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 (July
31, 2003) - Former University of Missouri, Kansas City and
California Baptist University Head Track and Field Coach Irv
Ray has been hired as the track and field and cross country
coach at the University of California, Riverside, Director
of Athletics Stan Morrison announcedThursday.
“Irv Ray brings a level of passion, organization and
expertise to UCR that will be of great benefit to all of our
cross country and track and field student-athletes as we build
our teams to effectively compete at the Big West, regional
and NCAA levels,” Morrison said. “His contacts
in the Inland Empire and surrounding Southern California areas
are solid, and many community college and high school coaches
will be excited to have him back in this area. The search
committee saw that Coach Ray lives his sport 24 hours a day,
and we are delighted to add him to our UCR team.”
Ray, a 21-year veteran of the coaching ranks, will oversee
the Highlanders’ cross country and indoor and outdoor
track and field teams. He replaces Chris Rinne, whose contract
was not renewed.
“I am really looking forward to being back in Riverside,”
Ray said. “We had some good success at Cal Baptist,
and I am looking forward to that success continuing at UCR.
I think that there are a lot of things in place to build outstanding
track and field and cross country programs.”
“I feel really good about the level of support and commitment
of the cross country and track and field programs from the
Athletics Department and from Stan himself. It is one of the
reasons I took the job, and why I think that our programs
will be successful in the future,” Ray added.
Ray had good success in his one year at UMKC. In the fall
he coached the school’s first ever individual conference
champion in cross country. In outdoor track his women’s
team finished fourth, and men’s team sixth in the Mid
Continent conference. He had three student-athletes compete
at the NCAA track and field regional, and had a fourth named
Verizon/CoSida Academic All American First Team.
Ray was head track and field and cross country coach for CBU
from 1997 through 2002, when the school dropped the program.
He guided CBU to national prominence at the NAIA level after
taking over a fledgling program entering just its second year
of existence. His 1999 men's team captured the school's first-ever
national championship by winning the NAIA indoor track and
field title. For his efforts, Ray was named NAIA Men’s
Indoor Track and Field Coach-of-the-Year, and one of his athletes
was honored as the male athlete-of-the-meet.
Eleven of Ray's student-athletes
earned individual national champion honors, with four establishing
NAIA indoor and outdoor track and field records. His teams
placed in the top four at NAIA national championship meets
five times. Ray’s cross country teams also were amongst
the NAIA's elite, earning two top four national finishes.
He was named the Golden State Athletic Conference track and
field coach-of-the-year in 2001.
Prior to joining California Baptist, Ray was head cross country
and assistant track and field coach at Azusa Pacific University
from 1988-96. His 1994 cross country team finished in the
top four at the NAIA national championships. He has coached
10 individual all-Americans. In all, Ray's cross country teams
never finished out of the top 10 at the NAIA national meet.
Ray served as head cross country and track and field coach
at Covina High School from 1985-88, guiding his teams to four
California Interscholastic Federation league championships
in track and another in cross country. He tutored 26 all-conference
student-athletes.
In addition to his collegiate and prep experience, Ray is
well-respected at the highest level of track and field. He
was named to the Olympic Development Middle and Long Distance
Committee as the chair of the men's national 1,500 meter team
in 1999. Ray serves as a USA Track and Field and Olympic Development
Clinic middle distance specialist.
He has coached several elite American middle distance athletes,
including current men's American mile record-holder Steve
Scott; Michele Buccichio, past American age group record-holder
at several distances; 1992 Olympic bronze medalist Dave Johnson;
and Jason Pyrah, a member of the 1996 Olympic and 1997 and
1998 World Championship teams. He has coached several other
athletes who qualified for the United States championships
and represented the USA on Olympic and World Championship
teams as well as international Olympic teams.
Ray is an accomplished author, having written several articles
for track and cross country periodicals. He collaborated with
Australian Olympic track and field coach Tony Benson on a
middle and long distance training manual that has been accepted
for Level Two coaching by the International Amateur Athletics
Federation. That manual evolved into a book entitled "Run
With The Best," a coach's guide for middle and long distance
runners which was a best seller for Track and Field News.
