May 12, 2012

EUGENE, Ore. - Collin Jarvis won the 3000-meter steeplechase and Golden Bears finished 2-5-6 in the men's long jump to highlight Cal's first day of competition at the Pac-12 Championships Saturday at Hayward Field.

Jarvis prevailed in the steeple in a PR 8:48.05, which was two seconds ahead of runner-up Aric VanHalen from Colorado, who was timed in 8:50.09. As a result, Jarvis becomes the second Bear ever to claim the conference title in the steeple, following Steve Sodaro's initial victory at the 2010 meet held in Berkeley.

Jarvis' victory was a six-second improvement over his winning mark from the Big Meet last month and puts him in the No. 7 spot on Cal's all-time performer list. He becomes just the third Bear to run under 8:50 in the steeple over the last 25 seasons (but the third in the last five years).

"Collin's race was special, particularly coming on the heels of Steve Sodaro's win just two years ago," director of track & field Tony Sandoval said. "He's worked very hard to become a dynamic runner, and I think he's capable of running even faster. We'll see in a couple of weeks at NCAA regionals."

In the men's long jump, Hammed Suleman took second with a wind-aided effort of 25-5.50. A sophomore who redshirted last year, Suleman captured third in the event as a freshman in 2010. On Saturday, he fell just four inches shy of the conference crown, trailing Washington State's Stephan Scott-Ellis' distance of 25-9.25. In addition to his wind-aided mark, Suleman posted a top legal jump of 25-4.00 on his opening attempt.

Freshman Jonte Grant set a lifetime best in finishing fifth at 25-0.75, nine inches further than his mark two weeks ago at the Brutus Hamilton Invitational. Teammate Chase Wheeler placed sixth with a wind-aided 25-0.50, his furthest under any conditions. Wheeler did produce a legal PR of 25-0.00 in the third round.

In the men's high jump, three Bears cleared 6-11, but Cal only got one point from redshirt-freshman Harrison Steed, who topped out at 7-0.25 for eighth place in a close competition that featured a winning mark of 7-2.50. Nick Ridge (10th) and Brian Carmichael (11th) both posted heights of 6-11.00.

Freshman Sullivan Parker added a point in the men's shot put by placing eighth (50-6.00).

On the women's side, Linda Oseso extended her PR in the women's hammer, taking sixth place with a best of 193-11 that kept her third on Cal's all-time performer list. Her final four throws were all over 192 feet, with her top effort coming on her fifth attempt.

Senior Taylor Bryson scored for the Bears in the women's 3000-meter steeplechase when she took seventh in 10:24.64.

Charnell Price qualified for finals in both the 100 and 200 meters. She ran a wind-aided 11.60 for the fifth-fastest time of the day in the 100, then came back to blaze to a PR 23.74 for the No. 7 time of the day in the 200. The time also places her seventh on the school's all-time performer chart.

Angelica Weaver reached the women's 400-meter hurdles final with her prelim time of 58.37, the second-best clocking of her career behind a PR 58.37 from the Brutus Hamilton meet. Alima Kamara also advanced in the women's 400 meters after running 54.44.

In the team standings, Cal finds itself in sixth place in the men's race with 27 points, while the women are in 11th with five points.

The championships continue on Sunday with finals in all remaining events, starting with the women's discus at 10:45 a.m. The first event on the track will be the men's 4x100-meter relay at 1 p.m. Fans can follow live results online here. The meet will be televised on a taped-delay basis by Fox Sports Net, including two airings locally on CSN Bay Area (May 19 at 8 p.m., May 23 at 6:30 p.m.).

Pac-12 Track & Field Championships
Hayward Field / Eugene, Ore.

Complete Results

California Results

Men

400m (prelims) - 16. Jonathan Berry-Smith 50.73

800m (prelims) - 14. Colin Holtson 1:53.00; 18. Sebastian Sam 1:55.29

1500m (prelims) - 15. Matt Carpowich 3:53.10

10,000m (final) - 10. Matt Miller 30:23.18

110m hurdles (prelims) - Chad Jones DNS

400m hurdles (prelims) - 13. Ryan Holmes 54.78

3000m steeplechase (final) - 1. Collin Jarvis 8:48.05; 17. Simon Schmidt 9:25.30

4x100m relay (prelims) - Dash Oliver, Jonte Grant DNF

High Jump (final) - 8. Harrison Steed 7-0.25 (2.14m); 10. Nick Ridge 6-11.00 (2.11m); 11. Brian Carmichael 6-11.00 (2.11m)

Pole Vault (final) - 14. Evan Barr 15-4.50 (4.69m)

Long Jump (final) - 2. Hammed Suleman 25-5.50w (7.76m); 5. Jonte Grant 25-0.75 (7.64m); 6. Chase Wheeler 25-0.50w (7.63m); 15. Taylor Kientzel 23-4.75w (7.13m)

Shot Put (final) - 8. Sullivan Parker 50-6.00 (15.39m)

Women
100m (prelims) - 5. Charnell Price 11.60wq; 16. Carisma Lyday 11.88

200m (prelims) - 7. Charnell Price 23.74q

400m (prelims) - 8. Alima Kamara 54.44q; 18. Gia Trevisan 55.86; 24. Taylor Lawson 57.44

800m (prelims) - 12. Arielle Stevenson 2:12.67

1500m (prelims) - 13. Sydney Gray 4:29.75; 16. Taylor Dutch 4:31.99

10,000m (final) - Elisa Karhu DNF; Laura O'Neill DNF

100m hurdles (prelims) - 9. Emani Truluck 13.65w

400m hurdles (prelims) - 8. Angelica Weaver 58.94q

3000m steeplechase (final) - 7. Taylor Bryson 10:24.64

Hammer (final) - 6. Linda Oseso 193-11 (59.12m)

Javelin (final) - 12. Katie Bruzzone 134-0 (40.85m); 14. Cheri Chan 132-3 (40.33m)