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Championship Preview.pdf
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2005 WAC CHAMPIONSHIP PREVIEW
The Western Athletic Conference Indoor Track and Field Championship is scheduled to begin Wednesday, February 23 at Jacksons Track in the Idaho Sports Center in Nampa, Idaho. Although there is a new look to this years field, the Championship promises the same great results. There are 11 schools competing this year, including defending champions Boise State on the mens side and Nevada on the womens. Also in attendance are WAC members to be, Idaho and Utah State. The two schools will join the WAC in July of 2005. The Championship begins Wednesday with the mens pentathlon, while the womens heptathlon starts Thursday.
Schedule of Events
Jacksons Track will play host to the championship for the third-straight season. This indoor track has been used in recent years at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta for the USA Indoor Track and Field Championships. The track is 200-meters long, has six lanes which are banked and has a Mondo synthetic surface.
Boise State head coach Mike Maynard is in his fifth year directing the Boise State men and womens track and cross country programs. In the past four seasons, Maynard has directed Bronco student-athletes to 29 conference championships, produced 13 NCAA All-American performances, and one NCAA National Champion. Senior Robin Wemple heads this years Boise State womens team. Wemple has been competing in the mile run and 3,000-meter runs this year and had season-best marks of 5:03.35 in the mile and 10:21.36 in the 3,000-meter run through the end of January. For the mens team, Forest Braden, the WAC Indoor Championship Outstanding Performer for 2004, returns to try and make it two-straight. At last years indoor championship meet, Braden won the mile run with a time of 4:07.86. He also placed second in the 5,000-meter run with a time of 14:38.94, and third in the 3,000-meter run with a time of 8:40.30 for a total of 24 team points. Braden earned NCAA All-American honors at the NCAA Indoor Championship in 2004 with a ninth place finish in the 3,000-meter run with a time of 8:06.83, which is a Boise State record.
Fresno State placed third in the team-scoring portion of the Air Force Invitational on Jan. 22, officially kicking off the start of the 2005 season. The Bulldogs totaled 65 points for third place, checking in after team champion Colorado State (193) and Wyoming (95). Fresno State was without a first-place finisher in the event finals, although there were several standout performances. Fresno State finished eighth overall at the 2004 WAC Indoor Championships with 29.5 total points. Kara June was tremendous for the Bulldogs, finishing third overall in the 3000-meter run with a time of 10:06.95. She also came in sixth in the mile run with a time of 4:59.53. The distance medley relay team of freshman Zinzi Evans, freshman Germaine Engstrom, junior Jennifer Tyler and senior Kara June finished fourth overall with a time of 12:10.85. Fresno States remaining points were credited to a pair of pole vaulters in juniors Annie Malaythong and Michelle Lennox.
Hawaii return 18 letterwinners from its first full-scheduled indoor squad of a year ago. Hawaii participated in four meets in Seattle as well as hosted four Hawaii all-Comer meets at Cooke Field. The Rainbow Wahine, who broke into the WACs Top 10 last season, return sophomore Dana Buchanan (800m), sophomore Kelly Young (800m), and junior Novelle Murray (weight throw). Buchanan placed fourth at last years WAC Indoor Championship, posting a time of 2:12.00 in the 800m. Also returning is sophomore Candace Rosenthal, who holds the school record in the 60m hurdles.
Over the last year, the WAC issued an invitation to Idaho effective July 1, 2005 to join the conference. Idaho is competing under the WAC umbrella for the 2005 indoor season. Sophomore Melinda Owen broke the Idaho pole vault record last year in her second collegiate meet. At the Cougar Invitational, she broke her own school record with a vault of 3.65m. The Vandals have not competed in an indoor conference championship since the 1997 season when they competed in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation. Angela Whyte has joined the Vandal staff as an assistant coach. She finished sixth at the 2004 Olympics in the 100m hurdles and was an All-American for the Vandals. Manueal Kurrat posted a 60-meter hurdle time of 9.11 at the Cougar Invite to move into the top five of the Conference marks. For the men, Matthew Wauters, the Vandals top recruit, was ranked as the second-best high school shot putter in the nation according to Track and Field News. The Vandals last indoor conference championship was in 1997 when they won the Mt. Pacific Sports Federation Championship. Jason Giuffre moved into the WACs top five on the conference performance list with a 49.82 in the 400 meters at the Cougar Invite.
The Louisiana Tech womens 1,600 meter relay team won the WAC title a year ago and return all four (Appleberry, Gilbert, Wilson and Cole) from the squad that set the WAC Championships record with a 3:40.35. Ayanna Alexander entered the indoor season as the eighth-ranked triple jumper in the country after sweeping the indoor and outdoor WAC titles in the event last year. Alexander also qualified for the NCAA Championships in both seasons. Doria Appleberry earned an all-WAC honor a year ago coming in second in the 60-meter hurdles to teammate Brigitte Ladouceur who also returns for the Lady Techsters. The senior set a Tech school record in the 55-meters in this years first event while also posting a converted provisional qualifying time of 8.42. For the men, Nolan Jackson won the WAC title in the 60-meter hurdles last year, setting a school record with a time of 7.97 in the event. Throwers Reginald Draper and Jason Morgan lead the Bulldog throwing squad.
