Long Beach State men's track and field wins fourth straight Big West title

LONG BEACH >> After two long days of the Big West Track & Field championships at Long Beach State’s sparkling new Jack Rose Stadium, it was 8-year-old Callie Sythe who had the last word: “Daddy smells like champagne.”

Indeed, longtime Long Beach State head coach Andy Sythe was drenched in champagne, one of several celebratory dousings after his 49ers men’s team won its fourth straight conference championship, dominating what was supposed to be a close race and putting up 176 points, 51 more than second-place UC Santa Barbara.

“This team surprised me, and that doesn’t happen easily,” said Sythe. “Their performances were overwhelming. I’ll savor this one as much as any we’ve had.”

The 49ers weren’t in great position to pull off the four-peat going into Saturday’s competition, and injuries forced Sythe and his assistants into a difficult decision — how much to lean on senior Willie Alexander, one of the top athletes in school history.

They decided to go all the way, and Alexander competed seven times over Friday and Saturday, putting up 42 points.

“I’ve never seen anything like it,” said Sythe.

Alexander set a school record in the long jump on Friday, taking second to teammate (and Wilson High alum) Kemonie Briggs. On Saturday he won the triple jump, ran the leadoff leg for the 49ers’ second-place 4x100 relay, and took second in the 100 and the 200. His 42 points are a school record for a single meet, and an exhausted Alexander couldn’t have been happier after helping his team to a win with an effort that eaed him the men’s Athlete of the Meet trophy.

“A teammate of mine told me, ‘Keep transforming,’ and that really helped,” said Alexander. “I just kept thinking, ‘OK, now you’re not a triple jumper, you’re a 200 ruer.’ ”

Alexander’s schedule was so insane that he only took two triple jumps because he had to run the springs — even though he passed his final three attempts, he still won the event.

“Willie finds a way,” said Sythe. “He was the nail, but he was the hammer, too.”

The women’s Athlete of the Meet was also from Long Beach State, as Riley Cooks put up 31 points by competing in seven events to help the 49ers women finish fourth overall with 110 points (UC Davis won with 135.5 points). Cooks took second as part of a 49er 1-2-3 podium sweep in the 200, with Courtne’ Davis wiing; Davis also became the first 49er in conference history to win the 100, with a time of 11.50.

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Cooks also competed in the long jump and the 100 hurdles — all of that after wiing the conference heptathlon last weekend.

“I can’t wait to get a few days of rest, I’m exhausted,” she said after the match. “It was a ton of work, but it was so worth it.”

The 49ers men’s championship is their 11th in team history, most ever in the Big West. Long Beach State swept the hammer throw with Millikan alum Kody Robison wiing, backed up by teammates James Hubbard and Robert Marlow. 49ers senior Ryan Colebrook won the 400 hurdles (51.69) and took third in the 110 hurdles (14.44).

More than 15 Long Beach State athletes will move on to the NCAA regionals in Lawrence, Kansas, in two weeks.