He has served as a technical consultant on two other books.
He also spent 20 years in consumer marketing and sales, specializing
in grocery consumer products as a vice president for Southern
California Marketing Companies.
Ray earned a bachelor of arts degree in physical education
from Azusa Pacific, making the dean's list in his last four
semesters. He also holds a master of arts degree in education,
graduating with honors, from Azusa Pacific.
Ray and his wife, Carol, have two sons, Chris and Ryan.
(May 14, 2003) - Tynisha
Smallwood of Mt. Whitney High School in Visalia has signed
a National Letter of Intent with UC Riverside, Head Coach
Chris Rinne announced Wednesday.
Smallwood is the Central
Section leader in the triple jump at 38'6 1/2" despite
the fact that this is just the first year she has done the
event. She is an accomplished sprinter as well having competed
in last years California State Meet in the 200 meters.
"Tynisha will be an
imediate impact athlete for us and in the Big West Conference,"
Rinne said. "she adds talent and depth to our already
strong women's sprint and jump corps."
(Jan. 24, 2004) - The UC
Riverside men’s and women’s indoor track and field
teams each were unable to grab a win against Northern Arizona
and Southern Utah in a tri-meet at NAU Saturday, going a combined
0-4 on the day.
The Highlander men came close in a 66-51 loss to NAU and then
fell, 81-58, to SUU. The women’s team did not fare any
better, falling, 77-53, to NAU and, 88.5-44.5, against SUU.
The men’s team was able to win four individual events,
while the women were grabbed two individual events.
Dane Endly won the men’s the 60-meter and 200-meter
dash. Endly posted times of 6.97 and 22.32 respectively. Last
year’s NCAA West Regional high jump champion, Jeff Midgett,
won the high jump clearing 6’8” and Staton Gibson
took the triple jump hitting 47-8 1/2.
Evangelena Dixon won the women’s shot put with a distance
of 46-5 1/2 and Syreeta Waller took the women’s weight
throw with a distance of 58-9 1/2.
UCR will back in action next at the Husky Invitational hosted
by Washington on January 31.
CLICK
HERE FOR COMPLETE MEET RESULTS
(Jan. 31, 2004) - The UC
Riverside men's and women's indoor track and field teams competed
at the UW Invitational Friday and Saturday, going up against
some of the top teams from the West Coast, including several
from the Pac-10.
UCR had several top-10 finishes,
tops among them Dane Endley's third place finish in the men's
60 in 6.97 and his fourth place effort in the men's 200 in
22.18. Joshua Gibson won the regular high jump with a leap
of 6 '6.75" after finishing seventh in the elite high
jump at 6' 8.75". Jeff Midgett placed sixth in the elite
high jump at 6' 10.75".
Other top-10 performances
on the men's side were: Jason Bolden-Anderson 7th in the 60
hurdles in 8.52, and Craig Wood's ninth in the weight throw
at 49' 5", and Israel Gonzales' 10th place finish in
the 5,000 in 15:27.61.
On the women's side, Syreeta
Waller placed fourth in the weight throw with a 57'8.25"
effort and was eighth in the shot put at 42'8". Evangela
Dixon was sixth in the shot put at 45' 4.25" and seventh
in the weight throw at 53' 5.5". Zikarra Beverly was
eighth in the 60 in 7.88, Angela Lindsey 9th in the women's
200 in 26:07. Aqueelah Tillman was 10th in the 400 in 58:56,
Melissa Garza fifth in the 5,000 in 18:58.70 and Shannon Tolliver
7th in the high jump with a 5' 1" effort.
CLICK
HERE FOR COMPLETE MEET RESULTS
(Feb. 14, 2004) - Jeff Midgett's
leap of 6'11" was good enough for a first place finish
at the Holiday Inn Invitational in Nampa, Idaho.
Top-five finishers were;
Dane Endly finished fifth in the 200 in 21.97 and Brandon
Jacobs was fifth in the 400 in 49.91. The men's 4x400 relay
team was third in 3:19.69. Syreeta Waller was fifth in the
shotput with a throw of 45'2.50" and third in the weight
throw at 59'11".
