DENVER ? The Western Athletic Conference had eight individuals score at the 2007 NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championship in Fayetteville, Arkansas. Idaho’s Melinda Owen, Russ Winger and Matt Wauters earned All-America honors in the pole vault, shot put and weight throw, respectively. Louisiana Tech’s Nina Gilbert, Latonia Wilson, Krystal Cole and Miriam Barnes earned All-America honors in the 4x400 relay, and Gilbert added an honor in the 400 meter dash. Utah State’s Jennifer Twitchell placed fifth in the nation in the mile to claim All-America honors.
For the men, Idaho junior Russ Winger hit a personal best in the men’s shot put, finishing second in the nation with a throw of 67-4. It was Winger’s second-consecutive NCAA runner-up finish at the indoor championship and his third-career All-America honor. Vandal sophomore Matt Wauters broke his own school record, hitting a personal-best throw of 69-9 ½ to finish sixth in the hammer throw and earn All-America honors in his first NCAA Championship competition.
For the women, Idaho senior Melinda Owen cleared 13-9 ¼ in the women’s pole vault, breaking her own school record of 13-8 ¾ to finish fifth in the nation and earn the first All-America honor of her career. The Louisiana Tech 4x400 meter relay team of seniors Nina Gilbert, Latonia Wilson, Krystal Cole and Miriam Barnes broke a school record to finish fifth in the nation with a time of 3:34.68. Gilbert went on to place sixth in the nation in the 400 meters with a time of 53.21 seconds, two hundredths of a second off her school record. Utah State senior Jennifer Twitchell ran 4:47.09 in the women’s mile to place fifth in the nation and earn All-American status for the first time in her career.
Overall, 10 WAC student-athletes participated in the championship. Hawai?i junior Annett Wichman finished 11th in the nation in the women’s pentathlon at the NCAA championships. Wichman set two personal bests and three school pentathlon event records, scoring 4,007 points in the event. Cal State Northridge junior Dashalle Andrews finished 13th in the nation with a mark of 7.41m (24-03.75) in the men’s long jump. Louisiana Tech’s Latonia Wilson also competed in the women’s 200 meters, finishing 20th with a time of 23.79 seconds.
Idaho’s men finished with 11 points to tie California and Oregon for 19th place at the championship, giving the Vandals their highest team finish since 2001 when they also finished 19th. Louisiana Tech’s women finished with seven points to tie for 30th with Virginia Tech, Texas State and Florida State. Idaho’s women and Utah State’s women scored four points each to tie for 50th place with Baylor, Kansas State, Providence, and SMU.
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