DENVER ? This week, five WAC schools close out their regular seasons, with two teams hosting their final home meets. Hawai?i will host Sunset Meet #4 in Honolulu on May 10, while Idaho hosts the Vandal Jamboree, May 9-10, in Moscow, Idaho. Utah State will make the trip to Salt Lake City to compete in the Utah Collegiate Classic, May 8, while Fresno State heads to Modesto, Calif., to take part in the Modesto Relays. Nevada also goes on the road for its final regular season meet, traveling to Davis, Calif., to participate in the Aggie Twilight, May 9-10.
Boise State, Louisiana Tech and New Mexico State will take this weekend off before returning to action at the WAC Championships, May 14-17, in Boise, Idaho.
MEN’S ATHLETES OF THE WEEK (Apr. 28 ? May 4) ? Idaho’s Paul Dittmer and Elvie Williams have been named the Western Athletic Conference Men’s Outdoor Track and Field Athletes of the Week for the week of Apr. 28 ? May 4. This is the first career WAC Outdoor Athlete of the Week honor for both Dittmer and Williams.
Dittmer, a freshman from Hanstedt, Germany (Gymnasium Winsen), won the 110-meter hurdles with an NCAA Regional qualifying time of 14.29 at the Bronco Twilight Invitational in Boise, Idaho. Dittmer has now clocked an NCAA Regional time in the event three times this season.
Williams, a junior from Tacoma, Wash., (Spokane Community College), achieved a 2’ 2.75” personal-best in the long jump at the Bronco Twilight Invitational, soaring 26’ 0.75” to win the event. The jump moves Williams into second in Idaho school history, becoming just the second Vandal to clear 26-feet in the long jump. Williams’ mark is tied for fifth in the NCAA this season, tied for second in the West Region and is the best in the WAC by 8.75”. His jump also ranks in the top-10 in the United States this season and meets the Olympic Trials “B” qualifying standard.
Other Track nominees included: Nick Cunningham of Boise State won the 200-meter dash at the Bronco Twilight Invitational, clocking a time of 21.52 ... Steve Strickland of Utah State placed second in the 1,500-meter run at the Bronco Twilight Invitational, recording a time of 3:56.43, finishing less than three-hundredths of a second behind the event winner.
Other Field nominees included: Savvas Diakonikolas of Boise State broke the Bronco school record in the long jump at the Bronco Twilight Invitational, leaping a personal-best 25’ 9.25” (7.85m), which currently ranks second in the WAC, third in the West Region and qualifies as an Olympic Trials “B” standard ... Brian Vazquez of Fresno State finished second in the hammer throw at the Payton Jordan Invitational in Palo Alto, Calif., recording a mark of 205’ 9” (62.72m) ... John Strang of Utah State earned two second-place finishes at the Bronco Twilight Invitational, registering a personal-best and NCAA Regional qualifying standard in the high jump (6’ 10.75”) and a personal-best time of 14.67 in the 110-meter hurdles.
WOMEN’S ATHLETES OF THE WEEK (Apr. 28 ? May 4) ? Utah State’s Katie Thatcher and Idaho’s Melinda Owen have been named the Western Athletic Conference Women’s Outdoor Track and Field Athletes of the Week for the week of Apr. 28 ? May 4. This is the first career WAC Outdoor Athlete of the week honor for Thatcher, and the third career honor for Owen, who earned the honor once as a junior and once as a sophomore.
Thatcher, a junior from Paradise, Utah, (Mountain Crest), ran an NCAA Regional qualifying 400-meter hurdles at the Bronco Twilight Invitational, in Boise, Idaho, clocking a time of 1:00.23 to win the event. Her time is the second-fastest in the WAC this season and is the ninth-fastest in Aggie history. Thatcher now holds the No. 7, No. 8 and No. 9 positions in Utah State history in the event.
Owen, a senior from Polson, Mont., (Polson) broke her own Vandal school record in the pole vault at the Bronco Twilight Invitational, with an NCAA Regional qualifying mark of 13’ 7.25” (4.15m) to win the event. Her vault moves her into a tie for ninth in the NCAA, fourth in the West Region and improves her WAC lead by two inches. Owen also out-performed Stacy Dragila, a three-time world champion and 17-time United State champion in the pole vault.
Other Track nominees included: Megan Olivetti of Boise State won both the 100-meter hurdles and the 200-meter dash at the Bronco Twilight Invitational, with times of 13.98 and 24.56, respectively ... AshLee Rey of Idaho took third in the 400-meter dash at the Bronco Twilight Invitational with a personal-best time of 57.08 ... Leah Benton of New Mexico State finished third in the 400-meter dash at the Don Kirby Invitational in Albuquerque, N.M., registering a personal-best time of 65.00.
