Fans of Westmont Athletics can now receive text message alerts on their cell phones or by email.

The eScores service will allow subscribers to choose to receive text messages on any or all of the 12 Westmont Athletic Teams. Users can elect to receive scores, broadcast reminders and headlines and general information. With the new service, Westmont fans will receive information about their favorite teams and players faster than ever.

The eScores service will be offered free of charge, though standard text messaging fees from a users’ cell phone provider will apply.

To sign-up for text messaging, visit the Westmont Athletics Web Site and click on the eScores logo.

A day after failing to complete a fair jump in the finals of the women’s long jump at the NAIA Outdoor National Championships, Kasey Kearin earned All-American honors with a fourth place finish in the triple jump.

“Kasey set a school record with a jump of 39’ 8.5” (12.10 meters),” said Westmont Head Coach Smelley, “All six of her jumps were in the Westmont all-time top-ten.”

Kearin’s jump was 22 inches better than her previous personal best.

[men's results] [women's results]

Eight Westmont Track and Field athletes competed on the first day of the NAIA Outdoor Track and Field Championships on Thursday in Edwardsville, Illinois with mixed results.

Lorin Milotta took the initial step in her quest to capture All-American honors by finishing first in the first heat of the 100 meter hurdles. Milotta’s time of 14.58 earned her a spot in tomorrow’s semifinals which will take place at 11:20 p.m. (PDT). The finals are scheduled for 2:25 p.m.

“Lorin had a slow start,” said Head Coach Russell Smelley, “but went away from the pack from hurdle seven on. She came prepared to compete at nationals.”

[men's results] [women's results]

Two of Westmont’s coaches and two athletes were honored at the Santa Barbara Athletic Round Table’s 42nd Annual Hall of Fame Banquet on Monday night at the Fess Parker Doubletree Resort in Santa Barbara.

Westmont Assistant Basketball Coach Jeff Azain was inducted into the SBART Hall of Fame in recognition of his accomplishments on the basketball court both in both high school and college.

“In 1980 and 81, Jeff was the leading rebounder in the Channel League and CIF,” said Maury Halleck who coached Azain at San Marcos High School and introduced him at the event. “The thing about Jeff is that for two years the San Marcos Royals never lost a game, they were 52-0. Jeff is the guy who gave all of his teammates second chances and was one of the best I ever had. He was not only a good athlete, but also a great man.”

“Two words come to mind when accepting this award,” said Azain to the audience. “The first is ‘blessed’. I was fortunate enough to play for two great men – Coach Halleck at San Marcos High School and Coach Kammerer at Westmont College. They were both great coaches, but more importantly that coaching basketball, they taught me about life and how to be a better man.

Westmont’s Lauren Milotta earned the title of GSAC Champion by winning the women’s 100 meter hurdles on Saturday at the Golden State Athletic Conference Track and Field Championships at Point Loma Nazarene University. The automatic timing system failed during the race, but Milotta was hand-timed at 13.8 seconds.

Milotta had qualified third for the event by running the third fastest time in Friday’s preliminaries – a personal best of 14.18.

“Lorin’s speed has improved so much over the last year that she is competing in a manner that we didn’t expect before,” said Westmont Head Coach Russell Smelley.

[results]

Lisa Griego won the women’s 10,000 meter race on the first day of the GSAC Track and Field Championships in San Diego, California even though it was the first time she had run a 10K race.

“I came into it wanting to set the school record which was 36:19. So it would have meant running two 18:09 5Ks. I’ve run 17:46 and 17:48 5Ks this season so I thought it was doable, but I didn’t know what the second 5K was like. So, I went in with a time goal and was up in the front in the first couple of laps and right about then decided, ‘I’m in this to win it.’ and I changed my goal.”

From early on in the 25 lap race, Griego was part of a trio of leaders who pulled away from the rest of the pack.

[results]

Jacob Goodin took 1.85 seconds off his semifinal time and turned in the fastest time of his career in the finals of the men’s mile at the NAIA Indoor National Championships, but it was not quite enough to earn him All-American status. All-American honors are awarded to the top six finishers.

The sophomore, who had the fifteenth fastest qualifying time, finished in seventh place with a time of 4:18.07, the best mark of his collegiate career. The sixth place finisher, John Darmody of St. Ambrose, crossed the line in a time of 4:16.26.

“I knew that the top three of four guys were going to run 4:05 so I wasn’t so much worried about them as the guys going in fifth or sixth place,” said Goodin after the race. “I wasn’t quite as nervous as I was yesterday (in the prelims), which was good.

Junior Kasey Kearin finished second in the women’s long jump at the NAIA Indoor Track and Field Championships on Thursday, earning All-American honors.

“I was feeling good,” said Kearin. “I had a lot of adrenalin going and my shins weren’t hurting. In my first two jumps I didn’t scratch. That is what I was most worried about because at last nationals I scratched really good jumps.”

Kearin jumped 5.69 meters (18 feet 8 inches) on her first attempt and then reached 5.85 meters (19 feet 2.5 inches) on her second jump. The mark surpassed her personal best by two inches.