DES MOINES ? The Western Athletic Conference had eight individuals score at the 2008 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Des Moines, Iowa, June 11-14. Boise State's Ryan Grinnell earned All-American honors in the men's triple jump, while Fresno State freshman Gary Lee placed fifth in the men's long jump to claim All-American honors. Hawai'i's Amber Kaufman, Emily Sheppard and Annett Wichmann earned All-American honors, with Kaufman and Sheppard finishing five-six in the women's high jump, while Wichmann placed sixth in the women's heptathlon. Idaho's Elvie Williams, Marcus Mattox and Russ Winger claimed All-American honors, with Williams placing fourth in the men's long jump and Mattox taking ninth in the men's hammer throw. Winger earned All-American status in two events, finishing fifth in the men's discus and third in his premier event, the shot put.
After qualifying three WAC athletes for the men's long jump final, Idaho junior Elvie Williams and Fresno State freshman Gary Lee earned All-American honors in the event. Williams' and Lee's identical leaps of 25' 7.5" (7.81m) garnered fourth and fifth places, respectively, with Williams acing out Lee for the higher place based on his second-best jump. This is the first NCAA All-American honors for both Williams and Lee.
Boise State junior Ryan Grinnell captured All-American honors, finishing sixth in the men's triple jump with a leap of 53' 6.5" (16.32m). Grinnell also took 11th in the men's long jump with a mark of 25' 2" (7.67m).
Hawai'i sophomore Amber Kaufman and junior Emily Sheppard earned All-American status after finishing fifth and sixth, respectively, in the women's high jump. Kaufman cleared 6' 0" (1.83m), while Sheppard's best jump was 5' 10.75" (1.86m). The fifth place finish for Kaufman was the Rainbow Wahine's highest individual finisher at the championships since Gwen Loud won the long jump in 1984.
Hawai'i senior Annett Wichmann posted a school record 5,670 points in the women's heptathlon en route to her sixth place finish, claiming All-American honors in the event. Heading into the second day of the heptathlon, Wichmann stood in 12th place, but gradually improved her status after finishing third in the javelin and fourth in the 800-meter run. Last year, Wichmann placed ninth in the event.
Idaho senior Russ Winger earned his sixth-ever All-American honor after finishing third in the men's shot put and fifth in the discus. Winger threw 64' 8.75" (19.73m) on his final attempt, clinching his fifth All-American honor in the shot put. Winger also took fifth in the discus with a mark of 187' 7" (57.18m). Winger caps off his outstanding Vandal career, with his six career All-America honors ranking second in school history behind only Joachim Olsen, who garnered 10 such honors from 1999-2002.
Vandal senior Marcus Mattox earned his first-ever All-American honors after finishing ninth in the men's hammer throw, recording a toss of 214' 6" (65.38m), the second best mark of his career. Mattox broke the Idaho school record with his launch of 217' 2" (66.20m) during preliminary round action. Mattox becomes the first Vandal to ever qualify for the NCAA Outdoor Championships in the hammer throw, while also claiming All-American status in the event.
Overall, 24 WAC student athletes participated in the 2008 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships. Boise State's Savvas Diakonikolas finished 16th in the men's long jump with a mark of 24' 9.25" (7.55m). Bronco juniors Simon Wardhaugh and Jarrod Stevens competed in the men's hammer throw, finishing 15th and 16th, respectively. Wardhaugh's best mark was 206' 0" (62.87m), whlie Stevens posted a best throw of 205' 6" (62.63m). Bronco sophomore Zacharias Arnos took 15th in the men's triple jump with a leap of 51' 3.75" (15.64m). Boise State junior Megan Olivetti placed 20th in the women's 100-meter hurdles, clocking a time of 13.66. Bronco junior Eleni Kafourou finished tied for 21st in the women's long jump with a leap of 20' 2.25" (6.15m), and also took 24th in the women's triple jump with a mark of 40' 7.74" (12.39m).
Fresno State junior Sharon Ayala placed 13th in the women's hammer throw with a toss of 199' 5" (60.79m), finishing just one place shy of a spot in the finals. Bulldog freshman Rosario Sanchez took 16th in the women's shot put with a launch of 51' 5.5" (15.68m).
Louisiana Tech's men's 4x100-meter relay team of Mike Coleman, Albert Fullwood, Josh Harvey and Terry Carter placed ninth in preliminary action, clocking a time of 39.88, finishing just one spot shy of making the finals. Coleman also participated in the men's 200-meter dash, placing 19th with a time of 21.21. Bulldog freshman Larry Jones took 24th in the men's javelin throw with a mark of 190' 9" (58.14m). Louisiana Tech junior Nadia Alexander competed in the women's shot put, finishing 19th with a toss of 50' 5.5" (15.38m), while junior Phelecia Reynolds placed 24th in the women's discus with a mark of 154' 3" (47.02m).
Nevada senior Inger Appanaitis placed 13th in the women's javelin throw, just one spot shy of making the event finals, with a toss of 160' 9" (48.99m).
Idaho's men finished with 15 points to tie South Carolina for 18th place, which now gives the Vandals 10 top-25 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships finishes in program history and fourth in the last 10 seasons. Fresno State's men finished with four points to tie for 50th with Albany, Ohio State, Oklahoma State, Georgia Tech and Weber State. Boise State's men earned three points to tie for 56th with Syracuse, Indiana, Stanford, Louisiana-Monroe, Memphis, Southeast Missouri State and Hampton.
The Rainbow Wahine women earned their best-ever finish, tallying 10 points to tie for 25th place with Colorado, Iowa State and Southern Illinois. Hawai'i's previous-best finish at the championships was 32nd in 1984.
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