DENVER ? This week, six WAC schools are in action, with one school competing in its first outdoor meet of the 2008 season. Fresno State will host the Cal-Nevada Championships, Mar. 28-29, welcoming the Wolf Pack to Fresno, Calif. Hawai?i will host the UH Spring Break Open, Mar. 29, in Honolulu, while Idaho will travel to Sacramento, Calif., to compete in its first outdoor competition at the Nike Sacramento State Invitational, Mar. 29. Louisiana Tech will make the trip to Starkville, Miss., to participate in the Bulldog Invitational, while New Mexico State head to El Paso, Texas, for the UTEP Springtime Invitational, Mar. 29. Boise State and Utah State have this weekend off to prepare for competitions next weekend, with the Broncos hosting the All Idaho Collegiate Cup, Apr. 5, and the Aggies heading to Provo, Utah, Apr. 4-5, to compete in the BYU Invitational.
MEN’S ATHLETES OF THE WEEK (Jan. 21-27) ? Utah State’s Dasheek Akwenye and Louisiana Tech’s Larry Jones have been named the Western Athletic Conference Men’s Outdoor Track and Field Athletes of the Week for the week of Mar. 17-23. This is the first career WAC Outdoor Athlete of the Week honor for both Akwenye and Jones.
Akwenye, a senior from Windhoek, Nambia, (Centaurus), clocked an NCAA regional qualifying time of 47.24 in the 400-meter dash at the Arizona Willie Williams Classic in Tucson, Ariz., good for third place and ninth all-time in Utah State history. Akwenye also anchored the 4x100-meter relay that finished second with a time of 41.35.
Jones, a freshman from Ruston, La., (Ruston), earned an NCAA provisional qualifying mark in his first meet as a Bulldog, tossing 175’ 3” (53.42m) in the discus. Jones’ throw was good enough for a first place finish at the Snowbird Invitational in Tallahassee, Fla.
Other Track nominees included: Nick Cunningham of Boise State finished third in both the 100 and 200-meter dash at the USC Trojan Invitational in Los Angeles, Calif., clocking times of 10.78 and 21.54, respectively ... Frank Sanders of Fresno State ran to a third-place finish in the 800-meter run at the USC Invitational, crossing the finish line at 1:51.62 ... Cory Denstel of Louisiana Tech finished first in the 800-meter run at the Snowbird Invitational, clocking a time of 1:52.31.
Other Field nominees included: Zacharias Arnos of Boise State won the triple jump at the USC Trojan Invitational, earning an NCAA regional qualifying mark with a leap of 50’ 3.25” (15.32m).
WOMEN’S ATHLETES OF THE WEEK (Jan. 21-27) ? Hawai?i’s Thalia Amanakis and Fresno State’s Sharon Ayala have been named the Western Athletic Conference Women’s Outdoor Track and Field Athletes of the Week for the week of Mar. 17-23. This is the first career WAC Outdoor Athlete of the Week honor for both Amanakis and Ayala.
Amanakis, a junior from Sydney, Australia, (Tangara), captured the 400-meter hurdles title at the Hornet Invitational in Sacramento, Calif., clocking a meet record and NCAA regional qualifying time of 58.52. This marks the second-consecutive year that she has qualified for the NCAA regional in the 400-meter hurdles. Amanakis also finished third in the 100-meter hurdles with a personal best time of 13.95, just three one-hundredths of a second from the NCAA regional standard in the event.
Ayala, a sophomore from Avenal, Calif., (Avenal), broke the Fresno State school record in the hammer throw with a toss of 201’ 9”, earning a second-place finish at the USC Invitational in Los Angeles, Calif. Ayala broke her own school record in the event and improved on her previous NCAA regional qualifying mark by over a foot-and-a-half.
Other Track nominees included: Megan Olivetti of Boise State finished fifth in the 100-meter hurdles at the USC Trojan Invitational with a personal-best time of 14.23 ... Roxanne Sellick of Fresno State won the 1,500-meter run at the USC Trojan Invitational, beating out 39 other competitors with a time of 4:30.08 ... Antoinette Cobb of Louisiana Tech earned a collegiate fourth-place finish in the 100-meter hurdles with a time of 14.40, and was also a member of the third-place 4x100-meter relay team at the Snowbird Invitational in Tallahassee, Fla. ... Caprice Bradshaw of Nevada ran a personal-best 4:43.58 in the 1,500-meter run at the Arizona Willie Williams Classic in Tucson, Ariz., good for tenth overall ... Stacie Lifferth-Dorius of Utah State won the 3,000-meter steeplechase at the Arizona Willie Williams Classic, posting an NCAA regional qualifying time of 10:46.61, good for third-fastest in Aggie history.