Other Field nominees included: Eleni Kafourou of Boise State broke the school record in the long jump at the Bronco Twilight Invitational with a leap of 21’ 5.5” (6.54m), securing her spot atop the WAC standings, moving her into first in the West Region and earning her an Olympic Trial “A” qualifying standard ... Sharon Ayala of Fresno State took the bronze medal in the hammer throw at the Payton Jordan Invitational in Palo Alto, Calif., registering an NCAA Regional qualifying mark of 195’ 4” (59.53m) and sixth in the discus with a mark of 148’ 1” (45.14m) ... Randi Grimes of New Mexico State placed second in the hammer throw at the Don Kirby Invitational in Albuquerque, N.M., recording a mark of 169’ 1”, and also finished third in the javelin (140’ 1”) ... Sonia Grabowska of Utah State improved her NCAA Regional qualifying mark in the pole vault with a personal-best clearance of 13’ 1.5” (4.00m) at the Bronco Twilight Invitational, improving her previous best mark by five and one-half inches and tying the second-best in Aggie history.
Boise State Broncos
Boise State hosted the Bronco Twilight Classic, May 2, in Boise ... the Broncos set two school records and earned two Olympic trial qualifying standards ... on the men’s side, senior Savvas Diakonikolas set the school-record in the long jump with a personal-best leap of 25’ 8” (7.82m) ... Diakonikolas’ leap ranks him third in the West Region and earned an Olympic trial “B” qualifying standard ... Ryan Grinnell’s career-best leap of 25’ 6” (7.77m) in the long jump moved him into second-place in school history ... Grinnell also won the high jump with an NCAA Regional qualifying standard of 6’ 10.75” (2.10m) ... on the women’s side, junior Eleni Kafourou won the long jump with a Bronco school-record of 21’ 5.5” (6.54m), moving into first in the West Region and earning an Olympic trial “A” qualifying standard ... Kayleen McDowell and Breanna Sande finished one-two in the 1,500-meter run, posting times of 4:35.52 and 4:35.92, respectively ... next up, the Broncos take this weekend off before returning to when they host the WAC Championships, May 14-17.
Fresno State Bulldogs
Fresno State competed in the Payton Jordan Invitational, in Palo Alto, Calif., hosted by Stanford, May 3 ... on the women’s side, sophomore Sharon Ayala finished third in the hammer throw with a toss of 195’ 4” (59.53m) and sixth in the discus with a distance of 148’ 1” (45.14m) ... Jackie Vazquez earned the silver medal in the javelin with her throw of 128’ 9” (39.24m) ... on the men’s side, Brian Vazquez took second in the hammer throw, registering a toss of 205’ 9” (62.72m)... Chris Witscher took fourth (183’ 2”/55.83m), Oscar Rodriguez placed sixth (172’ 8”/52.63m) and Raul Gonzalez was seventh (163’ 3”/49.75m) ... Rodriguez also finished second in the shot put with a mark of 55’ 9.25” (17.00m) ... freshman Matt Ramos threw a personal-best 46’ 0.5” (14.03m) in the shot put, finishing sixth overall ... Gonzales and Witscher also finished seven-eight in the discus, with marks of 146’ 6” (44.66m) and 145’ 10” (44.44m), respectively ... up next, the Bulldogs take part in the Modesto Relays, May 10, in the team’s last competition before the WAC Championships.
Hawai?i Rainbow Wahine
Hawai?i took part in the Steve Scott Invitational in Irvine, Calif., May 2-3 ... the Rainbow Wahine tallied three NCAA Regional qualifying marks, increasing their total to a school-record 10 on the season ... the previous record of seven was set in 2007 ... senior Annett Wichmann won the javelin with an NCAA Regional qualifying and personal-best throw of 156’ 1” (47.57m), surpassing her previous best by nearly six feet ... Amber Kaufman placed second in the high jump with a leap of 5 ?8.75” (1.75m), leading the Hawai?i contingent which also featured Emily Sheppard (5’ 7”/1.70m) and Wichmann (5’ 7”/1.70m), who placed fourth and fifth, respectively ... sophomore Alana Faagai recorded an NCAA Regional qualifying mark in the discus for the second time this season, heaving 156’ 7” (47.72m) to finish in second ... this week, the Rainbow Wahine host the Sunset Meet #4, May 10, at Cooke Field in Honolulu.
