March 14, 2009

DAVIS, Calif. - Chid Onyewuenyi won the hammer throw and shot put to help highlight six wins by the UC Davis women's track and field team at Saturday's Aggie Open at Woody Wilson Track, while the men posted three first-place finishes to go with a strong showing by Thomas Phillips in the 400-meters and a regional-qualifying mark by triple-jumper Ray Green.

Additionally, Caitlin Fitzgerald and Samantha Kearney made their marks on the program's all-time steeplechase list, Stephanie Eckels did the same in the triple jump and Brittany Bickel moved into the career list in the javelin.

Phillips, whose time of 52.30 seconds last week in the 400 hurdles vaulted him into a tie for third all-time at UC Davis, moved into the third position in the open 400 on Saturday, finishing in third place in 47.80. Ray Green took top honors in the triple jump at 49-5.75 which would've moved him to No. 7 all-time but had a wind of 2.7. It was still good enough to earn him a spot at the NCAA Div. I Regional Championships for the second straight year.

The meet was the first home competition this season for the Aggies who will now enter into final exams before returning to competition.

"The kids love being home, They respond so much to being home," men's coach Jon Vochatzer said. "We had a good crowd today. That was a nice thing to have. I think right now the whole intent was to work this meet and be sure everyone was in focus."

The Aggie women picked up a half-dozen wins in front of the home crowd, two of them from Onyewuenyi who was just shy of her personal-best in the hammer throw, claiming first-place with a mark of 167-feet and leading a 1-2 UC Davis finish. Ashley Hearn was second in 164-03, just off her PR of 167-10 set last week.

Onyewuenyi also won the shot put with a winning effort of 43-6. Other wins for UC Davis came from Anikia Jackson in the long jump (17-08.25), Brittany Bickel in the javelin (128-6), Stephanie Eckels in the triple jump (39-3.75) and the 4x400 relay team (3:58.12). Bickel is now No. 10 on the Aggies' career list in the javelin.

Eckels led a strong UC Davis showing in the triple jump with her mark which improved her No. 6 position on the program's all-time list. Ofunne Okwudiafor finished second at 39-2.25, a distance that would've placed her No. 10 on the list had it not had a wind of 2.1, barely over the allowable limit for record purposes. Johanne Boula was fourth (37-8.50) while Kayla Green (35-10) was fifth.

Fitzgerald paced a strong Aggie showing in the steeplechase, crossing second in 11:05.40. She was followed by Alison Stoakley in fourth (11:15.39) and Kearney (11:52.59) in seventh. Fitzgerald's time jumped her to No. 3 all-time at UC Davis while Kearney debuted on the list at No. 9. Stoakley's time was less than a second of her personal-best of 11:14.46 which ranks her fourth.

Phillips continued to excel in the early-season for the Aggie men with his impressive performance in the 400. Running the event for the first time at UC Davis, he clocked a time that puts him third all-time at UC Davis, just behind Shawn Rogers (47.42, 1982) and Mike Barber (47.64, 1982).

UC Davis picked up three wins on the men's side during Saturday's meet. Polly Gnepa won the 110 high hurdles in 14.39, Jonathan Sees was impressive while winning the 1,500 in 3:53.78.

Both Aggie teams posted several top-five finishes during their home debut.

"For us, getting ready to go into finals, we needed to get a good meet under our belt," women's coach Deanne Vochatzer said.

UC Davis will return to action on Saturday at a meet at Sacramento State.