(Mar. 6, 2004) -Zikarra
Beverly was the top individual for the Highlanders winning
the 100 meter dash, the long jump and participating on the
winning 4x100 meter relay as UC Riverside men's and women's
track teams each finished fifth at the All-Cal Challenge Cup
Track & Field Meet on Saturday.
Beverly posted the top time
of 11.98 seconds in the 100-meter dash and took the long jump
with a distance of 5.58 meters. UCR's women's 4x100 meter
really squad posted the top time of 47.13.
Staton Gibson was the only
male to win an event, taking the long jump with a distance
of 6.78 meters.
COMPLETE
MEN'S RESULTS
COMPLETE
WOMEN"S RESULTS
(Mar. 15, 2004) -UC Riverside
junior Zikarra Beverly (San Diego, Calif.) was named Big West
Female Track Athlete of the Week. The Highlander sprinter
placed first in the 100-meter race in the All-Cal Cup and
anchored the 4x100-meter relay that finished in first. Her
time of 11.98 in the 100-m race broke UC Riverside's all-time
record.
(Mar. 20, 2004) - With finals
out of the way, the UC Riverside track and field team sent
about half of their team to the Northridge Invitational at
Royal High School Saturday. The meet, which did not keep team
scores, was a small one that featured several local junior
and community college squads, but also drew the University
of Wisconsin and Idaho State in addition to UCR and host Northridge.
Jon Moore ran a 56.74, good
for sixth in the 400 hurdles. The 4x100 relay team was sixth
in 43.14, Josh Gibson won the "B" long jump with
a 21'10" effort and was third in the men's high jump
at 6'8". Tom Caballero was fourth in the shot at 42'2"
On the women's side, Zikarra
Beverly was third in the 100 at 12.19 and third in the long
jump a 18' 3 1/4" and Syreeta Waller was fifth in the
hammer at 175'9" and third in the discus at 164'4".
Other top finishers included: Angela Lindsey was second in
the 200 at 24.88, Kristen Thompson was fourth in the javelin
at 130'4", Teri Tiongsen was fifth in the 200 in 25.35,
Amy Walton third in the triple jump at 37' 6" and the
women's 4x100 relay team was second in 46.93.
(Mar. 27, 2004) - The UC
Riverside Highlanders traveled to Palo Alto to take on some
of the best collegiate and amateur track and field athletes
at the 2004 Stanford Invitational.
Top finishers for UCR were:
Staton Gibson finished fifth in the triple jump with a 48'
0.5" effort. Anglea Lindsey was eighth in the 200 in
25.60. Amy Walton was sixth in the triple jump at 37'11.25"
and 24th in the long jump at 16'6".
Other top finishes for UCR
included, Dane Endly's 17th place finish in the 100 at 11:01
and 11th place finish in the 200 at 22.12, and Jeff Midgett
finished in 16th place in the high jump with a 2.05 effort.
For the women, Zikarra Beverly
was 12th in the 100 at 12.18 and 19th in the long jump at
17'0.5". Kristin Thompson was 12th in the discus at 146'04
and 34th in the javelin at 112'7".
For complete results, please
click
here.
(Apr.
3, 2004) - Dustin Russell and Dane Endly won their preliminary
heats in day two of the Cal-Nevada Championships at Cal Poly
Saturday.
Russell won the second heat
of the men's 800-meter dash with a time of 1:54.27, the fourth-best
time of the event. He will compete in the event final at 3:05
p.m. on Sunday.
Endly posted the third-best
time of the day in the 200-meter dash, with a time of 21.67
in the first heat. He will compete in the finals at 3:35 p.m.
on Sunday. Endly also qualified for the men's 100-meter dash
with a time of 10.78.
Others to qualify in their
events on Saturday was Zikarra Beverly posting an 11.92 in
the women's 100-meter dash and Angela Lindsay in the women's
200-meter dash with a time of 24.84.
