CSUN Rolls on Wave of Team Spirit : Track: Matador men and women win American West Conference championships in their first try.

SACRAMENTO —  Competing in its first conference meet since moving to Division I, the Cal State Northridge track and field team swept the American West Conference championships Saturday.

A victory in the 1,600-meter relay, the final event at Sacramento State’s Hornet Field, by Matador runners Dorothy Byron, Tamika Bradfield, Keetha Colson and Cherice Ellison gave Northridge the women’s title, 219-218, over Cal Poly San Luis Obispo.

Southern Utah was third with 99 points and Sacramento State finished fourth at 40.

The men had an easier time, beating Cal Poly, 236-191. Sacramento State was third with 103 points, followed by Southern Utah at 96.

“We had probably the most-outstanding meet since we’ve gone Division I,” said Coach Don Strametz, who was named both men’s and women’s coach of the meet. “We did everything about as well as we could do.

“We’ve had a lot of teams that may have been more talented. I don’t think we’ve had a team with as much heart.”

Northridge freshman Carlene Jones earned the women’s athlete of the meet award after winning the triple jump with a personal best of 37 feet 10 1/2 inches. For the men, Matadors Jeff Bodholdt and Aaron Masters shared athlete of the meet honors with Southern Utah’s Travis Anderson.

“We got caught in a speed trap,” Cal Poly Coach Brooks Johnson said. “They had fantastic team spirit.”

Northridge athletes had the largest audience at Sacramento State’s Hornet Field--themselves. Athletes under red-and-black CSUN umbrellas cheered, cajoled and screamed for their teammates.

“This conference meet brought us back together as a team,” Strametz said.

Northridge is competing in a Division I track conference for the first time, a distinction that weighed heavily on the minds of the athletes.

For senior javelin thrower Kristin Dunn, it meant competing with an injured knee.

“I wanted to go out as a conference champ,” said Dunn, who won with a throw of 156 feet 10 inches. “This is our only meet this year where we’ve needed the big-time team support. It’s the first time all year we’ve really worked together.”

Matador sprinter Marshall Evans also was caught up in team spirit.

“We’ve really stepped it up, every throw, every jump,” said Evans, who won the 100 in 10.82 seconds and the 200 in 21.24. “I think we put Northridge back on the map.”

Aikem Brown, a junior, won the 400 in a personal best of 47.26 and finished third in the 200 at 22.29.

“This team, we try the approach of unity,” Brown said. “At the state meet, we were thinking we had to do well for the team. Here, the team took the pressure off of us.”