Other Field nominees included: Emily Sheppard of Hawai?i set a new meet record and NCAA regional qualifying mark in the high jump, placing first and clearing 5’ 8.75” (1.75m) at the Hornet Invitational in Sacramento, Calif. ... Nadia Alexander of Louisiana Tech took second place in the discus with a throw of 152’ 1” at the Snowbird Invitational in Tallahassee, Fla. ... Constance McAlman of Nevada earned a personal-best in the hammer throw at the Hornet Invitational with a toss of 182’ 2” (55.16m), placing her fifth all-time in Wolf Pack history ... Jordan Veney of New Mexico State recorded a personal-best in the hammer throw at the Willie Williams Classic, tossing 156’ 2”, placing her fifth all-time in Aggie history ... Krista Larson of Utah State placed third in the hammer throw with a personal-best distance of 171’ 5” at the Arizona Willie Williams Classic, ranking her seventh all-time in Utah State history.
Boise State Broncos
Boise State opened its outdoor season, as the Broncos captured six individual titles at the Northwest Nazarene University Open in Nampa, Mar. 15 ... Jarrod Stevens earned an NCAA regional qualifying standard in the men’s hammer throw with a toss of 212’ 10” (64.88m) ... junior Katie Chivers won the first race of her collegiate career, capturing the women’s 100-meter dash (12.94), and also finished second in the 200-meter dash (27.35) ... the Broncos finished one-two-three in the women’s 400-meter dash as Nataucha Lowry placed first (58.18), Nerisha Phillip second (59.91) and Nesha Simeon third (1:01.31) ... Boise State also sent a select number of athletes to the USC Trojan Invitational in Los Angeles, Calif., Mar. 22, where sophomore Zacharias Arnos won the men’s triple jump and posted an NCAA qualifying standard with a leap of 50’ 3.25” (15.32m) ... freshman Brian Pierre took second place in the men’s 3,000-meter run (8:35.50) ... up next, the Broncos return to action at the All Idaho Collegiate Cup, Apr. 4-5, in Boise.
Fresno State Bulldogs
Fresno State opened its outdoor season with wins at the UC Davis Quadrangular, Mar. 9, on both the men’s and women’s side, and in a dual meet against Cal Poly, Mar. 15 ... the Bulldogs also competed in the USC Trojan Invitational, Mar. 22, with nine Bulldogs earning NCAA regional qualifying marks on the season ... at the UC Davis Quadrangular, freshman Gary Lee won the long jump with a leap of 24’ 1.75” (7.36m) ... senior Grace Wiesmann won the women’s hammer throw (54.29m) against Cal Poly, while freshman Kayla Xavier placed third in the shot put (15.50m) ... freshman Sarah Savage registered a personal-best vault of 3.55m to win the event, while senior Brian Vazquez won the hammer throw with a personal-best of 61.88m ... sophomore Sharon Ayala broke the Bulldog school record in the hammer throw (201’ 9”) at the USC Trojan Invite, while freshman Rosario Sanchez finished first in the shot put (49’ 5.75”) ... sophomore Val-Pierre Dai’Re placed third in the men’s 400-meter hurdles (52.07) ... the Bulldogs return to action this week when they host the Cal-Nevada Championships, Mar. 28.
Hawai?i Rainbow Wahine
Hawai?i opened its outdoor season at the Hornet Invitational in Sacramento, Calif., Mar. 22, earning six NCAA regional qualifying marks ... in addition to the six regional qualifiers, the Rainbow Wahine also posted four first-place finishes, two meet records and two school records ... the two Hawai?i school records were set by junior Thalia Amanakis, in both hurdle events, the 100-meter and 400-meter ... Amanakis’ ran an NCAA regional and personal-best 58.52 in the 400-meter hurdles and clocked another personal-best in the 100-meter hurdles in 13.95 ... three Rainbow Wahine posted regional standards in the pole vault, with Jessica Custance finishing first (3.95m), followed by Patricia Gauthier and Samantha Weaver, who each cleared 3.85m ... junior Emily Sheppard set a new meet record with an NCAA regional qualifying mark of 5’ 8.75” (1.75m) to claim first in the high jump, while senior Meghan Weaver heaved the shot put 48; 1.75” (14.67m) to place second and qualify for her fourth NCAA regional ... up next, the Rainbow Wahine will host the UH Spring Break Invitational, Mar. 29, at Cooke Field.
Idaho Vandals
Idaho will open its 2008 outdoor season this weekend when the Vandals compete in the Nike Sacramento State Invitational, Mar. 29 ... the Vandals look to continue their success from last year’s outdoor season, when seven women and six men represented Idaho at the NCAA West Regionals ... the Vandals return 11 athletes who competed in the 2007 Regional meet ... on the women’s side, senior Melinda Owen and juniors K.C. Dahlgren, Allix Lee-Painter, Heather Bergland, Christie Gordon and Mykael Bothum look to lead the Vandals ... leading the charge for the men are senior Bastien Tardy, juniors Diego Moreno-Guzman, David Holmon and Jake Boling, and sophomore James Rogan ... junior Matt Wauters and senior Russ Winger will also look to continue their dominance of the throwing events this outdoor season ... the Vandals look forward to their first outdoor competition when they head to Sacramento, Calif., to participate in the Nike Sacramento State Invitational, Mar. 29.
