The SF State women’s track and field squad returned from an outstanding team performance at the Chico State Distance Carnival and Twilight Meet April 11. The team placed fourth overall with a score of 84.50 points and had 11 Gators set new personal records in their events.
The meet kicked off with another record-breaking performance by senior team captain and long jumper Hilary King. After shattering SF State’s long jump school record with a mark of 5.79 meters at the Johnny Mathis Invitational March 21, King broke her own record and set the new school record with a mark of 5.83 meters at Chico State.
King is on track to excel and go beyond her potential at the NCAA Division II National Championships, according to head track and field coach Kendra Reimer, who said she couldn’t be happier with the squad’s performance at Chico State.
“She’s not fully rested and she still did that,” Reimer said. “All her hard work is coming through and coach (Marissa) Chew has been working with her. We’re hoping for more and we’re really looking forward for her hitting a good mark in Nationals.”
First year SF State distance runners Adriana Calva and Jackie Foley had notable accomplishments at the all-day Chico State event. Calva finished first in the 300-meter steeplechase and set a new personal time of 11:45.74, ranking her third in SF State history. Foley finished fourth overall and is now ranked sixth in SF State history with a time of 12:12.56.
The Gators’ success this weekend will only evolve as the season continues to unfold and with the California Collegiate Athletic Association Championships right around the corner there will be more success to come, coach Reimer said.
In the finals for the 100-meter hurdles event, break-out sophomore Laura Stokes finished second overall with a personal best time of 14.78. She said the best feeling of the day was knowing she pushed herself to tie her personal best time.
“It was my first week running four events,” Stokes said. “It’s a great feeling because you work so hard and you train for these moments. We’re doing amazing right now and everyone is peaking. We’re going to come into conference and smash it.”
Senior triple jumper Malikah Wilson crushed her competitors with a 11.25 meter jump to place second overall in the clash, and now ranks sixth in SF State history. With all the hard work put into practices and taking her coaches’ advice to heart, Wilson said it’s great to know her hard work throughout the season is starting to reflect in her performances.
“I think I did really well this weekend and I think it’s the best I’ve jumped in my career,” Wilson said. “Right when I got up to the sand I looked at the measuring tape and waited for what the official called out. I just jumped to the sky and I hugged coach Chew. It felt great to break my personal record.”
SF State has a rigorous week of competition ahead of them where the team will compete in four different meets within five days against teams such as Cal State Los Angeles and Cal State East Bay. The team has been preparing all season for the end of the year and the team’s hard work is starting to flourish on the track with record-breaking performances, coach Reimer said.
“We have a big weekend when we go down to SoCal and there’s going to be great competition,” Reimer said. “My main goal is to keep everyone healthy, get to the line healthy and be ready to compete. If we get some more big marks that’s great, but I’m really satisfied where we’re at and hopefully they carry that on to conference.”
