United Athletic Conference

Related Material

Weekly Indoor Notes.pdf 2003 Top Performances.pdf

ATHLETES OF THE WEEK
Men - Mindi Pukstas, a junior from Kaunas, Lithuania, set a school and meet record with a time of 7:59.06 in the 3,000 meters, taking first at the Iowa State Classic. He broke the old school mark by over three seconds and provisionally qualified for the NCAA Championships.

Women - Shana Robinson, a junior from Tulsa, Okla., improved her provisional-qualifying mark in the 60 meters to 7.38 at the Holiday Inn Invitational in Lincoln, Neb. Her mark is a new school record, breaking her old time of 7.41. Robinson also finished fourth in the 200 meters.

OTHER NOMINATIONS
Men - Adam Davis of Rice helped the Owls to a second-place finish at the Houston Indoor Opener, setting a meet and fieldhouse record, as well as a NCAA provisional mark of 1:50.04 in the 800 meters. He also ran the third leg of the Owls 4x400 meter relay team that won with a mark of 3;15.68 ... Justin Rempel of Tulsa won the 1,000 meters with a time of 2:28.86 at the Holiday Inn Classic in Lincoln. He was also a member of the distance medley relay team that won the event with a time of 10:03.94.

Women - Abbey Elsberry of Boise State won the 20-pound weight throw with a NCAA provisional mark of 19.07m (62-6 3/4). She also placed fifth in the shot put with a mark of 13.51m (44-4) ... Allison Beckford of Rice helped the Owls to a second-place finish at the Houston Indoor Opener with a first-place finish in the 400 meters. She notched a provisional mark of 54.57 finishing a full second ahead of secong place ... LaVada Hill of SMU turned in another great performance shattering her old school long jump record on the first day of the Iowa State Classic. Hill cleared 6.15m (20-2 1/4) and finished the event as the top collegiate competitor. Her old mark was set at 6.07m (19-11).

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NOTES FROM AROUND THE LEAGUE
Boise State - The Bronco men won four individual events at the Western Indoor Classic. KJ West won the 60 meters (6.86); Felix Okello won the 400 meters (48.15); Branden Forrest won the 3,000 meters (8:46.82); while Kenny Johnson won the triple jump (15.33m). On the womens side, Abbey Ellberry was the lone Bronco to win an event, picking up top honors in the 20-pound weight toss with a NCAA provisional mark of 19.07m (62-6 3/4). The Broncos host the Bodybuilding.com Invite Feb. 1.

Fresno State - The Bulldogs completed the final day of competition at the Air Force Elite Invitational opening their indoor season. The Fresno State women, who won the invitational last year with a score of 126 points, finished third with 67 points while the men placed eighth with 43 points. Crystal Phillips earned a first-place finish in the 60-meter dash (7.57) and second with a time of 24.91 in the 200-meter dash, while Katie Christianson won the 60-meter hurdles (8.82). On the men's side, Aaron Vasquez was the top-finisher in the 400 meters (48.55), and Kyle Carano won the triple jump (15.70m). The Bulldogs will retrun to action in two events this weekend; the Reno Indoor Championships and the Road Runner Invitational hosted by Cal State Bakersfield.

Hawaii - The Rainbow Wahines dropped one of its two scheduled mainland meets in February and because of that, will not meet the NCAA minimum contest requirement. Originally Hawaii was scheduled to go to Seattle Feb. 15 to participate in the Washington Open where it would have picked up three seperate dual meets against other Division I teams. Those meets, along with the WAC Championship, would have given the Wahine the minimum of four requirements.

Louisiana Tech - Louisiana Tech was not in competition this past weekend. They will return to action Feb. 15 in Houston.

Nevada - The Wolf Pack were off this past weekend, but return to action as they host the Silver State Invitational in Reno. The invitational begins a string of four weekends of home meets before the WAC Championship.

