DENVER ? This week, seven WAC schools are in action, with two teams competing in the UCLA Invitational. Fresno State and Utah State will make the trip to Los Angeles, Calif., to compete in the UCLA Invitational, Apr. 10-12. Boise State will travel to Arizona to participate in both the Mesa Invitational and Sun Angel Classic, Apr. 11, while Louisiana Tech will head to Baton Rouge to compete in the LSU Tiger Invitational, Apr. 12. Hawai?i will host the Sunset Meet #3 in Honolulu, Apr. 12, while New Mexico State will travel to El Paso, Texas, to take part in the UTEP Invitational, Apr. 12. The Vandals of Idaho will make the trip to Cheney, Wash., to compete in both the Eastern Washington Multi-Events and the Pelluer Invitational, Apr. 10-11.
Nevada will return to action next weekend at both the Mt. SAC Relays in Walnut, Calif., on Apr. 18, and the Woody Wilson Invite in Davis, Calif., on Apr. 19.
MEN’S ATHLETES OF THE WEEK (Apr. 7-13) ? Boise State’s Nick Cunningham and Idaho’s Russ Winger have been named the Western Athletic Conference Men’s Outdoor Track and Field Athletes of the Week for the week of Mar. 31 ? Apr. 6. This is the first career WAC Outdoor Athlete of the Week honor for both Cunningham and Winger.
Cunningham, a senior from Monterey, Calif., (Monterey), clocked an NCAA Regional qualifying time of 21.24 in the 200-meter dash at the All Idaho Collegiate Cup in Boise, Idaho, good for a first-place finish. Cunningham made a clean sweep of the sprint events, capturing the 100-meter dash title, crossing the finish line with a WAC-best and personal-best time of 10.63. He also anchored the leg of the winning 4x100-meter relay team, clocking a time of 43.00.
Winger, a senior from Colorado Springs, Colo., (Pine Creek) competed in both sections of the discus throw at the Stanford Invitational in Palo Alto, Calif., winning the event on both days. On Apr. 4, Winger threw 190’ 7” (58.10m) to win the event by 27 feet. On Apr. 5, he competed in the top section of the event, winning the event with a school-record launch of 199’ 6” (60.80m). Both throws were well past the NCAA Regional qualifying standard. Winger’s best throw places him fifth in the NCAA this season and first in the WAC by more than 20 feet.
Other Track nominees included: Frank Sanders of Fresno State took third-place in the 800-meter run among 28 competitors in the Stanford Invitational, clocking a WAC-best time of 1:51.56 ... Paul Dittmer of Idaho finished sixth out of 24 runners at the Stanford Invitational with a WAC-leading time of 14.36 in the 100-meter hurdles, ranking ninth-best in Vandal history ... Dasheek Akwenye of Utah State ran a WAC-best and NCAA provisional qualifying time of 46.83 in the 400-meter dash at the BYU Cougar Invitational, and also was a member of the Aggies’ winning 4x400-meter relay team.
Other Field nominees included: Simon Wardhaugh of Boise State finished second and earned an NCAA Regional qualifying standard in the hammer throw at the All Idaho Collegiate Cup, launching 196’ 6” (59.91m), took first in the shot put with a toss of 49’ 11.25” (15.22m) and was second in the discus with a toss of 139’ 0” (42.37m) ... Oscar Rodriguez of Fresno State took sixth in the top section of the shot put at the Stanford Invitational with a throw of 54’ 11.5” (16.75m) ...Blake Hadfield of Utah State placed third in the long jump at the BYU Cougar Invitational, leaping 23’ 3.50” (7.10m)
WOMEN’S ATHLETES OF THE WEEK (Apr. 7-13) ? Fresno State’s Marina Santana and Hawai?i’s Jessica Custance have been named the Western Athletic Conference Women’s Outdoor Track and Field Athletes of the Week for the week of Mar. 31 ? Apr. 6. This is the first career WAC Outdoor Athlete of the Week honor for both Santana and Custance.
Santana, a senior from Woodland Hills, Calif., (Birmingham), ran a WAC-leading 800-meter dash at the Stanford Invitational in Palo Alto, Calif., clocking a personal-best time of 2:12.61. Santana took seventh out of 32 racers and her time ranks at the ninth-best in Bulldog history.
Custance, a junior from Arlington, Texas (Martin), took fourth in the pole vault at the Stanford Invitational in Palo Alto, Calif., with a school record and personal-best vault of 13’ 1.5” (4.00m). Custance was the top collegiate finisher in the event and is the first Rainbow Wahine in school history to clear four meters. Her mark was also an NCAA Regional qualifying standard.
