Athletes of the Week:
Caimin Douglas, a senior from Curacao, Netherlands Antilles, automatically qualified for the NCAA Championships in the 200 meters with the nation's fastest time of 20.40 to place first at the UTEP Invitational on Sat., April 14. He used his speed to help the Miners' 400-meter relay break a school record and automatically qualify for the post season with the second fastest time in Division 1 this season. The unit clocked in at 38.98, breaking the 29-year-old UTEP record of 39.04.
Jessica Sommerfeld, a junior from Lisbon, N.D., posted top-five finishes in the shot put, javelin and discus events at the Texas A&M Invitational on Sat., April 14. Competing in the javelin for the first time in more than a year, Sommerfeld took gold with a throw of 141-4, the fourth-best mark in the WAC this season. In her second event of the day, she earned second place in the shot put with a distance of 47-7, just under her season-best and conference-leading mark of 47-10 achieved March 31. Sommerfeld also registered a fourth-place finish in the discus with a heave of 152-9, a mark which currently ranks second in the conference.
Others Nominated For Athlete of the Week:
Men Nominees:
Freshman Daniel Pessing recorded the best 800-meter time of any Owl this season, clocking in at 1:51.36 to finish in first at the Texas A&M Invitational on April 14. He improved his previous best by almost two seconds.
Having already automatically qualified for the NCAAs in three events (100, long jump and 4x100 relay), TCU senior Darvis Patton provisionally qualified for the championships in the 200 by winning the event at the Texas A&M Invitational in 20.52.
Women Nominees:
For the second week in a row, TCU sprinter Monica Twum set the standard in the WAC, posting a season-best time in the 200 at the Texas A&M Invitational. Twums time of 23.59 in the 200 was also a provisional cut.
UTEP standout Svetlana Badrankova provisionally qualified for the postseason with a first-place performance in the 800 at the UTEP Invite on April 14. Her time of 2:06.31 is also the fourth-fastest time in the NCAA this year.
Weekend Recap:
The Nevada Wolf Pack saw a school record fall and provisionally qualified one athlete at the Brutus Hamilton Invitational hosted by Cal on April 14. Sophomore Erin Seward set the school record in the 3,000 meter steeplechase and finished third in a time of 11:05.19, enough to provisionally qualify her for nationals. Senior Kyla McFarland placed second in the javelin with a mark of 145-9 as classmate Frankie-Jo Olmos earned third in the long jump with a mark of 18-10. Sophomore Chanika Corley finished third in the 400-meter hurdles with a time of 61.50.
The Owls made several trips to the medal stand at the Texas A&M Invitational on April 14. The mens team took gold in the 800 and 4x400 and bronze in the 400 and 3K steeplechase. Top-ten finishes were registered in the 110 and 400 hurdles, triple jump and shot put. For the Rice women, the 4x100 relay clocked a NCAA provisional qualifying time of 44.0 at the Texas A&M Invite. Aimee Teteris took home bronze in the 800 with a time of 2:08.95, while top-10 finishes were achieved in the 200, 100 hurdles and 1,500 meters. Katie Waite turned in the third-best time in the WAC en route to first-place in the 3K steeplechase.
The SMU track and field teams posted strong performance marks at the Texas A&M Invitational. Peter Mitsides highlighted the mens peformances with a first-place showing in the hammer throw with a mark of 53.80. He also took fourth place in the discus throw (50.64) behind teammate Mark Simmons who finished in third with a mark of 59.04. In the javelin throw, Bouna Diop topped all throwers with a distance of 66.26. On the women's side, Florence Ezeh threw for a top distance of 62.26 in the hammer throw, while Eva Charfreitag took third place with a mark of 52.18. Miriam Masekova placed second in the 800 (seeded) with a time of 2:08.46. In the high jump, Marie Normann posted a mark of 1.75, tying her best outdoor performance of the season, to place second. Diana Nikitina took fourth in the long jump with a season-best mark of 6.08 and also claimed third place in the triple jump with another season-best mark of 12.96.
Regaining a share of the No. 1 spot in the nation, the TCU mens team showed its depth at the Texas A&M Invitational. Without the services of two-time NCAA Indoor Champion Kim Collins, the Frogs still provisionally qualified five individuals for the outdoor national meet. The top three spots in the 200 dash were awarded to the Frogs and all were provisional cuts. Darvis Patton (20.52) paced teammates Steve Slowly (20.65) and Kendrick Campbell (20.73). The brother tandem of Lindel and Michael Frater turned in season-best times in the 100 in provisional qualifying fashion. Senior Lindel won the race in 10.21, while freshman Michael took third in 10.28. Monica Twum again highlighted the Lady Frogs day, as she provisionally qualified for the postseason in the 200 with a conference-best time of 23.59.
UTEP qualified athletes for the NCAA Outdoor
Championships in 10 events, took six meet titles and broke one school record on April 14 at the 17th Annual ShoeSpring/Audiovox/UTEP Invitational and City Championship. The men's 400-meter relay unit, composed of Tawio Ajibade, Camin Douglas, Jermaine Joseph and Aaron Egbele, shattered the school record in the event to automatically qualify for the postseason with a time of 38.98. The time is currently the second-best in the NCAA this year and broke a 29-year school record set at 39.04 in 1972. For their efforts, the men's relay was named the most outstanding male performance of the meet. Douglas later automatically qualified with a winning time of 20.40 in the 200-meter dash. Behind Douglas, Joseph also provisionally qualified in the event finishing fourth in 20.67. Finishing fourth, Bobby Agins also provisionally qualified in the triple jump with a personal-best jump of 52-5 1/2 (15.98). In the throwing events, Janne Vartia, Vesa Jppenin and Janne Sakko each posted national standards in their respective events. Vartia had an automatic throw of 222-1 (67.70m) to win the hammer, Jppenin took the javelin with a marking of 240-10 (73.42m), while Sakko was second with a heave of 224-4 (68.38m) to provisionally qualify for nationals. The Miners also lost two provisionally qualifying marks in the 100-meter dash due to wind readings over the legal limit of positive 4.0 meters per second. Ajibade and Vitaliy Medvedev were each second in the event with times of 10.25, however their times were wind aided at positive 4.4 m/s. On the womens side, junior Anne-Laure Gremillet also posted a provisional distance in the hammer, placing second with a season-best toss of 192-7 (58.70m). The 2001 indoor national champion in the 800-meter run, Svetlana Badrankova, provisionally qualified for the Outdoor Championships in the event with a winning time of 2:06.31. In the triple jump, Anna Tarasova was second with an automatic jump of 44-8 (13.61m).
The Hurricane won three events and placed in the top five in 12 other events at the John McDonnel Invitational in Fayetteville, Ark., held April 14. For the mens team, sophomore Trey Runnels finished third in the 100m (10.46) after winning his prelim heat and also finished second in the 200 with a personal-best time of 21.11. Senior Tim Surface turned in a personal-best in the 3,000, clocking a time of 8:38.97. Continuing to rewrite TU history, freshman Shana Robinson broke the school record in the 200m with a first-place time of 23.79 to break the previous mark of 23.82 set by Caroline Avbovdede in 1999. Seniors Tiffaney Williams and Wendy McFarlane finished first and second in the 400 with times of 54.46 and 54.81, respectively. Classmate Fride Vullum won the 1,500 in a school record time of 4:29.09.