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 Like a lion hunting its prey, the Sacramento State men’s track & field team has been strategic in deciding when to strike. The Hornets have used a philosophy which redshirts athletes in an attempt to gear up for a Big Sky title every few years. One of those years could be 2014 as a talented mix of veterans and newcomers have the team poised to win another league crown.
“I believe that we have the talent to go after a indoors,” Sacramento State Director of Track & Field Kathleen Raske said. “We are loaded indoors and I fell that we have a better team than we did last year outdoors (which finished second in the Big Sky).”
Back for Sacramento State in 2014 are juniors Zach Coniglio and Paul Lyons and senior Nathanael Litwiller who have all been individual event Big Sky champions. Last year, Coniglio won the shot put at the indoor and outdoor meet while Lyons claimed the 110- and 400-hurdles at the outdoor championships.
The Hornets will have an abbreviated indoor season which features meets at Boise State, Air Force and Washington before the Big Sky Championships on Feb. 27-March 1 at Idaho State. The NCAA Championships will come March 14-15 in Albuquerque, N.M.
Sacramento State is scheduled to compete in seven regular season outdoor meets before travelling to Northern Arizona for the Big Sky Championships (May 14-17).
The NCAA will continue to use its postseason formula which was put in place in 2010. The first and second rounds will take place at two preliminary sites with those advancing (12 automatics in each event from both sites) competing at the NCAA Div. I Outdoor Championships in Eugene, Ore. The west prelim will be in Fayetteville, Ark.
Hornet Stadium will once again be showcased on a national level as it will host the USATF Championships from June 26-29. The event will be the first competition on the new track that is being installed in the stadium.
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 • Senior Evan Meehan (right) is hoping to continue the legacy of Hornet sprinters who have won Big Sky titles. Sacramento State has had four men win either the 60 or 100 over the last seven years comprised of Ronald Brookins, Raphael McFarlane, Jody Johnson and Andy White. Meehan scored for the team in 200 a year ago and is also the top returner in the 100.
“I’m excited to see where Evan’s at,” Raske said. “He’s matured into a leader and this is his time.”
• Junior Evan Crayton-Crogan will lead the team’s attack in the 400. Crayton-Crogan enters the season as the school record holder in the indoor 400 and is sixth outdoors. After a strong start to 2013, he was slowed by a hamstring issue which limited his competition.
“We are trying to do everything to keep him healthy,” Raske said. “He will likely only run the 400 and we expect him to compete better.”
• Also returning to compete in the sprints are junior Bryan Cuellar and sophomores Michael Turner and Osaretin Ogbeide.
• Cuellar has qualified for the Big Sky Championships in the 100 and 200 each of the last two seasons. He was joined at the meet by Turner who also advanced in the 100 and 200. Ogbeide placed seventh in the 200 at last year’s Big Sky indoor meet and moved into eighth place in school history with a time of 22.00.
• During the indoor season, the group of 400 runners will be boosted by Paul Lyons and Casey Wheeler. The pair, who will run the 400-hurdles, during the outdoor season, will also compete in the 4x400 relays.
• Sophomore Miguel Aguiar and Freshmen Adam Huhyn and Richard Cooper will add depth to the team in the 200 and 400. |
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 • For the second consecutive season, the overall success of the Sacramento State middle distance runners could rely on the health of Nathanael Litwiller. The senior was an honorable mention All-American in 2011 but has competed in just two outdoor meets since due to a lingering knee injury.
Despite the lack of action, Litwiller managed to place fifth at the Big Sky Championships last season in the 800. He also set the school record in the indoor 800 and mile and finished third at the Big Sky meet.
• Senior Cole Younger (right) also has a wealth of experience in the 800 and 1500 during his career. He finished fourth at the outdoor championships in the 800 as a sophomore and placed seventh last season. Younger has also qualified for the 1500 in each of his last two seasons. He enters the year ranked fourth in school history in the indoor 800 (1:53.19) and sixth outdoors (1:50.93).
“I feel that Cole will be able to build on his experience and have a great senior season,” Raske said.
• Like Litwiller and Younger, Zach Kaylor also has his name on the school’s top 10 list in the 800. Kaylor ran 1:53.40 in the indoor 800 in 2012 which places him seventh in Hornet history.
• Sophomore Darrell Jackson ran both the 800 and 1500 as a true freshman in 2013 and is expected to return in both events.
• Senior Reesey Byers will drop down to run the 1500 and mile during the year. Byers ranks third in the school history in the mile and is sixth in the 1500.
• New to the group is are JC transfer Davis Loustalot and freshman Blake Maule. |
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 • The Hornets return the core of its distance runners in Byers and junior Domenic D’Acquisto. The group will have an added punch with senior Daniel Mitchell available for the indoor season.
• Byers (right) placed fifth in the 5K at the Big Sky Outdoor Championships and also set the school record with a time of 13:58.14 during the course of 2013. He was eighth in the 3K at the Big Sky indoor meet and staked his name to the indoor 3K record as well.
• D’Acquisto made an immediate impact during his first season with the Hornets as he cracked the all-time top 10 at Sacramento State in the mile and steeplechase. He placed sixth at the Big Sky Championships in the steeple and also qualified in the 1500.
• Mitchell expired his outdoor eligibility last spring but still has one season left indoors. The fifth-year senior will give the team a boost in the 3K and 5K. Last year, Mitchell placed seventh in the 10K at the Big Sky Championships.
