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Nampa, Idaho - Through two days of competition at the Western Athletic Conference Indoor Track and Field Championship, SMU holds an 13 point lead over Rice on the men's side, while the Nevdada women have tallied 54.5 points for top honors edging SMU who has 40 points. Day two included finals for the men's 35lb. weight throw, women's triple jump, men's high jump, women's pole vault, men's long jump, women's shot put and both 5,000 meters and distance medley relay's.
In third for the men is defending champion UTEP with 43 points, followed by Fresno State (33). Boise State (22), Louisiana Tech (15) and Tulsa (9) round out the men's field. For the women, Fresno State is hanging onto third, with 33 points, behind them with 30 points is Rice and Louisiana Tech. In sixth is UTEP (19), while Boise State is seventh (16.5). Tulsa (8) and Hawaii (2) round out the women's field.
Janne Vartia of UTEP defended his 35lb. weight title, leading off the evening with a throw of 20.05m (65-9 1/2). In second was Joe Vasquez of Fresno State, reaching a mark of 19.42m (68-3 3/4). Grabbing bronze for the men's weight throw was SMU's Oleksander Lutsenko with a throw of 19.32m (63-4 3/4). In the women's triple jump, Zivile Pukstiene earned top honors after leading the WAC all season, clearing a WAC Championship record and NCAA automatic qualifying mark of 13.33m (43-9) for the first SMU gold of the championship. In second was fellow Mustang, LaVada Hill who jummped 12.62m (41-5), while Louisiana Tech's Ayanna Alexander grabbed third (12.55m).
The women's mile preliminary was scheduled for 5:30 p.m. on Friday, but only the final will be ran. It is scheduled for 5:00 p.m. on Saturday. For the men's mile, Bashir Ibrahim of UTEP, Justin Remple of Tulsa, Michael Ciampini of Boise State, Sebastian Hock of SMU, Dalibor Balgac of SMU, Phil Ogilvie of Fresno State, Martin Allgeyer of SMU, Stefan Malmquist of Louisiana Tech, Alex Mason of Fresno State and Karoly Varga of Louisiana Tech all qualified for the finals at 5:10 p.m.
In the men's high jump, Einar Hjartarson of SMU defeated 2002 WAC Champion Henderson Dottin of UTEP due to less misses at their last awarded mark. They both cleared a height of 2.23m (7-3 3/4) (.02 off the WAC Championship record). Dottin cleared it in two jumps, but only after Hjartarson cleared on his first attempt. Rice's Tommy Olesky negotiated the bar at 2.14m (7-0 1/4) garnering the bronze medal.
On the men's side of the 60-meter hurdles, Ryan Harlan of Rice grabbed the top qualifying time of 7.95, while fellow Owl, Ben Wiggins, crossed at 8.13. UTEP's Joe Fleskowski and Devonne Harrison of Tulsa, posted times of 8.35 and 8.40, respectively, rounding out the top four. Rice grabbed two of the top three times in the women's 60-meter hurdles. Funmi Jimoh, who had the top time, and Tiane Burke finished with times of 8.61 and 8.71, respectively. Allison Sewell of Nevada posted a time of 8.71 to tie for the second-best qualifying time, with Jamese James of Tulsa crossing at 8.73 for fourth.
The women's 400 meter ran their final's qualifiers, highlighted by three-time defending champion, Allison Beckford of Rice qualifying for the second heat. Tulsa's Jamese James earned the best time, crossing at 54.85, while Lucyann Richards of UTEP qualified with a time of 55.47. On the men's side, Ben Wiggins of Rice grabbed the top time at 48.11. Defending champion, Ray Ardill of Boise State qualified at 48.19 with UTEP's Richard Petty grabbing the third spot at 48.51. Branon Vaughan of Tulsa and Aaron Vasquez of Fresno State round out the men's top five with times of 48.78 and 48.79, respectively
The fastest women in the WAC posted their qualifying marks for the 60 meters, with Tulsa's Shana Robinson posting the best time, crossing at 7.52. Shandra Freeman of Louisiana Tech and Nina Mayes of Rice finished at 7.54 and 7.55, respectively. Grabbing the fourth and fifth best marks, were Olatunde Okusanya of UTEP and Crystal Phillips of Fresno State at 7.60 and 7.61, respectivley. The men speedsters topped out at 6.76, where Taiwo Ajibade of UTEP earned the top time. Kevin Garrett of SMU earned a time of 6.81, while Yinka Bello of UTEP, Clifford Sparks of Rice and Francis Ngapout of Boise State earned times of 6.82.