Josh Gibson posted the only
team points for UCR, nabbing 1.5 for a tie for fourth place
in the men's high jump, hitting 6-07.50.
For complete results, please
click here.
(Apr.
4, 2004) - The UC Riverside women finished 10th overall while
the men finished 15th at the Cal-Nevada Championships held
at Cal Poly wrapping up Sunday afternoon.
The Highlander women finished
with 24 points ahead of Big West rivals Cal State Fullerton,
UC Santa Barbara and UC Irvine in the 20-team field. The men
finished with 17.5 points in the 23-team field.
Zikarra Beverly finished
seventh in the 100-meter dash at 12.09 and helped the women
to a fourth-place finish in the 4x100-meter relay with a time
of 47.19. Amy Walton took fifth place in the triple jump with
a distance of 39-04.00. Syreeta Walker was fourth in the discus
with a final distance of 169-09
On
the men's side, Dustin Russell finished ninth in the 800-meter
run, finishing an even 2:00, just under eight seconds off
the lead. Dane Endly finished third in the 200-meter dash
with a time of 21.54 and also finished sixth in the 100-meter
with a time of 10.84.
The Highlanders host Cal
Poly-Pomona, Claremont and UC San Diego in a four-way meet
on April 10 at the UCR Track.
For complete results, please
click here.
(Apr.
7, 2004) - The UC Riverside hosts Cal Poly-Pomona, Claremont,
Southern Utah and UC San Diego Saturday at the UCR Track.
Click
here for start times, participants and seedings.
(Apr.
10, 2004) - The UC San Diego women's track and field team
and the Cal Poly men's track and field team were victorious
at the UCR Five-Way Meet at the UCR Track Stadium Saturday.
The meet consisted of host
UC Riverside, Cal Poly-Pomona, Claremont,
Southern Utah and UC San Diego. (Click
for standings)
UCSD won by just one point
over Southern Utah, 234 to 233. On the men's side, the Broncos
posted a 17-point win over Southern Utah, 219-202. UC Riverside
finished fourth in the women's contest at 170 and fifth on
the men's side with 159.
The afternoon's events were
capped off by a thrilling finish in the men's 4x400, as UC
Riverside anchor leg runner Jeff Midgett came from behind
to cap off a 3:18.90 effort for the Highlanders, defeating
UCSD by .72 seconds.
The Highlanders recorded
five wins on the women's side. Zikarra Beverly had an easy
time in the 100 with a 12.04 effort, and Angela Lindsey cruised
home in the 200 in 24.65. Kristen Thompson won the discus
at 156' 3" and Syreeta Waller won the hammer 184' 6".
The women's 4x100 relay team won in 46.58.
For the men, freshman Dane
Endly won the 100 in 10.91 and the 200 in 21.92, and junior
Midgett won the high jump at 6' 8.75".
Thrower Craig Wood set a
new school record in the hammer with a throw of 167' 7",
besting the previous mark of 166' 10" set by Matt Gomez
in 2002. Wood finished third overall in the event.
Final
Men's Standings
Cal Poly Pomona - 219
Southern Utah - 202
UCSD - 200
Claremont-M-S - 160
UC Riverside - 159
Final Women's Standings
UCSD - 234
Southern Utah - 233
Claremont-M-S - 172
UC Riverside - 170
Cal Poly Pomona - 84
Complete results are available
on the Flashwest
web site.
(Apr.
16, 2004) - With the eyes of the Southern California track
world focused on Mt. SAC this weekend, the Highlanders opened
the weekend by competing at the Pomona-Pitzer Invitational
Meet at Strehle Track in Claremont. The event is traditionally
held the day before the collegiate portion of the Mt. SAC
meet.
The Highlanders went up
against collegiate and club teams from across North America,
including Hawaii, the University of British Columbia, Simon
Frasier, and Kansas State.