For the second consecutive year Nevada will be the defending WAC Indoor Champions. Nevada is looking for its third-straight WAC Indoor title, earning the championships largest margin over second place since 2000, posting 151 points to Louisiana Techs 116. The Pack is led by a new coach for the first time in a decade, with Shantel Twiggs coming from Northern Illinois. Nevada is coming off its second WAC Indoor title returning 104 of its 151 points scored at the WAC meet last year. Two individual champions return from last year in senior Maranda Brownson (pentathlon) and sophomore Kali Baker (mile).
The Rice womens track and field team is the largest in the history of the school, with 44 listed on the roster. The 2005 season marks head coach Victor Lopezs final year at the helm for the Owls. Lopez, now in his 26th year at Rice, announced his retirement in December. Long-time assistant coach Jim Bevan is tabbed as his replacement. Junior Krystal Robinson broke the Rice record in the weight throw in just the second meet of the year. Her throw of 14.97m bettered the previous mark by .43 meters. Kate Gorry finished fourth in the 5,000 meters in 2004, and is looking for gold this year after winning the 2004 WAC Cross Country title. Stephen Magness is one of Rices top returners from last years mens squad. The sophomore placed second in the mile and was fourth in the 3,000 meters at the 2004 WAC Indoor Championship. Sophomore Pablo Solares is looking to have a breakout meet after coming less than five seconds from breaking the Rice record in the mile. He finished in 4:08.00 to place second in the Owls first meet of the year. Scott Loftin, the 2002 WAC Indoor Co-Freshman of the Year, returns to the indoor oval this season after missing the last two years with an injury. Loftin took third in the mile at the 2002 meet.
SMU senior Karin van Rooyen placed second at the 2004 WAC Cross Country Championships. Van Rooyen and the SMU team went on to compete at the NCAA Championships, where van Rooyen placed 24th, earning All-America honors, while the team placed 22nd overall. Rachael Forish was named the WAC Cross Country Freshman of the Year, marking the third time in four years a Mustang has won the honor (2003- Rachel Collins; 2001- Karin van Rooyen). Assistant track and field coach John Rembao was named the NCAA South Central Region Cross Country Coach of the Year. The Mustangs finished fourth at the Oklahoma Classic, their first meet of the 2005 season. Sophomore Gaelle Niare finished first in the high jump competition with a leap of 1.88 meters, an NCAA automatic qualifying mark, as well as a new meet record height.
UTEPs Adriana Pirtea is a three-time NCAA qualifier during her two-year career as a Miner. She has also taken gold in seven out of eight events at the conference championships, including winning the 3,000 and 5,000 meters at the 2003 and 2004 WAC Indoor Championships. The Miners return three members of last years title-winning distance medley relay squad with Fatimoh Muhammed, Kersta Caliz and Natasja Brusik. Muhammed also scored as part of the 1,600m relay (second) and in the 800m (fifth) last year. UTEP will be stacked in the 20-pound weight throw with returnee Kaisa Kiintonen and newcomers Alina Joaca-Bine and Nina Schvedoff. UTEP men return the Co-WAC Freshmen of the Year from the 2004 Indoor Championships in Daniel Ward and Mickael Hanany. Ward was first as part of the 1,600-meter relay, third in the 60m and third in the 200m in 2004. Hanany was second in the high jump and third in the triple jump last year, competing for SMU. Mircea Bogdan is the defending WAC champion in the 3,000 and 5,000 meters, as well as scoring a fourth-place finish as part of the distance medley relay team and in the mile. His 26.25 points was the high point total in the conference last year. Junior Yinka Bello has scored 11 times at the conferences indoor and outdoor championships.
Tulsa head coach Steve Gulley is in his fifth season at the helm of the Golden Hurricane track and field team. Tulsa returns the 800-meter 2004 WAC Indoor Champions senior Melanie Hardy. Hardy registered a time of 2:08.45 to a .06 margin of victory. Hardy won the 600-yard run at the Missouri Invitational earlier in the season. Freshman Sophia Rodriguez finished first at the Missouri Invitational in the triple jump, breaking a four-year school record with a jump of 392.25. On the mens side, Sophomore Clif Mitchell finished second in the 600-yard run at the Missouri Invitational, setting a new school record with a time of 1:12.34. Freshman Jordan Hughes finished in the top-five of his first two collegiate events in the 1,000-meter run (Missouri Invitational and Jayhawk Invitational). Tulsa returns 2004 WAC Indoor Champion in the 60-meter dash, sophomore Cory Ray. Tulsa relay teams earned a bronze medal in both the 1,600m relay and distance medley relay at the 2004 WAC Championships.
Over the last year, the WAC issued an invitation to Utah State effective July 1, 2005 to join the conference. Utah State is competing under the WAC umbrella for the 2005 indoor season. Utah State won seven-straight Big West Outdoor Track titles from 1993-99. Head coach Gregg Gensel has been named the womens Big West Coach of the Year five times. Seven Aggies qualified for NCAA Regionals last year and advanced one athlete to the NCAA Championships. Utah State returns four athletes that qualified for the NCAA Regionals last year in Carrie Bitton-Yost (high jump), Amber Judd (400 hurdles), Tiffany Strickland (steeplechase), and Katie Thatcher (400 hurdles). The Utah State men have won seven Big West Outdoor Track Championships in the past 11 years. Gensel has been named the mens Big West Coach of the Year 11 times. Former Utah State star James Parker was the U.S. Champion in the weight throw and competed in the Olympics in 2004.
Results for the 2005 WAC Championship will be available each night at the conclusion of that evenings events. They will be posted on www.wacsports.com. For more information on WAC Track and Field, records and all-time championship results, visit wacsports.com or contact Joe Menaugh at (303) 799-9221 x207.