Related Material
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Weekly Indoor Notes.pdf
2003 Top Performances.pdf
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ATHLETES OF THE WEEK Men - Mindi Pukstas, a junior from Kaunas, Lithuania, won his second-straight athlete of the week award, shattering a 21-year-old school record in the 5,000 meters. His time of 13:50.59 at the Husky Invitational in Seattle passed Wilson Kigens 1982 mark and is the second best time in the nation this season. He also just missed another school record as a member of the Mustang distance medley relay team. SMU posted a mark of 9:37.39, which is good for both an automatic qualifying time and third-best in the nation this season.
Women - Yemi Fagbamila, a senior from Lagos, Nigeria, earned an NCAA provisional qualifying mark in the 400 meters at the Bodybuilding.com Invite in Boise, Idaho. Her winning time of 53.64 is the best in the WAC this season and is just. 14 off the automatic qualifying mark. She also ran the second leg of the victorious 4x400 meter relay team, which won with a time of 3:41.33.
OTHER NOMINATIONSMen - Jerry LaPoint of Louisiana Tech took home the title in the 35lb. weight throw at the Bayou Bengal Classic with a toss of 58-9 1/4. He also landed fifth in the shot put (49-11 1/4) ... Tommy Oleksy of Rice won the long jump (24-3 3/4) and was third in the triple jump (47-7 3/4) at the Houston Indoor Classic ... Janne Vartia of UTEP earned an NCAA provisonal mark in the 35lb weight throw with a toss of 20.45m (67-1 1/4) at the Bodybuilding.com Invite in Boise, Idaho ... Justin Rempel of Tulsa won the 3,000 meters at the Central Missouri State Invite.
Women - Katie Christianson of Fresno State won both the 60-meter hurdles (8.95) and long jump, clearing 18-4 at the Northern Arizona Tri in Flagstaff ... Ayanna Alexander of Louisiana Tech set a school record in the triple jump with a mark of 41-4 1/2 ... It was her first meet of the season, after missing two weeks with a hamstring injury ... Tanya Wright of Rice helped the Lady Owls to a second-place finish at the Houston Indoor, winning the mile with a time of 4:51.53, second best in the WAC this season. She also anchored the 4x400 meter relay to a second-place finish behind Texas, with a season-best time of 3:43.20 ... Zivile Pukstiene of SMU broke school and meet records in winning the triple jump at the J.D. Martin Invite in Norman, Okla. She cleared 12.91m (42-4 1/4) to break the meet record by almost two feet and record an NCAA provisional mark ... Monica Joannes of Tulsa won the 400 meters at the Central Missouri State Invite.
NOTES FROM AROUND THE LEAGUEBoise State - The Broncos hosted teams from Oregon, UTEP, Arizona State, BYU and several unattached athletes at the Bodybuilding.com Invite. The Broncos came away with two individual victories. Ray Ardill won the 200 meters with a time of 21.49 which is the top time in the WAC this season. Abbey Elsberry won the 20lb weight throw with a mark of 62-4.50 (19.01 meters). Elsberrys mark is also the top throw in the WAC this season. Boise State will host the United Heritage Invite Feb. 7.
Fresno State - The Bulldogs took first place honors on both the mens and womens side in the tri-meet at Northern Arizona. Fresno State's men's team defeated host Northern Arizona, 82-62, and routed UC Irvine, 103-34. The women's team was just as impressive, defeating Northern Arizona by an 86-59 margin and topping UC Irvine 92.5-44.5. For the men, Kyle Carano won both the long jump (7.01m) and triple jump (15.86m). Kevin Carano took first in the 60 meters (6.93), while Roosevelt Cook won the 800 meters (1.54.97). Justin Schwartz captured first place in the pole vault (5.0m.); Joe Vasquez won the weight throw (18.85m). On the women's side, Katie Christianson won the 60-meter hurdles with a mark of 8.95, while Crystal Phillips continued her strong season by leading the field in the 60 and 200-meter runs, earning a mark of 7.55 and 24.60, respectivley. Kara June won the mile with a time of 5:12.90; Jenny Moore won the triple jump with a leap of 11.20m.
