Nampa, Idaho - Hawai’i senior Annett Wichmann won the pentathlon for the third time in as many years to lead the Rainbow Wahine in the first day of competition at the 2009 WAC Indoor Track and Field Championship. UH and Idaho now hold the top spot in the championship with 15 points each.
Day one of the three-day meet began with the multi-event portion of the championship. The men’s heptathlon finished four of the scheduled seven events as defending champion John Strang of Utah State leads the way with 3,180 points. The senior took top honors in the high jump (6-11; 2.11m) and long jump (23-9.5 ; 7.25m) as well as a second-place finish in the 60-meters. Idaho junior Mike Carpenter currently holds the second spot with 2,874 after a first-place finish in the 60-meters with a time of 7.00.
On the women’s side, Wichmann eclipsed her point total in last year’s championships by 98 points and finished with a NCAA provisional mark of 4,034 to take her third pentathlon crown. Wichmann is the only athlete to win the event three times, as she took top honors in 2007, 2008 and 2009. The senior posted first-place finishes in the shot put (46-06 ; 14.12m) and long jump (18-01 ; 5.51m). Idaho junior Lindsey Goodman was the runner-up as she registered second-place finishes in the long jump (18-0.25 ; 5.49m) and 800-meters (2:25.65). Senior Megan Olivetti of Boise State rounded out the top three after a thrilling victory in the 800-meters (2:22.64).
Tomorrow’s events begin at 11 a.m. with the fifth event in the men’s heptathlon, the 60-meter hurdles. The field events start at 1:30 p.m. while the running events kick off at 4 p.m.
2009 WAC Indoor Track and Field Championship Preview