Highlights for UCR included
Angie Lindsey's fourth place finsh in the 200 in 24.60, Mary
Timm's eighth place finish in the 100 hurdles in 14.65, Kelsey
Wright's sixth place finish in the steeplechase in 11:52.38,
Amy Walton's second place finish in the triple jump with a
38' 6.75" effort, Kristin Thompson's 128' 4" effort
in the javelin, Joshua Gibson's third place finish in the
high jump at 6' 7" and fourth place finish in the long
jump at 22' 2.25"
Complete results are available
here.
(Apr.
17, 2004) - Despite poor weather, including intermittent rain,
a handful of UC Riverside Highlanders competed at the Mt.
San Antonio College Relays in Walnut Saturday.
With some events being postponed
or cancelled due to the weather, there were limited opportunities
for the Highlanders to compete. Senior Syreeta Waller was
second in hammer throw at 189-11 and sixth in the discus at
149-6. Redshirting senior Evangela Dixon, competing unattached,
threw 150-9 in the discus, finishing fifth.
Amy Walton placed ninth
in the triple jump at 37' 9.5" and UCR's men's 4x100
relay team was 11th in 43.63. Several UCR athletes scratched
due to the inclement weather.
Complete results are available
on the Flashwest
web site.
(Apr.
24, 2004) - The UC Riverside Highlanders tookon athletes from
around the world at the UC San Diego Invitational Track Meet
in San Diego Friday.
The
Highlanders faced college athletes from throughout the country,
and elite athletes from the Netherlands, Solvenia, Great Britain
and Kuwait.
Highlights for the Highlanders
included Zikarra Beverly third place finish in the 100 in
11.99, Adriana Alvarado's third place finish in the 3,000
in 10:35.87, and Kurt Hurley's fourth in the 110 hurdles in
15.13.
Complete results are available
here.
(Apr.
30, 2004) - UC Riverside junior Angela Lindsey (Moreno Valley,
Calif.) was named Big West Female Track Athlete of the Week.
The Highlander sprinter established a new school record with
a 24.32 time in the 200 meter race at the Triton Invitational.
Lindsey also set a career high in the 100 meter race with
a 12.09 mark. Her time in the 200 meter race is third fastest
in the Big West thus far while her 100 meter time ranks seventh.
(May
2, 2004) - The UC Riverside Highlanders competed at the Steve
Scott Invitational at UC Irvine on Sunday as they prepare
for the Big West Championships in two weeks in Irvine.
Highlights on the women's
side included Angela Lindsey, coming off of Big West Athlete
of the Week honors, placed third in the 200 in 23.30, Syreeta
Waller was third in the hammer at 187'1", the 4x100 relay
team was third in 46.72, Zikarra Beverly was sixth in the
long jump at 18'1.75", Mary Timm was seventh in the 100
hurdles in 14.63, Kristen Thompson was eighth in the javelin
at 131'1" and Amy Walton was ninth in the triple jump
at 37'1". For the men, Staton Gibson was fourth in the
triple jump at 48' 3.25", Josh Gibson posted a tenth
place finish in the high jump at 6' 4.75", and Craig
Wood was 10th in the discus at 150' 2".
Men's
Complete Results
Women's
Complete Results
(May 9, 2004) - A handful
of Highlanders competed at the Occidental Invitational Saturday
hoping to improve their marks in preparation for the upcoming
Big West Championships in Irvine next weekend and the subsequent
NCAA West Regionals.
Highlights included a pair
of second place finishes and season bests for the Highlandes.
Staton Gibson leaped 48 feet, 6 inches in the triple jump
for second place and Mary Timm finished the 100 hurdles in
14.52 for a second-place.
Click
here for complete results.
(May 15, 2004) -The UC Riverside
women's track and field team finished seventh and the men
finished ninth at the 2004 Big West Championship held at UC
Irvine this weekend.
The women finished with
35.00 points and the men had 12.50.
The women's 4x100 meter
relay team, Angela Lindsay and Zikarra Beverly earned All-Big
West honors by finishing third in the respective events.
Senior Syreeta Waller finished
third in the hammer on the opening day of the Big West Championships
in Irvine. Waller's 187'2" effort was about 21 inches
short of the school record, and was fifth in the discus at
156' 4". In other events completed, Kelsey Wright finished
12th in steeplechase in a school record time of 11:31.33.
