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2004 Championship Results.htm
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NAMPA, Idaho The Boise State men and Nevada women both brought home team titles at the 2004 Western Athletic Conference Indoor Track and Field Championship in Nampa, Idaho. In the final day of competition, Nevada entered the day 34 points up on UTEP, and finished the championship with 151 points. It is the second team title for the Wolf Pack in as many tries in Nampa. Boise State had the home track advantage and posted 169 points to take home its first WAC track title.
Click on .html to right to view complete results
In winning the 2004 WAC Indoor Championship, the Broncos brought home 24 points to start the competition in the heptathlon, giving them a lead they would not relinquish. In second for the men was UTEP at 133, while Rice grabbed third with 128. Taking fourth was SMU (88), fifth was Louisiana Tech (78), with Tulsa (52) rounding out the field. For the women, Nevadas 151 points was 22.5 than its total from a year ago. Taking second was Louisiana Tech, registering 116 points, with 91.50 points going to Rice, good for third. In fourth was UTEP (85), fifth was Tulsa (67) and Boise State (61) sixth. SMU (41), Fresno State (29.50) and Hawaii (14) round out the womens field, respectivley.
Nevada defended its 2003 title bringing home 151 points, giving head coach Curt Kraft the title as 2004 WAC Coach of the Year. In other awards for the women, Louisiana Techs Nina Gilbert was named the WACs Freshman of the Year. Gilbert finished second in the 400m, while she also helped the Lady Techsters to a first-place performance in the 4x400m relay. Tulsas Shana Robinson of Tulsa and Adriana Pirtea of UTEP both tallied 20 points to earn the high point award. The Outstanding Performer Award went to Robinson as she won the 60m and 200m. She has led the confence in those events all season.
For the men, Boise State head coach Mike Maynard was named the Coach of the Year following his teams performance at this years championship. Boise States Forest Braden grabbed the Outstanding Performer honor, as he won the mile, took second in the 5,000m and was third in the 3,000. In registering 25 points in the 2004 Championship, Mircea Bogden of UTEP, earned the meets High Points Award. Freshman of the Year went to both Daniel Ward of UTEP and Mickael Hanany of SMU.
The Boise State men brought 13 medals of the weekend with six golds, five silvers and two bronze. The Wolf Pack tallied 12 medals with three of both, gold and silver, while adding six bronze. The Louisiana Tech women brought home four golds to lead the women.
For complete individual and team results, please see the results following the stories.
In a day of finals, there were many stars. The day began with the timed final in the mile. There were no preliminaries, so each person advanced to todays final. For the women, Nevadas Kali Baker brought home the days first gold, crossing in a time of 4:52.07. Forest Braden of Boise State grabbed top honors with his 4:07.86 performance to start the mens events. Going from eight times around the track to an eight second event, Bridgette LaDouceur of Louisiana Tech won the womens 60-meter hurdles in a time of 8.41. For the men, Louisiana Techs Nolan Jackson earned gold in 7.97. As the day got started, the excitement grew with one of the fans favorite events, the 400m. For the men Boise States Ray Ardill defended his title, crossing in 47.52. For the women, it was the first time in four years, the champions name didnt read, Rices Allison Beckford. This year, fellow Owl Keia Watkins staked her claim as the womens best quarter posting a time of 54.33.
In the 60m, Cory Ray of Tulsa brought home the title in a blazing time of 6.80. As for the lady speedsters, Shana Robinson of Tulsa registered a time of 7.41. Third time was just as charming as his first two, as Rices Adam Davis grabbed his third 800m title in as many years posting a mark of 1:52.76. For the women, Melanie Hardy of Tulsa proved she is one of the best in the nation as she took home gold with a time of 2:08.45. In the 200m, it was title defense night for Ardill, as he brought home his second gold of the night as he did in 2003. Ardill posted a time of 21.02. For the women, Tulsas Shana Robinson picked up her second gold of the evening, posting a time of 23.69. In the 3,000m Adriana Pirtea of UTEP backed both her 2003 win in this event, as well as her gold from last night in the 5k. Pirtea earned a time of 9:58.51. For the mens herriers, UTEPs Mircea Bogden posted a mark of 8:37.69 to win.
