jennifer Burkhalter and Brent Sims. Crawford threw a lifetime record 46.44 meters for fifth place in the hammer. She also finished second in the shot put (13.46m) and third in the discus throw (41.52m).

Burkhalter was .01 seconds off her personal record in the 800, where she finished second after pacing to a 2:08.53 time. Sims also set a personal best time while improving his position in the BSC standings. The freshman broke 0:47 in the 400 (47.99) on his way to a third-place finish.

“That was huge for Brent,” Neff said. “And I think that Burkhalter has a very good chance to make the NCAA (Championships).”

With the season quickly closing in on the BSC Championships, the Sac State coaching staff had several of its athletes rest or nurse injuries during the invitational.

“We had some of our standouts either sit out this meet or we had them concentrate on just one event,” Neff said. “This was one of those tune-up meets for our team, because we have a tough few weeks ahead of us.”

The Hornets? final preparation for the conference meet will be the 60th Modesto Relays Track and Field Festival this Saturday at Modesto Junior College. The league championships will begin next Thursday in Pocatello, Idaho.