Related Material
|
Weekly Outdoor Notes.pdf
2003 Top Performances.pdf
|
ATHLETE OF THE WEEKMen - UTEP's Janne Vartia, a senior from Espoo, Finland, had the best throw in the nation winning the hammer at the UTEP Twilight on May 3. The three-time All-American heaved the hammer 69.88m (229-3) to regionally qualify.
Women - Louisiana Tech's Chante Threets, a senior from Grand Prairie, Texas, rewrote the Tech record books by breaking two individual school records (100 meters, 200 meters) and one team record (4x100 meter relay). She took first in the 200 meters with a time of 23.47 while she was second in the 100 meters with a time of 11.55. Threets was also part of the 4x100-meter relay squad which took first with a regional qualifying mark of 45.45. The performance is the fastest showing by a WAC relay squad this season.
OTHERS NOMINATEDMen - KJ West, Boise State; Roland Moore, Louisiana Tech; Adam Merritt, SMU and Derek Sparks, Tulsa
Women - Lindsey Dewey, Boise State; Brianna Houston, UTEP and Sarah Haskins, Tulsa
AROUND THE WACBoise State - Boise State dominated the competition on May 3 at the annual Oregon Twilight winning 10 events and posting three NCAA regional qualifying marks. Members of the Bronco women's team won six events led by Lindsey Dewey's performance in the 800 meters. Dewey won the event in a personal best time of 2:08.47, which improves on her NCAA regional qualifying standard, and is the second fastest women's 800-meter time in Boise State history. Dewey was just 45 hundredths of a second off the Bronco record of 2:08.02 set by Niamh Beirne in 1997. Abbey Elsberry posted the other regional qualifying mark for Boise State with a second-place throw of 14.11m (46-3.50) in the shot put. Elsberry also won the hammer with a throw of 190-5 (58.05m). Other individual winners for the Bronco women included Trina Rogers victory in the javelin with a throw of 162-3 (49.45m) and Charlene Hawthorne in the discus with a mark of 133-3 (40.62m). On the men's side, Kenny Johnson led the way picking up a victory in the triple jump. Johnson won the event with a leap of 51-7.25 (15.73m), which is a personal best and an improvement on his previous NCAA regional qualifying mark of 51-7. In the 400 meters, Felix Okello came away the winner with a time of 47.61. Boise State picked up two more wins in the field events as Taras Rohde won the shot put with a mark of 53-6.25 (16.31m) and Matt Ingebritsen won the discus with a throw of 163-8 (49.87m).
Fresno State - Both Fresno State squads placed third in their tri-meet with Cal State Northridge and Cal Poly. Fresno State's mens team placed among the top-three finishers in 10 different events, led by junior Joe Vasquez who was second in both the discus (163-04/49.78m) and the hammer (191-05/58.34m) to lead the Bulldogs in the field events. Senior Kyle Carano improved on his regional qualifying mark by notching a 15.21m clip in the triple jump. The womens squad produced a total of 17 top-three finishes, including two first-place performances by sophomore Crystal Phillips who registered two season bests on the day, winning the 100 meters with a regional qualifying mark of 11.79 and the 200 meters at 24.21. Sophomore Jennifer Tyler clocked a personal-best 2:13.39 in the 800-meters, while freshman Annie Malaythong was tops in the pole vault at 3.65m. Fresno State will compete at the Modesto Relays next weekend.
Hawaii - Hawaii had a number of improvments at the Sunset Series Meet 8. In the the 200 meters Lana Phillips posted a time of 27.37 seconds, bettering her time by almost .07. Christine Bartlett posted a time of 28.10 seconds, some .22 seconds lower than her former best time in the event. In the 1500 meters, both Victoria Chang and Jordana Whittington came in with their best efforts in the event this spring. Changs time was 4:47.76 and Whittington crossed the finish line at 4:52.25. Robin McRobbie came in third in the 3000m run (10:24.78).
Louisiana Tech - At the Tiger Twilight Classic held at Bernie Moore Track Stadium, Chante Threets' all-star performance helped propel the Tech Track and Field squad to its best showing since the school joined the WAC. Threets set a school record and took first in the 200 meters with a time of 23.47 while she was second in the 100 meters with a time of 11.55, another school record. Threets was also part of the 4x100 meter relay squad which took first with regional qualifying mark of 45.45, posted a new school best. Freshman Joy Loyd had her best collegiate meet as she finished first in the high jump with a season best jump of 5'8". Senior Tawanna Williams highlighted a strong day for the Techster throwers with a first-place heave in the shot put. Chantell Richardson had a strong day by setting the school record in the 100-meter hurdles with a regional qualifying mark of 13.99 seconds. Roland Moore led the way for the men, finishing first in the 100 meters (10.58) and fifth in the 200 meters (21.17). He also ran a leg for the 4x100 meter relay team which finished first with a time of 40.69. Billy Threets held his place as the WACs premier hurdler by finishing first in the 400 meter hurdles. His time, 52.20, was a regional qualifying mark.
Nevada - Nevada collected multiple wins and broke many school records at the Sac State Invite. Sophomore Caira Hane broke schools the hammer throw record with her win Saturday at 184'3.5". Sophomore Austin Buss hit the 5'4.25" mark in the high jump. Already an NCAA Regional qualifier, senior Erin Seward tallied yet another win in the 3,000-meter steeplechase in 11:01.
Rice - Rice had the week off for its final exams and will compete at the Texas A&M All-Comers Meet Thursday, May 8.
SMU - SMU sent a trio of runners to the UTA Invte. Stephen Downey placed 14th in the 1,500 meters, crossing in 4:11.83. In the 800 meters, Adam Merrit crossed in 1:57.62, good for eighth, while teammate Jim Duncan was 33rd (2:16.64).
UTEP - UTEP took nine titles and had nine NCAA Regional qualifing performances on a windy UTEP Twilight at Kidd Field on May 3. Senior Jos van der Veen won the 400-meter dash with a time of 55.77. In the 400-meter hurdles, Laura Cabrales was victorious in 1:03.04. Olatunde Okusanya ran 11.86 to finish as the top collegiate finisher in the 100-meter dash. Cabrales, van der Veen and Okusanya teamed up with Alisha Leverett to make up the 1,600-meter relay which won the title in a NCAA Regional time of 3:42.98. Janne Vartia highlighted the day for the Miner men. Vartia won the hammer with a NCAA-season best throw of 229-3 (69.88). Richard Petty motored to the title in the 200 meters in a Regional time of 21.11. UTEP filled the spots two through five in the 100. Taiwo Ajibade was second (10.50), while Jairo Duzant was third. Bello, Sears, Ajibade and Duzant ran 39.71, a regional time in the 400-meter relay to claim the championship.
Tulsa - Four Golden Hurricane harriers took home individual honors from the Southwest Missouri State/Queen City Invitational at the Plaster Sports Complex in Springfield, Mo. Senior Sarah Haskins was the only female to post a top time, in the 1,500-meters. Fellow senior Derek Sparks won the 800-meters on the men's side, while junior Ben Orozco placed first in the men's 1,500-meters. Junior Jason Krueger also won the men's high jump.
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 predetermined times and marks achieved during the season. The only three events that will not be held at Regionals will 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-qualifying 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.