Rice - The Owl women are ranked 11th by TrackWire. Both the men and women finished second last weeekend at the Houston Opener Indoor. For the mens, Rice took first in the 4x400 relay and placed 10 individuals in the top five of its events. Rice placed four runners in the top five of the 800 meter dash. Adam Davis led the way, finishing first with a time of 1:50.04. The mark was a new Field House and meet record, breaking the previous mark set by TCUs Khadevis Robinson in 1998. Marcel Hewamudalige won the 3,000 meters (8:29.65), while Ryan Harlan finished first in the 60-meter hurdles (8.06). The Rice women placed six athletes in the top five of their respective events and finished in the top three of both relays. Senior All-America Allison Beckford took first place in the 400 meters (54.57). The Owls distance medley finish line first (12:14.32). The Rice women will return to Yeoman Field House Saturday, Feb. 1 to take part in the Houston Indoor Classic. Next up for the Owl men is the Meyo Invitational in South Bend, Ind.

SMU - The Mustang women are tied for 24th by TrackWire, while men entered the poll tied for 24th this week. Five Mustang athletes earned first-place honors in the final day of Iowa State Open. On the women's side, Zivile Pukstiene topped all opponents with a triple jump mark of 12.48 meters. In the shot put, Ruta Rakstye captured first (14.85m), while Rika Feuth took first in the mile (5:04.33). Karin van Rooyen claimed first in the 3,000 meters (9:53.52).
On the men's side, Mindi Pukstas set a school and meet record with a time of 7:59.06 in the 3000-meter run, good for first place. Teammate Dalibor Balgac took second with a time of 7:59.29 and both runners provisionally qualified for the NCAA Championships. The Mustangs head to Norman this weekend for the Oklahoma Invitational.

UTEP - The Miners opened the 2003 indoor season taking five titles at the Texas Tech Open in Lubbock, Texas. The women's team claimed three titles and also had five runner-ups. The 4x400 meter relay team was victorious in 3:41.48. Freshman Desiree Crichlow won her first collegiate triple jump competition, leaping 40-5 1/2 (12.33). Yemi Fagbamila won the 200 meters (24.20). All-Americans Bashar Ibrahim and Adrian Ghioroaie were the title winners on the men's side. Ibrahim opened the year running 4:12.44 in the mile, while Ghioroaie leaped 50-6 3/4 (15.41) in the triple jump. Henderson Dottin was a NCAA provisional qualifier on the day, doing so in the high jump. Dottin placed tied for second with a clearance of 7-1 (2.16). All-American Taiwo Ajibade took second in the 55 meters (6.26), however his day ended when he experience tightness in his hamstring. UTEP competes next weekend (Feb. 1) at the Boise State Invitational

Tulsa - Junior sprinter Shana Robinson and sophomore distance runner Justin Rempel led the way for the Golden Hurricane at the Holiday Inn Invitational in Lincoln, Neb. Robinson improved her provisional-qualifying mark in the 60 meters to 7.38. Her mark is a new school record, breaking her old time of 7.41. Robinson also finished fourth in the 200 meters. Rempel won the 1,000 meters with a time of 2:28.86. He was also a member of the distance medley relay team that won the event with a time of 10:03.94.

BOISE TO HOST 2003 WAC CHAMPIONSHIP - The 2003 Western Athletic Conference Men's and Women's Indoor Track and Field Championship is going to be held at the Idaho Sports Center in Boise, Idaho. This years championship will be held Thursday, February 27 through Saturday, March 1.

In the 2002 Championship, the Rice women topped second-place finisher Nevada by 20 points, while UTEP ran away with the title earning 203 points to Rice's 139.33 on the mens side.

TRACKWIRE POLL - The Trackwire 25 projects a hypothetical score for the NCAA meet, factoring in injury reports and other variables supported by information gathered from coaches and NCAA-qualfying competitions across the country. This projection is generated by scoring the Dandy Dozen, a power ranking of the top 12 athletes and relay squads in each NCAA event.

The factors used to build the D12 include quantitative values that measure performances in past major competitions (such as conference championships, national championships and Olympic competition), durability and freedom from injuries, demonstrated ability to compete well in multiple rounds of competition, ability in other events, head-to-head competition with other top athletes, and personal or seasonal bests.