SAN DIEGO, Calif. -- Defending champion Azusa Pacific took big leads on day one in both the men's and women's versions of the Ninth Annual Golden State Athletic Conference Track & Field Championships, held at Point Loma Nazarene College.

Karin McCall helped pace the Lady Cougars to 73 teams points, with her meet record performance in the shot put.  McCall pushed the iron ball 46' 6 3/4", eclipsing Nicole Monro's (Fresno Pacific) mark of 44' 1" set in 1988.

Fresno Pacific was the closest school to APU with 31 team points, thanks to the Sunbirds' one-two finish in the 5,000 meters.  Rhonda Heise was the champ in 18:27.33, followed by Kerry Houchin in 18:50.27.

For the men, the Cougars hold a commanding margin with 110 points, compared to second-place Point Loma at 38.  APU won 5 of the 6 finals contested today with Hong Li (long jump) and Rene Bustamante (shot put) defending their 1994 crowns.

Point Loma's Udo Jacobasch captured the pole vault with a season best of 15' 7".

Jennifer Hackworth of Westmont is the day-one leader in the heptathlon with 2,405 points, while Azusa Pacific's Mike DeWit is the pace-setter in the men's decathlon with 3,326 points.

Azusa Pacific has won all eight previous men's GSAC meets, while the Lady Cougars have won 6 of 8, including the past 4 titles.

Finals in 27 events will be decided on Saturday, beginning with the women's 10,000 meters at 7 a.m.  The final event of the meet, the men's 4x400-meter relay, is scheduled for 4:40 p.m.