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 - Three Lady Techsters set school records at the 2003 Bayou Bengal Invitational . In her first meet of the season, Ayanna Alexander came up with a school record showing in the triple-jump with a leap of 41' 4.5" (12.61m). Chantell Richardson pulled out a school record performance of her own by registering a leap of 19' 3.25" (5.87m) in the long jump. Also setting a school record was Sara Gelin. She recorded a time of 8.86 seconds in the 60 meter hurdles. For the men, Jerry LaPoint captured his second first-place finish in his second weight throw competition of his Louisiana Tech career with a heave of 58' 9.25" (17.91m).
Nevada - Nevada hosts the Wolf Pack Invitational Feb. 8. Nevada won the opening home indoor track and field meet, the Silver State Invitational at the Bill Cosby Track in the Reno Livestock and Events Center. On the track, Shante Winters won the 400 meters (56.66) and Nicole McRae captured the 800 meters (2:13.62). In the field events, Stephanie Tietjen won the shot (47' 4 "), Abrianne Wiles took the pole vault (12'0"), and Janine Bodo captured the weight throw (53'11").
Rice - The Owl women are ranked 18th by TrackWire. The men only competed in four events at the Houston Indoor Classic, landing two first-place finishes. Tommy Oleksy won the long jump with a mark of 24-3 3/4 and Jason Powell won the triple jump. For the women, they grabbed second at the meet, placing behind Texas for the second straight week. Four Lady Owls grabbed top honors. Tanya Wright won the mile in 4:51.53; Katie Waite won the 3,000 meters; Beth Hinshaw won the pole vault and Allison Beckford won the 200 meters.
SMU - The Mustang men are tied for 17th this week in the Trackwire Poll. Last week the men competed at the Husky Invite in Seattle. Dalibor Balgac, Mindi Pukstas and the Distance Medley Relay all qualified for the 2002 NCAA Indoor Championships. Balgac and Pukstas both shattered school records, with Balgac taking third in the 3,000 meters in 7:55.24 and Pukstas finishing as the runner-up in the 5,000 meters in 13:50.59. The Distance Medley Relay just missed another school record, but posted an NCAA-qualifying mark of 9:37.39. For the women, LaVada Hill, Rika Feuth and Zivile Pukstiene all set new meet records at the J.D. Martin Invitational. Hill broke her own record in the long jump, sailing 6.11m. In the triple jump, Pukstienne jumped 12.91m and Feuth finished the 3,000m in 10:12.91. Other top finishers for SMU included Nevena Lendel, who won the high jump with a 1.73m effort.
UTEP - The Miners took seven titles and had five NCAA provisional marks at the BodyBuilding.com Invitational. Yemi Fagbamila and Olatunde Okusanya each had personal bests and went 1-2 in the 400 meters with NCAA provisional marks. Fagbamila crossed in 53.64 and was followed by Okusanya in 54.35. Jose van der Veen won the 800 meters in 2:10.4. The men received NCAA provisional standards from Janne Vartia and Tawio Ajibade, however suffered a setback when All-American triple jumper Adrian Ghioroaie broke his leg in the long jump. Vartia won the weight throw with a NCAA provisional throw of 67-1 1/4 (20.45). Ajibade qualified in the 60 meters, taking second in 6.71. In the mile, Bashar Ibrahim captured his second title of the season, finishing in 4:11.43. Henderson Dottin was the top collegiate finisher in the high jump, leaping 7-0 1/2 (2.15).
Tulsa - The Golden Hurricane crowned seven champions on the women's side and three on the men's side at the Central Missouri State Invite. The women's squad held off Nebraska-Omaha for the team title with 147 points. The men's squad finished tied for second with Emporia State with 98 points. Shana Robinson won both the 60 meters and 200 meters, while Monica Joannes continued her unbeaten streak to three meets in winning the 400 meters. Megan Langwell won the 800 meters. Jamese James won the 60 meter hurdles, while the 4x400-meter relay team sealed the victory with a first-place finish. On the men's side, Branon Vaughn won the 400 meters; sophomore Justin Rempel won the 3,000 meters.
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.