• Sophomore Drew Azevedo and junior college transfer Jacob Huston will also see action. Huston most recently competed at American River JC where he helped lead the team to the state cross country title. |
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 • Last season, Paul Lyons (right) joined a short list of Big Sky athletes who won the 110-hurdles and 400-hurdles at the same outdoor championships. The junior went on to compete at the NCAA West Preliminary in both events and advanced to the second round in the 110-hurdles.
During the course of the year, Lyons dominated the event, winning five times. He twice ran 14.09, including at the NCAA West Preliminary, and also had a wind-aided mark of 14.04.
In the 400-hurdles, he ran 51.36 to win the Big Sky Championship — a time which placed him third in school history.
Lyons also had success during the indoor season where he posted the second fastest 60-hurdle time in Hornet history and the third fastest 55-hurdle time. However, he was forced to settle for a seventh place finish at the league championship.
“PJ is so talented and showed that by winning both events last year,” Raske said. “He will be better indoors than he was last year and just needs to stay focused.”
• Sophomore Casey Wheeler joined Lyons in both the 110-hurdles and 400-hurdles at last season’s outdoor championships. As a true freshman, Wheeler scored for the team in the 110H after placing seventh. He also put his name on the school’s all-time list by running 53.11 in the 400-hurdles to rank 10th.
“Casey is a year older, wiser and more experienced,” Raske said. “He was a Junior All-American last year and had a great summer training.”
• Redshirt freshman Trever Sitch will make his debut in both events this spring and could also compete in the 400 during the indoor season.
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 • Sacramento State returns a wealth of experience in each of the jumps. The team has dominated the events as it has claimed 26 individual Big Sky titles at the indoor and outdoor championships since 2000.
• In the pole vault, the Hornets will feature senior Brett Thompson (right), junior Kyle Fraley and sophomore Steven Pust. Fraley and Thompson placed fourth and sixth, respectively, last season at the Big Sky indoor meet and both also qualified for the outdoor championships. Each own an indoor PR of 15-09.00 and Thompson has cleared 15-11.00 outdoors.
Pust transferred from UC Davis and will return to solely compete in the pole vault after being used as a decathlete by the Aggies. As a senior in high school, he finished fourth at the California state meet in the event.
• Londeen McCovery and Billy Eng will be the primary competitors in the high jump and both will also compete in horizontal jumps. McCovery placed fourth last season at the Big Sky Outdoor Championships in the triple jump. He also cleared 6-08.00 in the high jump.
• Eng competed in the high jump and long jump a year ago. He returned to action last spring after missing nearly 12 months due to a broken leg.
• Seniors Oleg Ryabokorovka and Julian Young will likely be the top threats in the long and triple jumps. Ryabokorovka, who only has indoor eligibility remaining, was second in the long jump and third in the triple jump at the 2013 Big Sky Outdoor Championships while setting PRs in both events at the meet. During the indoor season, he was second in the long jump and fourth in the triple.
“Oleg is the fittest and strongest he’s ever been,” Raske explained. “He’s very passionate knowing that this is his last opportunity at this level.”
• Young joined the team just prior to the start of last season but made a smooth adjustment. He primarily competed in the long and triple jumps.
• Freshmen Gathunga Ndirangu, Max Jette and Cory Barger could also compete. |
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 • With a pair of NCAA West Preliminary qualifiers returning, Sacramento State features one of the deepest group of throwers in the Big Sky.
• The group is highlighted by junior Zach Coniglio (right) who was the Big Sky champion in the shot put both indoors and outdoors. The Martinez, Calif., native recorded the second longest shot put in school history in both venues and had marks of at least 56-feet in seven of his eight outdoor meets. Coniglio’s success was not limited to the shot put as he also finished fourth in the discus and sixth in the hammer at the Big Sky outdoor meet and was third in the weight throw in the indoor meet.
• Senior Alberto Millan also qualified for the NCAA West Preliminary in the shot put. During the year, Millan jumped into third place on the school’s all-time outdoor list with a put of 56-07.50. At the Big Sky Indoor Championships, he scored for the team by placing seventh in the weight throw with a PR of 60-05.25 which ranks fifth in Hornet history.
• Senior James January competed at the Big Sky Championships in the shot put, discus and hammer during his first season with the team. He placed sixth in the shot put and also moved into the school’s top 10 in the shot put and discus. During the indoor season, he was sixth in the weight throw after recording a weight throw of 60-07.75 which ranks him fourth in school history.
• Richard Casas will also compete in the shot put, discus, hammer and weight throw. Last season, he moved into 10th place with an indoor shot put of 50-07.25.
• In the discus, junior James Kinloch is returning after a strong 2013 in which he qualified for the NCAA West Preliminary and placed third at the Big Sky Championships. Kinloch uncorked a throw of 173-02 at the Cal-Nevada Championships which is the third longest in school history. He also qualified for the Big Sky Championships in the hammer.
• Matt Sepulveda competed in the shot put, discus, hammer and weight throw as a true freshman and will add depth in each event in 2014.
• The biggest hole the team will have to fill will be in the javelin where All-American Jesse Elvrom and all-Big Sky honoree Blair Wallingford both graduated. The two leading candidates to replace the pair are freshman Shelton Todd and JC transfer Garrett Jacobs. |
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• With the graduation of former Big Sky champion Sam Schur, Sacramento State enters 2014 without any collegiate experience in the decathlon.
• Freshman Max Jette is being groomed to follow Schur’s success in the event. Jette was a prolific high jumper at Clackamas High School in Oregon where he earned second team all-state honors. He also was an all-league selection in the pole vault, 110-hurdles and discus. |