Louisiana Tech Bulldogs
Louisiana Tech performed well in its outdoor season-opening meet, competing in the Snowbird Invitational in Tallahassee, Fla., hosted by Florida State ... the Bulldogs were led by freshman Larry Jones, who finished first and earned an NCAA regional qualifying mark in the discus (175’ 3”) ... senior Cory Denstel ran a WAC-leading 1:52.31 in the 800-meter run to finish first, while junior Kinsey Dinnell won the 3,000-meter steeplechase, clocking a time of 9:26.42 ... freshman Marcelles Atkinson took second in the men’s 400-meter hurdles (53.69), while freshman Jonathan Keys finished third in the triple jump with a WAC-best 48’ 0.50” ... on the women’s side, senior Nadia Alexander launched the discus 152’ 1” to finish second ... the women’s 4x400-meter relay team of Monique Wright, Rakeisha Green, El Charrita Reynolds and Kamelia Stroy tallied a second place finish at 3:44.77 ... Louisiana Tech returns to action this weekend at the Bulldog Invitational in Starkville, Miss., Mar. 29.
Nevada Wolf Pack
Nevada started its 2008 outdoor campaign at the Hornet Invite in Sacramento, Calif., Mar. 22 ... the Wolf Pack was led by sophomore Constance McAlman and senior Inger Appanaitis, who each picked up individual wins at the Hornet Invite ... McAlman won the hammer throw with a launch of 55.52m, while Appanaitis took first in the javelin with a throw of 48.62m ... McAlman’s mark places her fourth all-time at Nevada, while Appanaitis’ mark lists in third place in Wolf Pack history ... both McAlman and Appanaits registered NCAA regional qualifying marks in their respective events ... fellow Wolf Pack thrower Emily Jacobsen recorded two top-10 finishes, placing second in the hammer throw (52.06m) and seventh in the shot put (12.44m) ... Samantha Davis, the 2007 WAC Cross Country Freshman of the Year, placed third in the 800-meter run (2:15.04) and finished fourth in the 1,500-meter run (4:34.47) ... the Wolf Pack return to action this week at the Cal-Nevada Championships, Mar. 28-29, in Fresno, Calif.
New Mexico State Aggies
New Mexico State opened its outdoor season at the Willie Williams Classic in Tucson, Ariz., Mar. 21-22 ... the Aggies were led by sophomore Jordan Veney, who earned an NCAA regional qualifying mark in the discus (156’ 29”), placing her second-all time in Aggie history ... Veney also finished fifth in the shot put (44’ 6”), which also puts her fifth in the New Mexico State record books ... sophomore distance runner Ingrid Flores finished fifth in the 5,000-meter run with a personal-best 18:01.24 ... junior Isabel Chea recorded a seventh place finish in the triple jump (36’ 0”), while junior Randi Grimes registered a personal-best in the javelin, placing seventh with a launch of 142’ 6” ... freshman hurdler Devin Brooks clocked a time of 14.83 in the 100-meter hurdles and finished ninth overall ... in the 1,500-meter run, sophomore Caprice Bradshaw registered a personal-best 4:43.58, almost a 30-second improvement from her previous best time ... up next, the Aggies head to El Paso, Texas, to compete in the Springtime Invitational, Mar. 29.
Utah State Aggies
Utah State started its 2008 outdoor season at the Willie Williams Classic in Tucson, Ariz., Mar. 21-22, where the Aggies tallied three individual champions ... on the men’s side, sophomore Steve Strickland won the 3,000-meter steeplechase (9:16.50), and junior John Strang took third in the high jump (2.00m) ... senior Dasheek Akwenye placed third in the 400-meter dash with a WAC-best time of 47.24 ... on the women’s side, senior Stacie Lifferth-Dorius posted an NCAA regional qualifying mark and place first in the 3,000-meter steeplechase (10:46.61), while junior Vanessa Hawkins finished third in the event ... junior Katie Thatcher won the 400-meter hurdles (1:01.30), while freshman Camille Fehlberg took third (1:02.62) ... sophomore Krista Larson placed third in the hammer throw with a distance of 171’ 5” ... the Aggies will take this weekend off before returning to action next week at the BYU Invitational, Apr. 4, in Provo, Utah.
WAC CHAMPIONSHIP RETURNS TO BOISE ? The 2008 edition of the WAC Championship returns to Bronco Stadium in Boise, Idaho. The meet will be held May 14-17 with the men’s decathlon and women’s heptathlon multi-events on May 14-15, and the preliminaries and finals on May 16-17.
NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP ? The 2008 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championship will be in Des Moines, Iowa, June 11-14, with Drake University hosting the event.
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