DENVER ? The Western Athletic Conference had five individuals score at the 2008 NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championship in Fayetteville, Arkansas. Boise State’s Ryan Grinnell and Simon Wardhaugh earned All-American honors in both the high jump and triple jump (Grinnell) and the weight throw (Wardhaugh). Hawai’i’s Annett Wichmann placed fourth in the pentathlon to claim All-American honors. Idaho’s Russ Winger and Matt Wauters also earned All-American honors, placing second in the shot put and sixth in the weight throw, respectively.
For the men, Boise State junior Ryan Grinnell captured two All-American honors, finishing sixth in the triple jump with a leap of 52’ 10.25” (15.93m) and eighth in the high jump, clearing 7’ 0.25” (2.14m). Bronco junior Simon Wardhaugh hit a season-best in the men’s weight throw, finishing fifth in the nation with a throw of 71’ 11.5” (21.93m), topping his previous season-best by nearly two feet. Idaho senior Russ Winger threw a personal best in the men’s shot put by one foot, finishing second in the nation with a throw of 69’ 10.25”. It was Winger’s third-consecutive NCAA runner-up finish at the indoor championship and his fourth-career All-America honor. Winger also finished 14th in the men’s weight throw with a toss of 65’ 5”, and was the only competitor in the NCAA to qualify in both the shot put and 35-pound weight throw. Vandal junior Matt Wauters broke his own school record, hitting a personal-best throw of 70’ 9” to finish sixth in the 35-pound weight throw, earning All-America honors for the second year in a row.
For the women, Hawai’i senior Annett Wichmann posted the school’s highest individual finish at an NCAA Championship meet since 1984 after a fourth place finish in the pentathlon. Wichmann accumulated a personal-best total of 4,177 points, using a solid performance in the final event (800-meter run) to move up from ninth to fourth. She also set new personal-bests in the 60-meter hurdles (8.95) and tied her personal-best in the high jump (5’ 8.75”). In addition, Wichmann established a new pentathlon event personal-best in the shot put (46’ 3.5”), earning All-American status for the first time in her career.
Overall, seven WAC student-athletes participated in the championship. Boise State junior Eleni Kafourou finished 11th in the nation in the women’s long jump with a leap of 20’ 6.5” (6.26m) and 15th in the triple jump with a leap of 42’ 6” (12.95m), while Bronco senior Savvas Diakonikolas finished 15th in the men’s long jump with a leap of 24’ 9” (7.54m). Louisiana Tech senior Nadia Alexander competed in the women’s shot put, finishing 14th with a toss of 52’ 1.25”, while Louisiana Tech junior Mike Coleman ran a 6.86 in the men’s 60-meter dash to finish 18th.
Idaho’s men finished with 11 points to tie Baylor and Oregon for 19th place at the championship, as the Vandals replicated their performance from last year when they finished in 19th with 11 total points. Boise State’s men finished with eight points to tie for 30th with Eastern Kentucky, Georgia, La Salle, South Carolina and Auburn. Hawai’i’s women finished with five points to tie for 39th with Georgetown, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Ohio State, Harvard and Missouri.
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