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Weekly Release.pdf
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Indoor track continues this week every team in competition. The WAC Championship hosted by Boise State is just around the corner. For complete information on WAC track, including schedules, top performances and polls, open the weekly notes.
WAC TRACK & FIELD NOTEBOOK
ATHLETES OF THE WEEK Men
Rices Stephen Magenss, a freshman from Spring, Texas, had a hand in accruing 20 points for the Owls in the teams third place finish. Won the 3,000 meters with the time of 8:23.23, almost five seconds ahead of the field. Also ran the 800 meter leg of the distance medley relay with the Owls winning in 10:13.00.
Women
UTEPs Adriana Pirtea, a junior from Bucharest, Romania, took the 3,000-meter title in a NCAA provisional time of 9:23.78 at the Husker Invitational. The time is the ninth fastest in the NCAA this season and third fastest in school history.
Additional nominees:
Men
Kenny Johnson, Boise State; Einar Hjartarson, SMU; Henderson Dottin, UTEP and Louis Dailey, Tulsa.
Women
Abbey Elsberry, Boise State; Jenny Moore, Fresno State; Kali Baker, Nevada; Funmi Jimoh, Rice 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.