FROM LBSU REPORTS
For the second consecutive week, Long Beach State track & field boasts a pair of athletes that were named Big West Athlete of the Week. Junior Courtne’ Davis picked up Women’s Track Athlete of the Week honors while classmate Bria Palmer was named Big West Field Athlete of the Week. It’s the first weekly award win for Palmer and the third for Davis, who has now claimed the honor in all three of her seasons at Long Beach State.
Davis finished second in both the 100-meter and 200-meter dash at the Baldy Castillo Invitational, going up against talented opposition. Her performance in the 200 was exceptional, as she jumped into second in program history with a time of 23.31 to beat her previous PR by an impressive .37 seconds. Davis is now approaching the all-time Big West record in the women’s 200, chasing the record of 23.20, set by UNLV’s Inger Peterson in 1984. In both races, Davis finished ahead of 2016 IAAF World U20 champion and World Junior record holder Candice Hill of ASICS.
In the field, Palmer again won the high jump competition by clearing 5-08.75, beating out competitors from Texas A&M, Arizona State, Louisville, South Dakota and North Dakota. The junior has now won the high jump competition twice in two tries this outdoor season. Her mark from Saturday ranks second in the Big West this season, and sits fourth in the NCAA West Region and 10th in the NCAA.
On Thursday, junior John Broadhead sits in first place at the midway point of the men’s decathlon, sitting with 3,594 points after the first day of competition at the Spring Track Classic hosted by UC Riverside.
“All in all with the rainy conditions today, I’m pretty happy with the results,” said LBSU head coach Andy Sythe of the first day of competition. “I’m impressed with John (Broadhead)’s performance today and I’m looking forward to a big day with some more good performances tomorrow.”
Broadhead finished in the top eight in all five of Thursday’s events, and currently holds a 68 point lead on North Dakota State’s Ben Klimpe in second place. Sophomore Devon Alvarado was consistent as well, finishing in the top seven in four of the five events to sit in seventh place after day one with 3,300 points. All four of Long Beach State’s competitors are in the top 10 after day one, with senior Cole Hicks (3,232 points) in ninth and junior Jackson Potter (3,183 points) in 10th. Day two should be a productive one for Hicks, who was in eighth place after day one in last year’s competition before storming up the leaderboard to victory.
Potter scored the only event win of the day for LBSU, clearing 6-07 in the high jump to win that event. Broadhead was right behind him with a 6-06 to take second in the event and make it a 1-2 finish for the Beach. Broadhead was also second in the long jump, matching his PR with a leap of 21-10.25. Alvarado also PR’d in that event with a mark of 21-00.75. Also in the field events, Hicks was the runner-up in the shot put, recording a best mark of 38-09.75. Alvarado had a lifetime best heave of 37-06 and Broadhead had a PR of 36-05.
On the track, LBSU had three competitors PR in the 100-meter dash, led by Broadhead’s 11.28 for a third-place finish. Hicks ran a personal best of 11.56 and Potter ran an 11.81 to establish his personal best. In the 400, Broadhead was able to set his PR in the final event of the day, finishing in a time of 52.02 to take sixth in the event.
The men’s decathlon resumes on Friday morning at 11 a.m., beginning with the 110-meter hurdles. Also on Friday’s schedule will be the men’s and women’s hammer throw, beginning at 2 p.m. and 4:30 p.m., respectively.