Zikarra Beverly was eighth in the long jump at 18' 5.75".
On the men's side, Craig Wood finished eighth in discus at
159'1 and Josh Gibson was seventh in the high jump at 6' 4.75".
The women's relay team of
Terri Tiongson, Lindsey, Mary Timm and Beverly, finished third
with a season-best time of 46.84. Lindsay also finished second
in the 200 meter dash with a time of 24.254 and Beverly was
third in the 100 meters with a time of 11.97. Lindsey's time
was a new school record, while Beverly's qualifying time of
11.88 was also a school mark.
Highlights for UCR included
Erika Roshell's season best 26.29 in the 200, Adriana Alvarado's
career best 4L36.89 in the 1,500, Melissa Garza's career best
40:11.67 in the 10,000, Timm's season best of 14.41 in the
100 hurdles, Guillaume Mok's season best 48.58 in the 400,
Kurt Hurley's season best 54.37 in the 400 hurdles, Craig
Wood's career best of 159' in the discus and Tom Caballero's
career best of 143' in the discus.
Head Coach Irv Ray was impressed
with the performance of his young athletes. "We redshirted
so many athletes this year, but still had some nice outcomes.
We had four frosh men reach the finals, which has never happened
before in school history."
Complete results are available
on the Big
West web site.
(May 27, 2004) - Senior
thrower Syreeta Waller will throw the hammer and the discus
at the NCAA Western Track and Field Regional at Cal State
Northridge Friday.
Waller is the only Highlander
to compete at the meet this season.
Her competition day will
begin at 8:00 AM with the hammer throw final. At 4:00 PM she
will compete in the discus final.
This season, Waller has
a top mark of 166' 8" in the discus and a career best
mark of 189' 11" in the hammer. Her career best mark
in the discus is 167'3", set in 2003. In the 2003 West
Regional at Stanford, Waller finished 16th in the hammer at
171'4" and 13th in the discus at 157'6".
Complete results are available
on the CSUN
web site.
(June 3, 2004) - UC Riverside
Head Cross Country and Track and Field Coach Irv Ray announced
that four student-athletes, three women and one man, had committed
to join the Highlander program Wednesday.
The Highlanders have signed
hurdler Hassan Rahmaan (Serra HS, Gardena, CA), sprinter Whitney
Leachman (Elsie Allen HS, Santa Rosa, CA), and sprinter Jonelle
Smiley (Serra HS, San Diego, CA) to National Letters of Intent.
In addition, Hesperia native and Sultana HS graduate Shanon
Meyer has announced her intention to transfer from San Diego
State University.
Meyer is a four-time multi-even
junior nationals qualifier who had a strong season at SDSU.
In her freshman campaign in 2003 she competed in 12 different
events, including the 400 hurdles, long jump, triple jump,
pole vault, and javelin as well as the heptathlon. In 2003
she was the USA Junior National Champion in the heptathlon,
finished fourth in the Pan Am Junior Championships in the
heptathlon and 15th in the NCAA meet. She was named the Mountain
West Conference indoor and outdoor Freshman of the Year in
2003.
Smiley is one of the top
sprinters in the San Diego section, with a time of 12.19 in
the 100 and 25.31 in the 200. Ray says she will be “a
major player for the women’s sprint corps and relay
teams.”
Leachman, who will be competing
in the 200 at the California State Meet, will join Smiley
on the sprint squads. Her times of 12.17 in the 100 and 25.15
in the 200 make her one of the top sprinters in the North
Coast Section. “The addition of Whitney will make an
already strong women’s sprint corps that much better
as well as challenging the other sprinters for a spot on both
relays,” Ray said.
Rahmaan is a talented hurdler
who will also be competing at the state meet. He has posted
a time of 14.47 in the 110 hurdles and 38.04 in the 300 IH.
“Hassan will be a major impact hurdler in the seasons
to come and is an immediate potential scorer at the Big West
Championship Meet next season,” Ray said.
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