Related Material
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Weekly Track and Field Notes.pdf
2003 Top Performances.pdf
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ATHLETE OF THE WEEKMen - UTEP's Janne Sakko, a senior from Rahe, Finland, registered the second-best throw in the NCAA this season in the javelin, finishing as the top collegiate at the ShoeSpring/Audiovox/UTEP Invitational. Sakko launched a throw of 72.84m. Two out of three of Sakkos legal throws went over 71 meters. The heave is the best in both the Midwest Region and WAC this season.
Women - Boise State's Trina Rogers, a senior from Sutherlin, Ore., won the javelin at the Sun Angel Classic in Tempe, Ariz., with a throw of 48.87m. Her throw was an NCAA regional qualifying mark. Her next closest competitor came in with a throw over 22 feet less than Rogers. The personal-best throw is the furthest in the WAC this year.
OTHERS NOMINATEDMen - Alex Mason of Fresno State set a new career best in the 800 meters, earning a time of 1:50.42 ... Jerry LaPoint of Louisiana Tech won both the discus (168 10) and hammer (1544) with personal-best marks. He also finished second in the shot put ... David Jacobs of Rice hit the regional qualifying mark in the pole vault at 160.75. The mark is the best in the WAC this season. He also notched a personal-best long jump of 19 10.25 ... Jerome Bortoluzzi of SMU won the hammer throw at the Texas A&M Invitational with a heave of 63.91m. The NCAA regional-qualifying throw was a full seven meters farther than the runner-up.
Women - Kara June of Fresno State posted the Bulldogs only first-place finish at the Cal-Nevad Relays with a time of 10:36.46 in the steeplechase ... Tawanna Williams of Louisiana Tech grabbed first place in the shot put with a toss of 5010.5 ... Allison Sewell of Nevada earned the qualifying mark in the 100-meter hurdles, posting a personal-best time of 13.95 ... Aimee Teteris of Rice won the 1,500 meters at the Texas A&M Invitational with an NCAA regional qualifying time of 4:28.88, the third best mark in the WAC this season ... Desiree Crichlow of UTEP jumped a personal best 12.90m in the triple jump to finish at the top collegiate finisher at the UTEP Invitational. The mark is the second-best in the WAC this season ... Eva Charfreitagova of SMU was the top attached finisher in the hammer at the Texas A&M Invitational with a 53.06m effort, an NCAA regional qualifying mark.
AROUND THE WACBoise State - The Broncos had seven men and six women post NCAA regional qualifying marks this past weekend, competing at the Northwest Nazarene Invitational and the Sun Angel Classic. Dandy Dozen member, Rob Minnitti, qualified in the javelin with a throw of 2311. Charlene Hawthorne posted qualifying marks in the discus (1515) and the hammer (17210).
Fresno State - It's one relay race after another for the Bulldogs, who compete at the Mt. San Antonio College Relays this weekend. The Bulldogs women will be looking to improve on last weekends seventh place showing at the Cal-Nevada Championships, where the team totaled 43 points overall, while the men grabbed third place with a team total of 77.5 points. Fresno State will host its final outdoor meet of the year next week when it welcomes Cal State Bakersfield to Warmerdam Field.
Lousiana Tech - Jerry LaPoint (discus and hammer) and Tawanna Williams (shot put) each recorded first-place finishes as Techs throwers led the squads to five combined first-place finishes at the Dogwood Invitational. Besides Williams' first-place showing in the shot put, the Techsters also picked up two top finishes in the sprinting events. The Bulldogs were led on the day by LaPoint. He won the discus (168'10," personal best) and the hammer throw (154' 5," personal best). Tech will return to action as a team on April 26th for the Indian Classic hosted by the University of Louisiana-Monroe.
Nevada - The Wolf Pack had three wins at the Cal-Nevada Relays. They also posted five more NCAA regional qualifying marks. Nevada now has a total of 14 athletes qualified in nine events. This week, the Pack will split and travel to the Mt. SAC relays and the UC Davis Invite. Erin Kelly was named the top female athlete at Nevada. The senior won the Ruth I. Russell award after the Nevada Athletics Department voted on all the nominees.
Rice - Rice competed at the Texas A&M Invitational. For the men, Luke Stadel improved upon his team-high discus mark, clearing 157 4. Tommy Olesky recorded the third-best high jump in the WAC at 6 7.5. For the Lady Owls, Teresa Crimson again set the school record in the hammer with a heave of 15510. Ally Daum regionally qualified in the javelin with a personal-best throw of 13700. WAC 60 meter indoor champ, Nina Mayes, posted a time of 11.64 in the 100 meters to regionally qualify.
SMU - SMU freshman Jerome Bortoluzzi won the hammer throw (63.91m) at the Texas A&M Invitational, with several other Mustangs also posting outstanding finishes. In the women's hammer, Eva Charfreitagova was the top attached finisher with a 53.06m effort. Up next for the Mustangs are the prestigious Mt. SAC Relays, April 17-19, in Walnut, Calif.
UTEP - The Miners took nine titles and produced 13 NCAA Regional qualifying marks at the 24th Annual ShoeSpring/Audiovox/UTEP Invitational on April 12 at Kidd Field. Olatunde Okusanya posted a regional qualifying time in the 400 meters, running 53.36 and taking second. Desiree Crichlow qualified for regionals in her second event, taking second in the triple jump. Crichlow, who has also qualified in the high jump, leaped 42-4 (12.90m). The men were led by Taiwo Ajibade, who finished second in the 100 meters with a wind-legal time of 10.24. Jairo Duzant also qualified for the regional meet in the 200-meter dash with a time of 20.93. Duzant and Ajibade teamed up with Yinka Bello and Bryan Sears to take the 4x100 meter title with a regional time of 39.29. UTEP will send a selected group of distance runners to the Mt. SAC Relays in Walnut, Calif., next weekend.
Tulsa - The Golden Hurricane set 28 personal-best marks at the John McConnell Invitational in Fayetteville, Ark. Senior Jamese James regionally qualified for the 100 meter hurdles, while sophomore Chatney Noble qualified for the 400 meters. The womnens 4x400 meter relay team improved their season-best mark with a time of 3:38.07. It also broke their own school record of 3:39.91 which it had set at the Texas Relays. On the mens side, nine Hurricane runners, one high jumper and one relay team posted season high marks. Senior Derek Sparks was the top finisher for the Golden Hurricane. Sparks finished second in the unseeded 800-meter run with a time of 1:53.02. The mens 4x400-meter relay team also finished third with a time o 3:12.59.
ERIN KELLY NAMED NEVADAS TOP SENIOR FEMALE ATHLETE - Multi-event athlete, Erin Kelly, was named the top female senior athlete at the University of Nevada, winning the Ruth I. Russell Award. Kelly is a two time WAC indoor pentathlon champion. She set the school record in the pentathlon in both her wins. She also led the Pack in scoring at both the 2002 WAC Indoor and Outdoor Championships. She was named the Big West Athlete of the Year in 2001. Staff members of the Nevada Athletics Department voted on the honorees from the nominations submitted by head coaches. The nominee must be a senior in atleast one sport and be in good academic standings.
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.