United Athletic Conference

Boise State's Jackson Track

Related Material

Championship Preview.pdf Weekly Release and Top Times.pdf

The 35th Western Athletic Conference Indoor Track and Field Championship takes place on Thursday, February 26 through Saturday, February 29 at Jacksons Track at the Idaho Sports Center in Nampa, Idaho. Nine of the 10 WAC schools will be in attendance. Boise State, Louisiana Tech, Rice, SMU, UTEP and Tulsa all sponsor both men and womens teams. Fresno State, Hawaii and Nevada only sponsor a womens program.

The multi events begin at 12:00 p.m. today and Friday, Feb. 27. Competition for the following two days will begin at 4:30 and 5:00 p.m., respectivley.

Schedule of Events

2003 Results

Men
1. SMU, 147.0
2. Rice, 139.0
3. Fresno State, 116.5
4. Tulsa, 92.0
5. Boise State, 80.5
6. UTEP, 44.0
7. Louisiana Tech, 39.0

Women
1. Nevada, 127.5
2. Rice, 120.0
3. UTEP, 93.0
4. SMU, 80.0
5. Louisiana Tech, 71.0
6. Tulsa, 62.0
7. Fresno State, 53.0
8. Boise State, 43.5
9. Hawaii, 10.0

Boise State is hosting its second WAC championship at one of the nations finest tracks. The Bronco men are led by senior Ray Ardill. He has set two Boise State records this season, posting times of 21.23 in the 200-meter dash and 47.13 in the 400. He leads the conference in the two events and looks to defend his 2003 titles in both as well. The men should also see points from their distance runners, as the cross country team placed second at this years conference meet. On the womens side, Abbey Elsberry continues to dominate in the throwing events. Elsberry is the only WAC athlete to have qualified in the 20lb. weight throw, with a school record heave of 20.71 meters. She won the 2003 weight throw with a distance of 19.32m. Elsberry also owns a mark of 14.20m in the shot put, placing her third.

Fresno State, who took third a season ago, looks to move up the rankings. Lexine Lesser, the 2003 pole vault champion, is back to defend her title. She cleared 3.82m to win gold last season, but has already cleared 13.89m this winter. Speedster Crystal Phillips leads the conference in the 55-meter dash. She owns a time of time of 7.06.

Hawaii had a good showing at Jacksons track on Feb. 7, when they competed in the Holiday Inn Team Invite. Nicole Wright set a Hawaii record when she posted a time of 9.55 in the 60-meter dash. Novelle Murray will lead the way for the Rainbow Wahine throwers. Murray owns a throw of 15.41 meters in the 20 lb. weight throw, good for top 10 in the conference. Look for freshman Dana Buchanan to earn some points for the Wahine in the middle distance events.

Louisiana Techs men finished sixth last season, while its women placed fifth. The men are led by sprinters Troy Lewis and Brandon Huckaby and thrower Jerry LaPoint. The speed duo are both in the top 10 in the 60-meter and 200-meter dashes. LaPoint just missed bronze in the shot put last season, but owns the third-best throw in the WAC this season in the 35 lb. weight throw at 18.85m. The Lady Techsters will look to Nina Gilbert to bring home gold in the 400. The freshman owns the conferences top time, posting a mark of 55.36. Bridgette LaDouceur has the best time in the 60-meter hurdles at 8.35, while teammate Doria Applesberry is third at 8.76. Ayanna Alexander, who grabbed two medals in jumping events in 2003, is first in the conference in the long jump (5.86m) and second in the triple (12.59m).

Nevada grabbed the schools first-ever WAC Championship when they took home the womens title last year. Nicole McRae is back looking for gold in the 800-meters after placing second last season. She leads the conference with an NCAA provisional mark of 2:07.88. Distance runner Jenna Huber set the school record in the 3,000m at 9:39.28, while fFellow herrier Kali Baker, set the school record in the mile at 4:47.86. Look for a lot of distance points from Nevada as they took home the WAC title at this years WAC Cross Country Championship.

The Rice men try for their first WAC indoor title after placing second in three of the last four meets. In being edged by only eight points in 2003, the Owls picked up five golds. Adam Davis is back to defend his 800-meter title. He is the lone WAC competitor under two minutes, as he posted a NCAA provisional time of 1:48.94. Rices distance-medley team ranked among Trackwires Dandy Dozen with a time of 9:36.32. The Lady Owls finished the 2003 meet strong winning the 4x400 relay but finished second by seven points. Rice will look to fill the void left by four-time WAC 400 champion, Allison Beckford. Pole vaulters Ally Daum and Beth Hinshaw hold the conferences top mark at 4.05 metres, a school record. A mark of 3.82m won the pole vault in 2003.

The SMU men will look to the arms of their throwers to help defend their 2003 title. NCAA All-American Hannes Hopley looks to defend his shot put title. He won the event last year with a heave of 17.93 meters, but has a throw this year of 19.60m. Fellow Mustangs Michael Robertson and Matt McKinney follow Hopley in the WAC standings in second and third, respectivley. The SMU women are led by Nvena Lendel. She is second in the conference this season with a mark of 1.82m in the high jump and looks to defend her 2003 title. Freshman Rachel Collins is third in the 3,000 meters with a time of 9:59.27. She was the leagues Freshman of the Year in cross country.

UTEP finished the 2003 season winning the conference outdoor title and looks to keep pace and take home the 2004 indoor. With one of the fastest one, two, three punches, Yinka Bello, Ryan Shields and Daniel Ward look to gather points for the Miners in the sprints. Mircea Bogden, the 2003 WAC Freshman of the Year in cross country, leads the conference in the 3,000 meters at 8:02.54, while fellow Miner Dirk de Heer is just behind his teammate at 8:08.13. The UTEP women finished third in 2003. With the return of distance runners Adriana Pirtea and Corine van Beek, the Miners look to take the top spot. Pirtea took home the 3,000 title last year, while van Beek brought home gold in the mile. High jumper Desiree Crichlow set the Barbados national record and qualified for the NCAA Championships in the high jump this season, clearing 1.84 meters.

The Tulsa men brought home this years conference cross country title and look to add to the hardware with its first indoor title. Speedsters Cory Ray, Josh Childs and Jamal Bogle look to help their distance-running teammates by bringing home some sprint points. Bogle is third in the WAC in the 60-meter hurdles, while Ray is fourth in the 60m. Owain Matthews, Justin Remple and Ben Orozco will lead the strong corps of distance runners. For the Hurricane women, Shana Robinson is among the tops sprinters in the nation. Her mark of 7.44 in the 60 leads the conference, while her 23.99 in the 200 is the WACs best and a school record. Tulsa looks to take the title in the 4x400 relay, as it is second in the conference and missed taking gold in 2003 by .17 seconds.

Results for the 2004 WAC Championship will be available after each break during the day. They will be posted on www.wacsports.com. For more information on WAC indoor track and field, top performances and rankings visit wacsports.com or contact Joe Menaugh at (303) 799-9221 x207.