In the nights final and most exciting event, the 4x400m, the drama had been taken out, when Boise State knew that with its large lead, it had comfortably taken home the title. The Broncos (3:17.50) finished fourth in the event. UTEP pulled away in the third leg, and hung on to take the title, posting a time of 3:13.65. For the women, Louisiana Tech grabbed a big lead, and was sure to hand on when Freshman of the Year Nina Gilbert took the baton. The Lady Techsters earned their fourth gold of the evening, posting a time of 3:13.65.
In the field events, the mens weight throw got the night started. SMUs Lujtsenko Oleksandr, who had been one of the conferences top performers in that event all season, had a heave of 20.38m (66-10.50) to earn gold. In the mens triple jump, Boise States Kendrick Johnson earned gold clearing 15.86m (52-0.50), while in the womens triple, Ayanna Alexander of Louisiana Tech won the event with a distance of 13.21m (43-4.25). In the mens pole vault, there was a new champion for the first time in two years due to Fresno State and its lose of its mjens program. Russell Weaver had won the event in both 2002 and 03. This year, Ryan Walsh of Rice won the event, clearing 4.70m (15-5). In the womens shot put, Stephanie Tietjen of Nevada won the shot with a distance of 15.18m (49-9.75).
FRIDAY WINNERS...
There were only finals in two running events on the day, the 5,000m and distance medley relay. For the women, UTEPs Adriana Pirtea brought home her second WAC title in as many years, posting a WAC meet record of 16:46.84. The time is almost 25 seconds better than the previous mark. For the men herriers, Mircea Bogden of UTEP earned a time of 14:38.75 for the win. In the distance medley relay for the women, UTEP earned a time of 11:59.62 taking gold. In second was Rice with a time of 12:02.00. Nevada posted a time of 12:06.80 to take bronze. For the men, Rices time of 10:05.54 bested second-place finishers Louisiana Tech. The Bulldogs posted a time of 10:06.90 while Tulsa finished third in 10:31.94.
On the womens side for the field events, Louisiana Tech freshman Bejide Williams won the long jump with a distance of 5.89m (19-4). In the 20 lb. weight throw, Abbey Elsberry of Boise State defended her title with a heave of 20.30 (66-7.25). In the pole vault, Rices Beth Hinshaw brought home the title, clearing 3.92m (12-10.25). SMUs Nevena Lendel, brought home her second gold in as many seasons, clearing 1.84m (6-0.50) in the hugh jump.
In the field events for the men, SMUs Einar Hjartson cleared 2.21m (7-3) in the high jump, helping him to repeat as WAC Champion. In the shot put, SMUs Hannes Hopley added to his already high medal count, taking home gold with a heave of 19.09m (62-7.75). The Mustangs swept the shot put with Matt McKinney and Michael Robertson rounding out the field, respectivley. Taking home the title in the mens long jump was Boise States Keron Francis, when he cleared 7.43m (24-4.50) for the win.
Men
Outstanding Performer: Forest Braden, So., Boise State
High Point Award: Mircea Bogden, So., UTEP
Freshman of the Year: Mickael Hanany, SMU; Daniel Ward, UTEP
Coach of the Year: Mike Maynard, Boise State
Women
Outstanding Performer: Shana Robinson, Sr., Tulsa
High Point Award: Shana Robinson, Sr., Tulsa; Adriana Pirtea, Jr., UTEP
Freshman of the Year: Nina Gilbert, Louisiana Tech
Coach of the Year: Curt Kraft, Nevada
2004 Results
Team
Men
1. Boise State, 169
2. UTEP, 133
3. Rice, 128
4. SMU, 88
5. Louisiana Tech, 78
6. Tulsa, 52
Women Points
1. Nevada, 151
2. Louisiana Tech, 116
3. Rice, 91.50
4. UTEP, 85
5. Tulsa, 67
6. Boise State, 61
7. SMU, 41
8. Fresno State, 29.50
9. Hawaii, 14