Track & Field

Mesa Men’s & Women’s Track & Field consistently rank among the Top 10 junior college Track & Field Programs in the nation.  2010 was a great year for Mesa Track & Field as they crowned seven individual national champions.  The men finished fifth at indoors and eighth at outdoors nationally.  The women finished eighth at indoors and seventh at outdoors nationally.  Sophomore Robbie Haynie won a national championship in Pole Vault at the indoors and won the outdoor Pole Vault title as well, along with an outdoor national championship in the Decathlon.  Sophomore Tyler Sipes was an indoor national champion in the 60m Hurdles.  The 4x800m relay team of Jolanne Balderrama, Melissa Peters, Lacey Palmer, and Julia Wild were indoor national champions.  Lacey Palmer added a national championship in Pole Vault at the outdoor competition.  Sophomore Joe Riccio won the Hammer Throw national championship at outdoors. 

Haynie moved on to Eastern Oregon University, where he recently won a NAIA Indoor National Championship in Pole Vault.  Riccio moved on to the University of Wyoming.  Palmer, Wild, and Peters all returned to Mesa for the 2011 season.

Mesa’s most acclaimed program has nine National Championships in its possession, the last coming in Men’s Outdoor in 1980.  The late great Hall of Fame Coach Carvel Jackson captured six titles from 1969-1975.