Related Material
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Weekly Outdoor Notes.pdf
2003 Outdoor Top Performances.pdf
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ATHLETE OF THE WEEKMen -
Mindi Pukstas, a senior from Kaunas, Lithuania, set a new school record at the Stanford Invitational, running the 10,000 meters in 28:35.64. The mark is an NCAA automatic qualifying mark and the second-fastest time in the nation this season.
Women -
Robin Wemple, a sophomore from Victor, Montana, placed second in the 3,000 meter steeplechase at the Stanford Invite with a time of 10:30.98, which is a Boise State record. The time is the fastest in the WAC this year and is an NCAA Regional qualifying mark. She broke her own school record of 10:32.85 set last season.
OTHER NOMINATED
Men -
Chris Berrian of Fresno State ran a 21.33 en route to winning the 200 meters in the Bulldogs win;
Duriel Laird of Louisiana Tech finished first in the 100 meters with a time of 10.61. He was also part of the 4x100 meter relay team that finished first, posting a time of 41.47;
Adam Davis of Rice ran a WAC season-best and regional qualifying time of 1:49.34 in the 800 meters at the Rice Bayou Classic. He also ran on the 4x400 meter relay team which captured the title with a time of 3:12.12;
Richard Petty of UTEP who ran the 400 in a NCAA Regional and WAC-best time of 47.29;
Owain Mathews of Tulsa finished fifth in the steeplechase with a personal-best and school record time of 8:51.58. He is the first Hurricane male to qualify for regionals.
Women -
Lexine Lesser of Fresno State won the pole vault with a regional-qualifying mark of 3.81m;
Chante Threets of Louisiana Tech won the 200 meter with a time of 24.50;
Erin Seward of Nevada set a school record in the 5,000 meters, finishing seventh with a time of 17:04.03. The time is also a regional qualifying mark;
Aimee Tetris of Rice won both the 800 and 1,500 meters with NCAA regional qualifying times. She posted a 22:08.37 in the 800 and a 4:29.4 (mt) in the 1,500. She also ran the second leg of the Owls winning 4x400 meter relay team;
Eva Charfreitagova of SMU won both the discus and hammer with 45.64m and 55.26m efforts, respectively, at the Arlington Invitational;
Desiree Crichlow of UTEP broke her own Barbados national record in the high jump, winning the event with a height of 1.83m (6-0);
Shana Robinson of Tulsa won the 200 meter with a regional qualifying time of 23.86. She also finished second in the 100 (11.77) at the Stanford Invitational.
AROUND THE WAC - Through three weeks of the outdoor season, a total of 53 WAC track and field athletes have qualified for their respective NCAA regional meet. There have been 23 men and 30 women to reach the qualifying marks. There were four school records set this week. Boise States Robin Wemple, Nevadas Erin Seward, SMUs Mindi Pukstas and Tulsas Owain Matthews. This week, five schools will travel to Austin, Texas for the three-day, Texas Relays.
Boise State - Just two athletes, Robin Wemple and Kayla Christensen competed at the Stanford Invitational for the Broncos. Wemple finished second in the steeplechase with a NCAA regional qualifying time of 10:30.98, and Christensen ran a time of 18:00.18 in the 5,000 meters. Wemples time is a new Boise State record.
Fresno State - Mt. SAC and Bakersfield College challenged the Bulldogs, but Fresno State responded with first-place finishes for both men and women in its first outdoor home meet of the season. The men's team finished with 162 points, besting runner-up Mt. SAC at 135. Bakersfield College placed third with 71. The Fresno State women earned 133 points to lock up first place over Mt. SAC, which recorded 64. Bakersfield College does not have a women's squad.
Lousiana Tech - Despite inclement weather conditions Tech placed six student-athletes into the regional qualifying field while recording four first-place performances during the Tiger Relays held at the Bernie Moore Track Stadium in Baton Rouge.
Nevada - Erin Seward broke the school record in the 5,000 meters, finishing seventh with a time of 17:04.03. Middle distance specialist Nicole McRae qualified regionally in the 800 meters (2:08.30). The Wolf Pack has now qualified five athletes for the West Regional.
Rice - The Lady Owls won the 21st annual Rice Bayou Classic taking first with 251 points over Sam Houston State and Oklahoma State. Rice tallied 13 first-palce finishes, including the 100, 200, 400, 800 and 1,500 meters. The men grabbed second behind Sam Houston State. They were highlighted by Kevin Bowen and David Axels wins in the 400 meter hurdles and steeplechase, respectivley.
SMU - All-American Mindi Pukstas set a new school record in the 10,000 meters, earning a time of 28:35.64, automatically qualifying him for the NCAA Championship. It is also the second fastest time in the nation this season. For the women, Eva Charfreitagova highlighted the womens side, winning both the discus (45.64m) and hammer (55.26m).
UTEP - The Miners opened the outdoor season taking 24 titles at the Springtime Invitational at Kidd Field. The mens team defeated New Mexico, 101-78, while the womens team fell short, 80-78, to UNM. The women won all 10 running events, taking one title in the field events. Olatunde Okusanya won the 200-meter dash, running a NCAA regional qualifying time of 23.70. Adriana Piretea broke the Kidd Field record in the 5,000 meters with a regional qualifying time of 17:05.46, while Desiree Crichlow broke her own Barbados national record in the high jump, winning the event with a height of 6-0 (1.83m). The mens team took 13 titles on the afternoon. Taiwo Ajibade won the 100 (10.67), Richard Petty took the 400 (47.29) and Bashar Ibrahim was first in the 800 (1:54.09).
Tulsa - The Hurricane competed at the Stanford Invitational. For the women, Shana Robinson qualified regionally in her second event, winning the 200 meters with a time of 23.86. She has already qualified in the 100 meters. On the mens side, Owain Matthews ran a personal-best and school record time of 8:51.58 in the steeplechase. He also qualified for regionals with the mark.
NCAA REGIONALS - This season there will be an NCAA regional meet the week before the NCAA Championship, where the NCAA qualifying will be settled. The qualifying regions are broken into four different sections of the United States. There is the West, Midwest, Mideast and East. In each division, there is one site/school* that will host the regional. Like qualifying for NCAAs, an athlete must qualify for regionals based on pre-determinded times and marks achieved during the season. The only three events that will not be held at Regionals will the the 10k, Heptathlon and Decathlon.
The top five finishers in each individual event as well as the top three relays will all advance to the NCAA Championship in Sacramento, Calif. If there are not enough to fill the heats, the remaining athletes on the descending order list will be used.
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.