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Indoor Track and Field Weekly Notes (Jan. 28)

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2004 Top Performances.pdf
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    ATHLETES OF THE WEEK
    Mens
    Hannes Hopley, a junior from Rustenburg, South Africa, and the defending NCAA discus champion was impressive in winning the men's shot put with an NCAA provisional mark of 19.60m at the Texas Tech Quad on Saturday, Jan. 24. He was also the top collegiate finisher at the Red Raider All-Comers meet on Friday, Jan. 23, with a 19.36m heave.

    Womens
    Ally Daum, a senior from Houston, cleared 13-03 (4.05m), tying teammate Beth Hinshaw in the meet for a new Rice record and provisionally qualifying for the NCAA championships. Heading into the meet, Daum's previous best was 12-01 1/2, an improvement of 14 inches. She posted a personal best three times during the course of the event. The old Rice record was 12-08 set by Hinshaw at the 2002 WAC Indoor Championships.

    Additional nominees included:
    Mens
    Mattias Jon, Boise State; Devon Fanfair, Rice, Henderson Dottin, UTEP and Andrew Beard, Tulsa.

    Womens
    Abbey Elsberry, Boise State; Eva Charfreitagova, SMU; Adriana Pirtea, UTEP and Shana Robinson, Tulsa.

    BOISE TO HOST 2004 WAC CHAMPIONSHIP - The 2004 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 26 through Saturday, Februay 28.

    2003 WAC CHAMPIONSHIP - The Nevada women and the SMU men took home the 2003 Western Athletic Conference Indoor Track and Field crowns, earning 127.5 and 147 points, respectively. Individual honors went to Allison Beckford of Rice and Ray Ardill of Boise State, and Dalibor Balgac of SMU, who all received the WACs Outstanding Performance award. Taking home Freshman of the Year honors, were Olatunde Okusanya and Gerardo Cerrarsco of UTEP. Coach of the Year honores went to the two team champions, Curt Kraft of Nevada and Dave Wollman of SMU. The High Point Awards were handed out to Rices Beckford and Ryan Harlan.

    Finishing in second place for the men was Rice with 139 points, followed by defending champion, UTEP (116.5), Boise State (92), Fresno State (80.5), Louisiana Tech (44) and Tulsa (39). For the women, Rice earned runner-up honors with 120 points, while UTEP (93), SMU (80), Louisiana Tech (71), Tulsa (62), Fresno State (53), Boise State (43.5) and Hawaii (10) round out the womens side.

    FRALEY NAMED 2003 USA TRACK AND FIELD COACH OF THE YEAR - Fresno State Director of Track and Field Bob Fraley has been named USA Track & Field's 2003 Nike Coach of the Year. Fraley, now in his 22nd season at Fresno State, played a pivotal role in rejuvenating the pole vault in the United States when in 1989 he created the Pole Vault Summit, now held in Reno, Nevada. Featuring competitions and an exchange of knowledge about pole vaulting, the event attracts more than 2,000 male and female athletes, from teenagers to Olympic gold medalists. His work has reaped dividends: in the last three years alone, Team USA men's pole vaulters have won the gold and silver medals at both the 2000 Olympic Games and 2001 IAAF World Indoor Championships, as well as the bronze medal at the 2001 World Outdoor Championships. In 2003, his contributions reached a new level when he donated his salary to the school's track program in order to prevent it from being cut due to budgetary reasons.