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Day 1 Photos
Day 2 Photos
NAMPA, IDAHO ? With six events in the books, Utah State’s men and Hawai’i’s women are in the lead after day two of the three-day WAC Indoor Track & Field Championships. For the men, Utah State leads with 63 points, followed closely by Boise State with 58 points and Idaho with 51 points. Louisiana Tech is in fourth with 11 points. For the women, Hawai’i remains in the lead with 53 points, Nevada is second with 40.5 points and Idaho is third with 39 points. Utah State holds fourth place with 28 points, followed closely by Fresno State (26.5) and Boise State (23). Louisiana Tech is seventh with 16 points and New Mexico State is eighth with 8 points.
Day two of the three-day championship event started with the conclusion of the men’s heptathlon. After completing four of the seven events on Thursday, Feb. 23, Utah State senior John Strang was leading with 3,125 points. Strang held on to capture the heptathlon title, breaking both the WAC all-time and WAC meet records, which were set by Justin Johnson of Cal State Northridge in 2007. Strang won five of the seven events and his score of 5,506 points is an NCAA provisional qualifying mark and beats his previous season-best score by nearly 850 points. Boise State sophomore Heigo Nurmsalu finished second with a total of 5,384 points, breaking his own Boise State school record set previously this season. Idaho’s Mike Carpenter finished third with 5,109 points.
Boise State’s Ryan Grinnell took the gold medal in the men’s high jump with a leap of 7’ 1.75” (2.18m), his best jump of the season by over an inch, earning an NCAA provisional qualifying mark. Utah State took both second and third place, with John Strang and Casey Parker both jumping 6’ 9” (2.06m).
Idaho earned the top three spots in the men’s shot put, with senior Russ Winger winning his third-consecutive WAC title in the event, tossing a season-best 68’ 10.75” (21.00m). Winger’s throw was also an NCAA automatic qualifying mark and broke the Jacksons Track facility record, set by John Godina in 2003. Vandal thrower Matthew Wauters finished second, recording a season-best 56’ 8.75” (17.29m), while Idaho sophomore James Rogan was third with a season-best mark of 55’ 7” (16.94m).
In a very tight race, Utah State junior Seth Wold won the men’s 5,000-meter run with a time of 14:53.26. Boise State freshman Brian Pierre was second with a season-best time of 14:54.96, while Utah State sophomore Steve Strickland came in third at 14:55.93.
Boise State took the top two spots in the men’s long jump, with junior Savvas Diakonikolas beating out teammate Ryan Grinnell for the gold medal. Diakonikolas recorded an NCAA provisional qualifying leap of 25’ 0.75” (7.64m), while Grinnell also registered an NCAA provisional qualifying mark of 24’ 9.75” (7.56m). Idaho junior Elvie Williams took third with a season-best jump of 24’ 3.75” (7.41m).
Utah State’s team of Jason Holt, Andrew Niccoli, Brandon Waller and Chio Lopez took home the distance medley relay crown, clocking a time of 10:08.63, followed closely by Idaho (10:10.63) and Louisiana Tech (10:13.59), earning second and third, respectively.
For the women, Fresno State captured its first gold medal of the evening when junior Sharon Ayala tossed a mark of 59’ 11” (18.26m) in the 20-pound weight throw. Utah State’s Krista Larson took second with a throw of 58’ 5.75” (17.82m), and Nevada sophomore Constance McAlman finished third with a mark of 57’ 2.75” (17.44m).
Boise State junior Eleni Kafourou won the women’s long jump by a one-foot, five-inch margin, with an NCAA provisional qualifying leap of 20’ 6.5” (6.26m). Freshman Alice Draser of Idaho finished second, recording a jump of 19’ 1.5” (5.83m), while Louisiana Tech’s Quatisha Williams was third with a mark of 19’ 0.5” (5.80m).
In the women’s 5,000-meter run, Nevada sophomore Amanda Moreno took the gold medal by a 20-second margin, notching a Jacksons Track facility record time of 17:15.64. Nevada freshman Alma Janet Martinez finished second with a season-best time of 17:35.69, and Idaho sophomore Melissa McFadden came in third at 17:59.16.
The women’s pole vault winner was determined by number of attempts as Boise State sophomore Annelise Bertleson captured the title with a mark of 12’ 6.75” (3.83m). Hawai’i earned both the silver and bronze medals, with senior Patricia Gauthier and junior Jessica Cunstance both vaulting 12’ 6.75” (3.83m).
In the final event of the evening, Utah State’s team of Stacie Lifferth, Cachet Webb, Amy Egan and Erin Stratton won the women’s distance medley relay, clocking a time of 12:08.65. Fresno State came in second with a time of 12:13.46, while Nevada finished third in 12:28.13.
Tomorrow’s events begin at 1:30 p.m. with the remaining field events, with the running event finals starting at 5:00 p.m. with the men’s mile run.
2008 WAC Indoor Track & Field Championship Preview
2008 WAC Indoor Track & Field Championship Day 1 Results
General Information
Location: Idaho Center, Jacksons Indoor Track, Boise, Idaho
Date: February 28 - March 1, 2008
Host: Boise State University
Tickets: All-Session Passes (includes all sessions on Friday and Saturday) are $20 for adults, $15 for senior citizens and youth and $10 for students. A Single-Session ticket must be purchased for events on Thursday and are $8 for adults and $5 for senior citizens, students and youth.
Single-Session prices are as follows:
Thursday, February 28 (Men's Heptathlon and Women's Pentathlon): Adults $8; Senior Citizens, Students and Youth $5
Friday, February 29 and Saturday, March 1: Adults $12, Senior Citizens and Youth $8, Students $6
All-Session prices are as follows:
Friday, February 29 and Saturday, March 1: Adults $20, Senior Citizens and Youth $15, Students $10
Schedule: Click here for an online schedule
Parking: Fan parking is available at the Jacksons Indoor Track and Field Complex free of charge.
Concessions: Food and drink will be available for purchase inside the Idaho Center.
Boise, Idaho: For more information regarding all that the city of Boise has to offer, please click on the links below to visit the Boise Convention and Visitors Bureau.
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