Other Track nominees included: Christie Gordon of Idaho finished eighth at the Stanford Invitational in the 100-meter hurdles, clocking a time of 14.12, which currently ranks second in the WAC this season ... Antoinette Cobb of Louisiana Tech took 21st at the Texas Relays in the 100-meter hurdles, crossing the finish line in 14.20 ... Katie Thatcher of Utah State placed second in the 400-mter hurdles at the BYU Cougar Invitational with a time of 1:00.98, good for second in the WAC this season.
Other Field nominees included: Sharon Ayala of Fresno State took second in the hammer throw at the Stanford Invitational with an NCAA regional qualifying mark of 195’ 5” (59.57m) ... Gabriella Midles of Idaho launched an NCAA Regional qualifying throw of 179’ 5” (54.70m) in the hammer throw, winning the “B” section of the event, and is the best throw in the NCAA by a freshman this season ... Phelicia Reynolds of Louisiana Tech finished third in the discus at the Texas Relays, with an NCAA Regional qualifying mark of 165’ 10” (50.56m) ... Inger Appanaitis of Nevada recorded an NCAA regional qualifying mark in the javelin 163’ 8” (49.90m), finishing third at the Stanford Invitational ... Krista Larson of Utah State placed fourth in the hammer with a distance of 182’ 9” and fifth in the discus with a toss of 144’ 0” (43.90m) at the BYU Cougar Invitational.
Boise State Broncos
Boise State competed in the All-Idaho Collegiate Cup, where the men finished second out of six and the women finished third out of five schools ... the Broncos captured 22 first-place finishes and tallied four NCAA regional qualifying marks ... Jarrod Stevens won the hammer throw and earned an NCAA regional qualifying mark (209’ 10”), while Simon Wardhaugh also earned an NCAA qualifying mark in the hammer throw (196’ 6”), finishing second ... Wardhaugh also won the shot put (49’ 11.25”) ... senior Nate Putnam earned an NCAA regional qualifying mark in the javelin with his WAC-best throw of 212’ 1” ... junior Nataucha Lowry won the women’s 100m with a personal-best time of 12.27, while junior Nerisha Phillip took first in the 400m with a time of 58.78 ... junior Kayleen McDowell won the 800m with a WAC-best time of 2:13.82 ... junior Paige Olivetti beat out Lowry in the 200m to win the event, clocking a time of 24.98 ... this weekend, the Broncos will compete in the Sun Angel Classic and the Mesa Invitational in Arizona.
Fresno State Bulldogs
Fresno State competed in the highly-competitive Stanford Invitational where the women registerd 11 top-10 finishes and eight personal-bests, while the men earned six top-10 finishes, three season-bests and one personal-best ... sophomore Sharon Ayala took silver in the hammer throw (195’ 5”), while freshman Brooke Pighin finished sixth in the javelin (143’ 4”) ... senior Krystina Jackson placed second with a 14.22 in the 100-meter hurdles, while Vannessa Sautebin was fifth at 14.38 ... freshman Tiera Hilliard placed sixth in the 400m (56.46), while both Marina Santana and Roxanne Sellick earned personal-bests in the 800m ... on the men’s side, freshman Gary Lee and sophomore Andrew Pancotti both earned bronze medals, with Lee in the long jump (23’ 10.75”), and Pancotti in the pole vault (16’ 0.75”) ... senior Oscar Rodriguez placed sixth in the shot put (54’ 11.5”), while junior Erik Fossen finished seventh in the high jump (6’ 6.75”) ... the Bulldogs return to action this week when they travel to Los Angeles, Calif., to take part in the UCLA Invitational, Apr. 10-12.
Hawai?i Rainbow Wahine
Hawai?i competed in the Stanford Invitational, Apr. 4-5, tallying four NCAA regional qualifying marks and one school record ... junior Jessica Custance became the first Rainbow Wahine athlete to clear four meters in the pole vault, setting a new school-record with a WAC-best vault of 13’ 1.5” (4.00m) ... senior Meghan Weaver won the top section of the shot put with a personal-best throw of 51’ 7” (15.72m), while freshman Renee Elbourne posted a new personal-best in the triple jump with a mark of 37’ 3.75” (11.37m) ... junior Samantha Weaver won the “B” flight pole vault with a mark of 12’ 7.5” (3.85m), while senior Emily Sheppard placed second in the high jump with an NCAA regional qualifying standard 5’ 8.75” (1.75m) ... senior Annett Wichmann made her outdoor season debut competing in the top section of the high jump and javelin, finishing fourth in the high jump after clearing 5’ 7” (1.70m) and seventh in the javelin with a throw of 141’ 6” (43.14m) ... up next, the Rainbow Wahine return to Honolulu to host the Sunset Meet #3 at Cooke Field, Apr. 12.
