Previously in the WAC...January 26
Fresno State at Air Force Elite Invitational
men: 7th, 40.5 points
women: 1st, 126 points
La. Tech, Rice, SMU at LSU Invitational-NTS
UTEP, Tulsa at Texas Tech Invitational-NTS
Upcoming Action This week finds six WAC teams in action. Boise State travels to the Washington Invitational, while Fresno State participates in a tri-meet with Northern Arizona and UC Irvine. Rice stays in town for the University of Houston All-Comers meet, and SMU and Tulsa compete in Arkansas Tyson Invitational. Fielding a womens team only, Nevada hosts the Wolf Pack Invitational.
Trackwires Dandy Dozen Eight mens and six womens WAC athletes appear in Trackwires Jan. 22 Dandy Dozen (D12) rankings. Trackwire uses 10 equally-rated criteria to rank athletes, including performance at major competitions, coaching, peaking ability, freedom from injuries, mental toughness and competitiveness, progression of marks, and the athletes age and personal bests. The remaining three factors are a demonstrated ability to perform in multiple rounds of competition, ability in other events and marks and placing in head-to-head competition with name competitors. A list of those athletes mentioned in the D12 follows:
Men
60 Taiwo Ajibade, Jr., UTEP
800 Adam Davis, So., Rice
Mile Bashar Ibrahim, Jr., UTEP
DMR SMU
LJ Tommy Oleksy, Jr., Rice
SP Janus Robberts, Sr., SMU
Andrey Borodkin, Sr., SMU
Mark Hoxmeier, Sr., BSU
WT Janne Vartia, Jr., UTEP
Women
400 Allison Beckford, Jr., Rice
800 Amy Teteris, Sr., Rice
Tanya Wright, Jr., Rice
4x400 UTEP
DMR Rice
HJ Marie Norrman, So., SMU
LJ Alice Falaiye, Jr., Rice
SP Ruta Rakstya, Jr., SMU
Poll Position In the new Trackwire poll, released on Jan. 29, the Rice women dropped one spot to 12th with 13 points. Much of the same criteria used to determine the Dandy Dozen is applied to the rankings. Florida and South Carolina flipflopped again this week, with South Carolina leading the poll by just one point over the Gators. For the men, SMU again tallied 13 points and stands at 17th. For the third straight week, Tennessee leads the mens poll with 55 points.
Others Nominated in Mens Track Fresno State senior Ryan Beckenhauer recorded a provisional qualifying mark in the shot put with a toss of 59-7 3/4 (18.18m). He won the event at the Air Force Elite Invitational as the Bulldogs finished seventh. Scott Loftin, a Rice freshman, led the Owls distance crew at the LSU Purple Tiger Invitational, winning the mile in 4:11.46, a team best. He added a second-place finish in the 3,000 meters with a season-best time of 8:19.70. SMU sophomore Dalibor Balgac won the 3,000 meters at the Purple Tiger Invitational with a time of 8:15.14, tops in the WAC.
Others Nominated in Womens Track Fresno States Crystal Simmons scored a team-leading 27 points as the Bulldogs won the Air Force Elite Invitational. Simmons won the triple jump with a personal best of 40-9. She finished third in the 60-meter hurdles in 8.81 and placed fourth in both the 60 meters (7.73) and high jump (5-5). Louisiana Tech senior Erica Scott placed second in the long jump with a personal best leap of 19-1 1/4 (5.82m) at the LSU Purple Tiger Invitational. The mark was also good for a school record. At the Texas Tech Invitational, UTEP junior Oluyemi Fagbamila placed third in the 200 meters with a time of 24.31. She also helped the Miners 1600-meter relay team to a third-place finish in 3:43.29, running the second leg in 54.0. Tracey Ball, a senior for SMU, placed second in the 200 meters at the LSU Purple Tiger Invitational in 24.46. Ball took fourth in the 400 meters with a time of 55.54. Tulsa sophomore Shana Robinson broke her own school records in both the 55-meter dash and the 200-meters dash at the Texas Tech Invitational. She finished fourth in the 55 meters after qualifying with a time of 6.99. She then won the 200 meters with an NCAA provisional qualifying time of 24.16.
NCAA Qualifiers In last weeks competitions, SMUs Andrey Borodkin emerged as the sole NCAA automatic qualifier, however, several WAC athletes attained NCAA provisional qualifying marks. Borodkins mark of 62-4 (19.00m) in the shot put met the qualifying standard, while teammate Hannes Hopley threw for a provisional mark of 58-10 3/4 (17.95m). For the SMU women, Lavada Hill leapt for a provisional mark of 41-3 1/4 (12.58m) in the triple jump and Karen Freburg threw the shot put 51-9 3/4 (15.79m). Fresno State pole vaulter Lexine Lesser reached a height of 12-5 1/2 (3.80m) while Ryan Beckenhauer threw the shot put 59-7 3/4 (18.18m). La. Tech triple jumper Desmond Eugene reached 51-2 1/4 (15.60m). UTEPs Aaron Egbele and Taiwo Ajibade recorded qualifying times in the 55-meter dash. Newcomer Adrian Ghioroaie qualified in the triple jump with a leap of 52-8 3/4 (16.07m). Two-time All-American Janne Vartia tossed the 35-pound weight for a provisional distance of 63-9 (19.43m) and Henderson Dottin registered a qualifying height of 7-1 (2.16m) in the high jump. Tulsas Shana Robinson ran a 24.16 for a provisional qualifying time in the 200 meters.
WAC Championships The 2002 WAC Indoor Track & Field Championships are scheduled for February 21-23 at the Livestock Events Center in Reno, Nev. The pentathlon will be held on Thursday, Feb. 21. On Jan. 22, preliminary heats in the short running events will be followed by the finals of the 5,000 meters and the distance medley relay. The WAC will conduct a 55-meter dash and 55-meter hurdles competition. Finals for field events to take place on Friday are: high jump, long jump, weight throw and mens pole vault. Jan. 23 will continue field competition in the shot put, triple jump and womens pole vault. The remaining finals in all running events, including the 3,000 meters, take place on Saturday as well, with the 4x400 capping off the championships.