Monica Joannes of Tulsa picked up the top qualifying time in the 800 meters, crossing at 2:10.13, edging Nicole McRae of Nevada who picked up a time of 2:10.40. From Rice, Tanya Wright finished with a time of 2:10.80, while fellow Owl Megan Sandler posted a time of 2:11.31. In the men's 800 meters, Adam Davis' time of 1:51.61 was best amongst the qualifying times. Fresno State's Roosevelt Cook and Rice's Daniel Pessing posted qualifying marks of 1:52.42 and 1:52.59, respectively.
The women's pole vault was decided at the 3.82m (12-6 1/4) mark with, a Fresno State duo tying. Lexine Lesser earned top honors over Bergann Hernandez with less misses at the last height awarded. In third, was both Sadie Sweet of Boise State and Beth Hinshaw of Rice, who tied at 3.67m (12-0 1/2).
Ruta Rakstyte of SMU improved on her second-place performance from last season in the shot put, grabbing a gold with a throw of 15.95m (52-4). In second was Louisiana Tech's Tawanna Williams who capped off a stellar indoor season with a heave of 15.69m, with fellow Techster Mariela Guante earning a mark of 15.04m. The three were the only to clear 15 meters.
In the 200 meters, SMU's Kevin Garrett led the men with a time of 21.35, with Boise State's Francis Ngapout just behind Garrett at 21.39. Jairo Duzant of UTEP earned a time of 21.44, good for the third best qualifying time, with Ben Wiggins crossing at 21.46. Ray Ardill who finished second in 2002, posted a time of 21.46. For the women, UTEP's Olatunde Okusanya edged Rice's Allison Beckford who was timed at 24.09. Posting the third and fourth best qualifying times were Tulsa's Shana Robinson (24.33) and UTEP's Lucyann Richardson (24.38).
The finals of the women's 5,000 came down to the final second, with UTEP's Adriana Pirtea edging Rika Reuth of SMU by a time of 17:17.69 to 17:18.42. Summer Bell of Rice grabbed the bronze, posting a time of 17:33.43. In the men's 5,000 meters, SMU's Mindi Pukstas distanced himself from the pack early, finishing strong with a time of 14:27.18. In second place was UTEP's Dirk de Heer who edged Steve Greenwell of SMU, by a time of 14:37.02 and 14:38.72.
The long jump had five men clearing 7.00 meters with Vaughan Walwyn of Rice taking gold, provisionally qualifying for NCAA's with a distance of 7.68m (25-2 1/2), successfully defending his 2002 title. In second was fellow Owl, Tommy Olesky posting a mark of 7.37m, with Boise State's Kendrick Johnson jumping 7.13m for third.
In the first relay of the championship, Nevada won the distance-medley pulling away on the final straight away, posting a time of 11:59.39, a new WAC Championship record (12:00.20). Grabbing second was Rice, earning a time of 12:02.31. In third was Tulsa crossing at 12:04.06, with Fresno State (12:18.24), UTEP (12:26.85), Boise State (12:43.31) and Hawaii (12:46.96) rounding out the field. The SMU men's distance-medley relay team, which is ranked sixth be the Dandy Dozen, ran away with the gold medal, posting a time of 10:00.48. In second was 2002 champion, Fresno State, earning a time of 10:03.69. The bronze was handed to Rice, who edged Louisiana Tech, 10:05.10 to 10:06.42.