SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. – After coaching the men’s cross country team to its seventh straight and 10th Big West Conference Championship overall last fall, Mark Conover has been named the new Director of Track and Field / Cross Country for Cal Poly. The announcement was made today by Mustang director of athletics Alison Cone. Conover replaces Terry Crawford, who resigned last summer after 18 years at Cal Poly in order to accept a position with...

SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. – Former Cal Poly standout and 2008 Olympic Champion Stephanie Brown-Trafton finished 12th at the IAAF World Championships in Berlin today. Brown struggled in qualifications, advancing on her last throw with a mark of 200-feet, two and ¼ inches. Her best mark in the finals came on her first throw, a distance of 192-feet, ½ inch. Brown-Trafton entered the meet as the No. 1 seed with a mark of 217-feet,...

SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. – Former Cal Poly standouts Maggie Vessey and Sharon Day failed in their attempt to advance to the finals of their respective events at the IAAF World Championships in Berlin. While Stephanie Brown-Trafton will move on to the finals of the women’s discus on Friday. Vessey, who easily qualified for the semi-finals of the women’s 800, finished in seventh in the third heat with a time of 2.03.55. The top two finishers...

SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. – Former Cal Poly standout Sharon Day finished 10th in the heptathlon while Maggie Vessey advanced to the semi-finals of the women’s 800 meter run at the IAAF World Championships held in Berlin. The 2008 Olympian, 2009 USA Outdoor heptathlon runner-up and 2005 NCAA high jump champion, Day (Costa Mesa, Calif.) finished 10th in the women's heptathlon, leading the USA contingent. “I'm very happy about my performance,” said Day. “It's my...

Getting settled into the hotel is the first order of business.  The first night we eat at the hotel cafe under the atrium.  Cozy and comfortable dining with dim light from mini candles and soft music from the piano in the lobby.  The hotel room has two twin beds, just wide enough for me to lie down on my back and not fall off either side.  I am a back sleeper though so I don’t mind the...

SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. -- Terry Crawford announced today (August 12) that she would step down as Director of Track and Field and Cross Country at Cal Poly after 18 seasons to accept a position with USA Track and Field as Director of Coaching. “I have been part of the Cal Poly program for a long time, so this was a difficult decision to make, but an opportunity I could not pass up,” said Crawford. “The...

Berlin Vol. 1 Three Suitcases Posted by Stephanie on August 11, 2009 Welcome to Deutschland! This is the 2009 edition of my summer travel blog journaling my experiance at the World Championships in Berlin. My trip also includes competitions in Croatia, France, Italy, England and Greece. I usually have time to sit down every couple of days to write. Enjoy the excerpts below. Full journal entries, pictures and results can be found on...

When the bell sounded, Maggie Vessey knew that time was running out not only in the Herculis 800m race in Monaco, but also in her season. She had 400 meters to make another chase of the A qualifying standard for the World Championships. Should she fall short, like she had all summer, she knew quite well that it would leave her down to one final chance on Friday. A little bit of pressure? You bet. But somehow, Vessey...