Stanislaus’ Alvarado falls barely short, again, in NCAA D-II 800
Abraham Alvarado came so close. Again.
For the second year in a row, the Cal State Stanislaus junior from Atwater barely missed a national title in the 800 meters. St. Augustine’s (N.C.) freshman Shaquille Dill held off Alvarado’s charge for the win by a stride Saturday at the NCAA Division II Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Bradenton, Fla.
Alvarado, top-seeded in the event, was timed in 1 minute, 49.48 seconds, 18-hundredths of a second behind Dill. The Warriors star nearly became the fifth Stanislaus athlete in school history to claim a national title in track and field.
“There was nothing Abe could have done differently. I couldn’t be more proud of him,” Stanislaus coach Diljeet Taylor said. “On this day, the St. Aug’s kid was better.”
Alvarado, a three-time California Collegiate Athletic Association champion, never led but stalked Dill from start to finish. He overtook Dill’s teammate, Immanuel Hutchinson, and was in position with 200 meters left but could not overtake his rival. They traded the national lead in the 800 all season.
“It was set up perfectly,” Taylor said. “He (Abe) just came up a hair short.”
Stanislaus’ Ian Brooks placed eighth in 1:54.68.
Alvarado accented a solid performance by Stanislaus’ 11 national qualifiers, nine of whom competed Saturday. The Warriors return home with a school-record 14 All-America medals (top eight).
Gary Randolph, a junior from Healdsburg, capped a busy three days by clinching his third All-America medal with a seventh in the shot put (57 feet, 1 inch). Randolph became the first Stanislaus athlete, male or female, to medal three times at the same national meet.
On Friday, the Santa Rosa JC transfer placed eighth in the discus (165-11), though he was seeded 20th. He opened his busy meet Thursday with a sixth in the hammer throw (206-8).
Senior Channing Wilson, a Turlock High graduate, earned a fifth in the javelin by breaking her school record for the fourth time this season (169-8). In the women’s hammer, junior Krystal Alnas placed third (192-1), followed in fourth by Wilson (192-0).
In the women’s 800, Kyrah Vaughn picked up a sixth (2:10.3), followed in seventh by senior and Pitman High product Aman Hundal (2:11.53).
Stanislaus’ 4x400 relay team – Vaughn, Iesha Boyd, Misha Strong and Chavariana Ryan – closed the meet by finishing fifth (3:42.11).
“It is a tribute to our team what we did here,” Taylor said. “We’re bringing home 14 All-American medals, and our throwers and middle distance runners did a great job.”
This story was originally published May 28, 2016 at 7:30 PM with the headline "Stanislaus’ Alvarado falls barely short, again, in NCAA D-II 800."