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Weekly Release.pdf

There are only a few teams in competition this week as many prepare for the WAC Championship the end of February. Boise State and Jacksons Track will once again be the site for the Indoor Conference Championship. The Nevada women and SMU men look to defend their titles. For complete information on WAC track, including schedules, top performances and polls, open the weekly release.

ATHLETES OF THE WEEK
Rices Marcel Hewamudalige and UTEPs Desiree Crichlow have been named the Western Athletic Conference mens and womens Indoor Track and Field Athletes of the Week, respectively.

Hewamudalige, a junior from Vancouver, B.C., Canada, broke the long-standing Rice record for the indoor 5,000 meters at the Tyson Invitational in Fayetteville, Ark. His time of 14:31.51, five seconds better than the previous record, placed him second in the race. The previous school mark of 14:35.50 was set in 1991 by Keith Irwin.

Crichlow, a sophomore from St. Michael, Barbados, broke the Barbados national record in the high jump at the Iowa State Classic. She took second jumping 6-0 1/2 (1.84m), which is the third best mark in the NCAA this season. The mark was also an automatic qualifier for the NCAA Championships and ranks third best in the UTEP record books.

Additional nominees:

Men
Ray Ardill, Boise State; Carlos Arrizon, Louisiana Tech; Abraham Ekal, SMU; Mircea Bogden, UTEP and Louis Dailey, Tulsa.

Women
Abbey Elsberry, Boise State; Nicole Wright, Hawaii; Crystlle Church, Louisiana Tech; Kali Baker, Nevada; Kate Gorry, Rice and Brie Penaluna, 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.