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Nampa, Idaho (Feb. 27, 2003) The 2003 Western Athletic Conference Indoor Track and Field Championships at Jacksons Track began with both Rices Ryan Harlan and Nevadas Erin Kelly defending their pentathlon titles. Harlan earned his fourth-straight title, garnering a WAC record 4,058 points, while Kelly earned 3,932 points topping her 3,858 from last season.
Rice leads the team total for the men with 13 points, while the 19 points for Nevada is tops for the women. The Rice men garnered 10 points from Harlan and Ryan Walsh who grabbed sixth. Fresno State is in second with 12 points, while SMU is third with eight. Boise States four points are good for fourth and 2002 champion, UTEP, is fifth.
The Rice women tallied eight points as they look for their fourth-straight title, while Fresno State is third with six points. SMU and Boise State have six and two points, respectively.
Harlan, who broke the WAC record he set last season of 4,049 points, earned his fourth-straight pentathlon title with 4,058 in 2003. In defending his title, he won the 60-meter hurdles, long jump and shot put. His time of 8.04 in the 60m hurdles earned him 972 points, while his mark of 6.87m (22-6 1/2) in the long jump awarded him 783. SMUs Josef Rous jumped 6.86m to fall one point short of Harlan.
Harlan grabbed his third title of the evening, clearing 14.72m (48-3 1/2), a mark 2.40m longer than UTEPs Steven Douglas and Boise States Ray Lukes, who tied for second with 616 points. Boise States Ray Lukes claimed the high jump title, earning 925 points clearing 2.13m (6-11 3/4). Harlan picked up second and 896 points, reaching a height of 2.10m (6-10 3/4).
Harlan finished the evening earning 635 points in the 1,000m. Josef Rous of SMU won the 800 meters and grabbed second for the pentathlon, earning 3,618 points on the night, while Justin Schwatrz of Fresno State totalled 3,473 points for third. Rounding out the field for the men was Trevor Chatterton of Fresno State (3,335), Ray Lukes of Boise State (3,294), Ryan Walsh of Rice (3,203), Steven Douglas of UTEP (3,181) and David Frazuer of Fresno State (3,168)
Erin Kelly earned her second title in as many seasons, scoring 3,932 points. Kelly began the evening taking second in the 60-meter hurdles with a time of 8.90 (931 pts.). Ruthann Gairdner of SMU crossed at 8.87, earning her 937 points and the lead heading into the high jump. Kelly cleared her season high, 1.71m (5-7 1/4), earning her 867 points and the high-jump title. Gairdner, Tara Maves of Nevada and Katy Sharratt of Boise State, all tied for second in the event, scoring 795 points. Kelly and SMUs Stefanie Rombach tied for first in the shot put, posting marks of 12.78m (41-11 1/4), garnering them 713 point.
Through three events, Kelly held the lead with 2,511 points to Gairdners, 2,379. After grabbing 715 points in the long jump with a mark of 5.55m (18-2 1/2) she headed into the 800 meters with a 144 point lead. Fresno States Katie Christanson won the long jump, clearing 5.66m (18-7) for 747 points, moving her into third.
At the nights conclusion, Kelly finished with 3,932 points, taking home her second crown. Taking second place was Ruthann Gairdner of Rice, the 800m winner, with 3,876 points and Katie Christianson in third with 3,709. Rounding out the field was Maranda Brownson of Nevada (3,544), Stefanie Rombach of SMU (3,450), Tara Maves of Nevada (3,382), Katy Sharratt of Boise State (3,301), and Merridy Young of Nevada (3,093).
The championship continues Thursday, Feb. 29 with the field events beginning at 4:00 p.m., with the track events to follow at 5:00 p.m. For the women, Rice looks for its fourth-straight title, while the UTEP men look for their first back-to-back title since they won nine straight from 1974 to 1982.
For complete results and full championship coverage, visit www.wacsports.com.