Idaho Vandals
Idaho participated in the Bronco Twilight Classic, May 2, in Boise, Idaho ... on the men’s side the Vandals were led by junior Elvie Williams, who leaped a career-best 26’ 0.75” to move into a tie for second in the NCAA this season, sixth in the United States and a tie for 18th in the world in the event ... his mark was also an Olympic trial “B” qualifying standard ... sophomore Lucas Pope became the 17th Vandal this season to achieve an NCAA Regional qualifying mark, clearing 16’ 6.75” in the pole vault to finish fourth and move into second in school history ... on the women’s side, senior Melinda Owen broke her own school record with a WAC-best vault of 13’ 7.25”, placing her fourth in the West Region and tied for ninth in the NCAA ... the Vandals took home victories in three of the four throwing events ... junior Mykael Bothum won both the shot put and the discus, with tosses of 48’ 1.25” and 148’ 3”, respectively ... freshman Gabby Midles won the hammer with a mark of 180’ 7” ... this week, Idaho hosts the Vandal Jamboree, May 9-10, in Moscow.
Louisiana Tech Bulldogs
Louisiana Tech put in a strong performance at the Drake Relays in Des Moines, Iowa, Apr. 25-26, highlighted by several NCAA Regional qualifying marks ... on the men’s side, freshman Larry Jones registered the highest finish for the Bulldogs, placing fourth in the discus with a toss of 172’ 9” ... junior Michael Coleman qualified for the finals of the 100-meter dash, clocking an NCAA Regional qualifying time of 10.54, finishing third in his heat ... on the women’s side, the 4x400-meter relay team of junior El Charrita Reynolds, sophomore Kamelia Stroy and freshmen Monique Wright and Shante Benion recorded an NCAA Regional qualifying time of 3:40.65 ... the relay time of 3:40.65 was the second-fastest qualifying time at the meet ... the Bulldogs of Louisiana Tech will take this weekend off before returning to action at the WAC Championships, May 14-17, in Boise, Idaho.
Nevada Wolf Pack
Nevada participated in the Brutus Hamilton Invitational in Berkeley, Calif., Apr. 26, tallying 16 top-10 finishes ... the Wolf Pack throwers earned three top-10 finishes in the hammer throw and two top-10 performances in the discus ... sophomore Constance McAlman threw a personal-best (55.96m) in the hammer to finish fourth, while Inger Appanaitis took fifth (55.60m) and Emily Jacobsen was 10th (48.81m) ... Appanaitis took fourth in the discus (45.79m) and McAlman was sixth (45.11m) ... Amanda Gramly ran a personal-best 17:28.38 in the 5,000-meter run to finish fourth, while Alicia Echeverria took second in the pole vault and tied her career-high (3.55m) ... on day two of the meet, Appanaitis placed second in the javelin (46.41m) and was fourth in the shot-put with a season high mark of 13.32m ... Amanda Boice took home the silver medal in the high jump with a season-best mark of 1.70m ... up next, the Wolf Pack return to action at the Aggie Twilight in Davis, Calif., May 9-10, hosted by UC Davis.
New Mexico State Aggies
New Mexico State took part in the Don Kirby Invitational, May 2, in Albuquerque, N.M., where the Aggies recorded an impressive 38 top-10 marks ... freshman Devin Brooks shattered the competition in the 100-meter hurdles, bringing home the gold medal with a time of 14.53, while junior Isabel Chea finished third, clocking a time of 15.87 ... sophomore Leah Benton finished third in the 400-meter dash with a personal-best time of 56.00 ... two Aggies finished in the top-five in the pole vault, as freshman Tara Blanco was second with a personal-best leap of 11’ 1.75”, while freshman Lauren Jaramillo was fourth with a jump of 9’ 2.25” ... in the hammer throw, junior Randi Grimes placed second with a mark of 169’ 1”, Jordan Veney was third (157’ 7”), sophomore Michelle Bernard was fourth (152’ 4”) and sophomore Jennifer McConnell was sixth (138’ 9”) ... Grimes also placed third in the javelin with a toss of 140’ 1” ... the Aggies take this weekend off before returning to action at the WAC Championships, May 14-17, in Boise, Idaho.
Utah State Aggies
Utah State competed in the Bronco Twilight Classic, May 2, where the Aggies won five events and recorded 14 top-three finishes ... on the women’s side, junior Katie Thatcher won the 400-meter hurdles with an NCAA regional qualifying time of 1:00.23, while freshman Katelyn Jensen won the 400-meter dash in 56.70 ... freshman Sonia Grabowska improved her NCAA regional qualifying mark in the pole vault, clearing 13’ 1.5”, placing fourth and matching the second-best mark in the WAC ... on the men’s side, senior Dasheek Akwenye broke the tape first in the 400-meter dash, clocking a time of 47.68, while junior Keith Williams won the 400-meter hurdles in 53.35 ... sophomore Jason Holt took home the gold medal in the 800-meter dash with a time of 1:54.41 ... junior John Strang finished second in the high jump, clearing 6’ 10.75”, tying the ninth-best mark in Utah State history ... up next, the Aggies will make the trip to Salt Lake City for the Utah Collegiate Challenge, May 8.
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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