Idaho Vandals
Idaho opened its outdoor season at both the Stanford Invitational and the Sam Adams Classic, Apr. 4-5 ... the Vandal men earned four NCAA regional qualifying marks, five WAC-best marks and one school-record, while the women registered three NCAA qualifying marks ... Russ Winger, Marcus Mattox and David Holmon all punched tickets for return trips to the Regional meet, while Kyle Hook earned his first-career qualifying mark ... Winger shattered the Idaho school record in the discus, with a heave of 199’ 6”, good for fifth-best in the NCAA this season ... Hook threw a 14-foot personal-best of 206’ 0” in the javelin, good for sixth-best in Vandal history ... on the women’s side, Gabby Midles, Anne Barnett and K.C. Dahlgreen hit the NCAA standard in the hammer throw, javelin and pole vault, respectively ... Dahlgreen and Holmon became Idaho’s first non-throwers to hit the Regional standard this season ... the Vandals next stop will be in Cheney, Wash., for both the Pelluer Invitational and Eastern Washington Multi-Events, Apr. 10-11.
Louisiana Tech Bulldogs
Louisiana Tech put in a strong performance at the Texas Relays in Austin, Texas, hosted by the Longhorns ... on the men’s side, the 4x400-meter relay team of Demonte Willis, Marcelles Atkinson, Michael Coleman and Albert Fullwood earned an NCAA regional qualifying mark with a time of 3:09.45, placing fourth in the event ... junior Cory Denstel captured the “B” section 1,500-meter gold medal, clocking a time of 3:52.12, while junior Kinsey Dinnel finished second in the “B” section of the 3,000-meter steeplechase event, crossing the finish line at 9:13.05 ... on the women’s side, junior Phelecia Reynolds finished third in the “B” section of the discus, registering and NCAA regional qualifying mark of 165’ 10” (50.56m) ... Louisiana Tech returns to action this weekend at the LSU Tiger Invitational in Baton Rouge, La., Apr. 12.
Nevada Wolf Pack
Nevada competed in the prestigious Stanford Invitational, Apr. 4-5, in Palo Alto, Calif., where the Wolf Pack recorded two NCAA regional qualifying marks ... senior Inger Appanaitis recorded her third qualifying standard in as many weeks, placing third in the javelin with a launch of 163’ 8” (49.90m) ... in addition to her third-place finish, Appanaitis recorded the highest individual finish for the Wolf Pack, coming in second in the hammer throw with a personal-best toss of 176’ 1.5” (53.69m) ... sophomore Constance McAlman finished seventh with an NCAA regional qualifying mark of 182’ 11.5” (55.77m) in the hammer throw, and also placed fourth in the discus with a personal-best throw of 149’ 9.5” (45.65m) ... the Wolf Pack recorded four other top-20 finishes, including Aurelia Houston in the triple jump (10th) and Polly Smith in the 400-meter hurdles (15th) ... up next, the Wolf Pack will have this weekend off before returning to action at both the Mt. SAC Relays in Walnut, Calif., on Apr. 18, and the Woody Wilson Invite in Davis, Calif., on Apr. 19.
New Mexico State Aggies
New Mexico State competed in the Springtime Invitational in El Paso, Texas, Apr. 29 ... the Aggies were led by sophomore Jordan Veney and freshman Devin Brooks, who both earned school records ... Veney shattered the Aggie record in the discus by almost 10 feet, recording a personal-best mark of 168’ 8” ... Brooks earned the 100-meter hurdles school record with a time of 14.36 ... the Aggies placed three runners in the top-five in the 3,000-meter run, with sophomore Ingrid Flores leading the way in second place with a time of 10:40.61 ... in the 1,500-meter run, sophomore Brittany Hurtado brought home the bronze medal with a time of 5:00.39 ... junior thrower Randi Grimes finished fourth in the hammer throw with a launch of 167’ 2”, while Veney finished fifth in the shot put with a mark of 42’ 2” ... this week, the Aggies return to action, Apr. 11, when they head back to El Paso, Texas to compete in the UTEP Invitational.
Utah State Aggies
Utah State competed in the BYU Invitational, Apr. 4, in Provo, Utah, tallying 30 individual top-five finishes, including five individual event winners ... senior Chase Taylor won the javelin with a throw of 196’ 1”, while junior Keith Williams won the 110-meter hurdles, breaking the tape in a WAC-leading 14.80 ... sophomore Jason Holt clocked a 1:54.19 in winning the 800-meter run ... the men’s 4x400-meter relay team also finished first, clocking a time of 3:14.47, the second-best in the WAC this season ... on the women’s side, freshman Sonia Grabowska took home the gold in the pole vault with a height of 11’ 5.75” ... in the 400-meter dash, freshman Katelyn Jensen was third with a time of 56.79, while the Aggies’ 4x100-meter relay team finished third, clocking a time of 47.39, tying their season-best ... Utah State had a three-four finish by Stacie Lifferth-Dorius (4:40.26) and Erin Stratton (4:40.54) in the 1,500-meter run ... this week, the Aggies will travel to Los Angeles, Calif., to compete in the UCLA Invitational, Apr. 10-12.
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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