NAMPA, Idaho - The Boise State men and Louisiana Tech women captured the 2009 WAC Indoor Track and Field Championship Saturday night at Jacksons Track in Nampa, Idaho. Each team secured its fourth conference indoor championship.
On the men’s side, the Broncos won with 150 points, while Utah State posted a score of 145.5. Both Idaho (121.5) and Louisiana Tech (104) posted team-best scores in the championship. For the second straight year, the women’s championship came down to the final race of the championship with the Lady Techsters finishing on top with 120 points. Idaho took the second spot with 114 team points, while Boise State held on to third place with 112. Utah State (92.5), Hawai’i (72.5) and Nevada (57) placed 4-5-6. Fresno State and New Mexico State rounded out the standings with 48 and 47 points, respectively.
Utah State's Clint Silcock and Boise State's Ryan Grinnell entertained the crowd with a thrilling jump-off in the men's high jump. Silcock came out on top as he cleared 7-1.00 (2.16m) to collect the 10 points for the Aggies. Grinnell cleared the bar at 6-10.75 (2.10m), just below his season best. Utah State claimed four out of the six scoring positions to take away 21 team points.
Senior Simon Wardhaugh of Boise State repeated as men's weight throw champion as his NCAA automatic qualifying mark of 71-8.00 (21.84m) bested his 2008 mark of 21.26m. Idaho garnered 17 team points as junior Ben Wood had a runner-up throw of 64-3.25 (19.59m), a NCAA provisional mark. The Vandals’ James Rogan took third place in the event.
The Aggies of Utah State took both men’s and women’s mile events. Sophomore Chio Lopez registered his season-best time of 4:12.73 to win the event for USU for the first time since it joined the conference in 2005. Chio edged out Louisiana Tech senior Kinsey Dinnel (4:13.29) and James Clark (4:13.75), a freshman from Idaho. On the women’s side, the Aggies’ Erin Stratton defended her 2008 title by finishing with a time of 4:55.42. Utah State has now won the event three times in as many years. The 5,000m champion, Idaho’s Allix Lee-Painter, ran to a second-place finish with a time of 5:06.68.
Utah State continued its dominance in the 60-meter hurdles as freshman Dylan Nielson (8.03) and senior Keith Williams (8.17) finished first and third. Louisiana Tech sophomore Billy Walker finished in the second spot after he ran a 8.05. Utah State or Louisiana Tech have won the event for five straight years, with the Bulldogs taking first three times while the Aggies have now earned the top spot twice.
In the women’s 60-meter hurdles, Louisiana Tech’s Antoinette Cobb earned a first-place finish after she ran an 8.36. The NCAA provisional time was the best mark registered at the championship since 1999. Idaho seniors Heather Bergland and Christie Gordon earned second and third-place finishes respectively.
The Louisiana Tech women earned the top three places in the 400-meter dash as sophomore Monique Wright took the event with a time of 54.49. Junior Kamelia Stroy (54.95) and senior El Charrita Reynolds (55.31) rounded out the top three for the Lady Techsters.
On the men’s side of the 400-meter dash, defending champion Utah State senior Nick Karren won a race that came down to the wire with a time of 47.56 beating Louisiana Tech’s Albert Fullwood (47.61) and Demonte Willis (47.78). This marks the second-straight year Karren has taken top honors in the event. The Bulldog also held the fourth-place spot to score 18 team points in the event.
Hawai’i garnered two out of the top three places in the triple jump, but it was Eleni Kafourou of Boise State who collected her second-straight title with a NCAA provisional qualifying mark of 43-7.00 (13.28m). Kafourou has won the triple jump and long jump the last two years. The Rainbow Wahine’s Emily Sheppard and Annett Wichmann finished second and third in the event, respectively.
Idaho junior Mykael Bothum posted a NCAA provisional mark and a first-place performance of 55-00.75 (16.78m) in the women’s shot put. She registered her season-best mark on her first throw of the evening. New Mexico State junior Corissa Hutchinson threw a 48-9.00 (14.86m), while sophomore Kayla Xavier from Fresno State rounded out the top three after a throw of 48-8.00 (14.83m).
Mike Coleman of Louisiana Tech captured his second-straight 60-meter dash title after a time of 6.75. Boise State freshmen Eric Capelle and Per Strandquist finished 2-3 in the final heat and collected a total of 16 points toward the team total.
In the women’s 60-meter, Chasidee Lewis defended her 2008 crown when she ran a 2009-best time of 7.51. Tech teammate Antionette Cobb ran 7.64 to take third place, while Boise State’s all-around specialist Eleni Kafourou edged out Cobb to finish in second with a time of 7.63.
Boise State senior standout Ryan Grinnell posted a NCAA automatic qualifying mark of 52-10.25 (16.11m) to repeat as the triple jump champion. The Broncos claimed the top two spots for the second year in a row as Zacharias Arnos registered a NCAA provisional mark of 51-10.50 (15.81m). Sophomore Jonathan Keys of Louisiana Tech had the third-best effort with a jump of 50-4.50 (15.35m).
Both men’s and women’s 800-meter runs were claimed by Boise State. Seniors Kayleen McDowell (2:12.07) and Caleb Cazier (1:53.43) took the top spots in the event, for the full 10 points, for their respective teams. It marked the first time in school history that either team has won the event at the WAC championship.
Louisiana Tech finished 1-2-3 in both the men’s and women’s 200-meter dash. The men’s crown was claimed by senior Mike Coleman (21.29), on his way to earning Male Track Athlete of the Year honors. Teammates Albert Fullwood (21.42), Terry Carter (21.44) and Josh Harvey (21.52) claimed second, third and fourth-places, respectively. Freshman Stacia Hanneman took top honors on the women’s side with a time of 24.29, while teammates Chasidee Lewis and Monique Wright rounded out the top three.
Sophomore Sawyer Bosch of Boise State scored crucial points for the Broncos in the 3,000-meters. He posted a time of 8:30.55 to win the event. Sawyer’s win broke a four-year winning streak that Utah State had in the event. Utah State athletes finished in five of the top seven places. However, the Aggies took the title on the women’s side when Erin Stratton beat out favorite Allix Lee-Painter of Idaho by less than a second.
In the 4x400 relay, the Louisiana Tech men won for the second time since they joined the conference. The team of Wade MaGaha, Demonte Willis, Mike Coleman and Albert Fullwood just edged out Utah State’s relay team by less than five-tenths of a second, 3:14.36 to 3:14.80.
In a replay of last year’s championship, the women’s overall crown was decided by the 4x400 relay. The Lady Techsters won for the fifth time in six years. The team was made up of El Charrita Reynolds, Kamelia Stroy, Shante Benion and Monique Wright.
Women’s Final Standings
Louisiana Tech 120
Idaho 114
Boise State 112
Utah State 92.5
Hawaii 72.5
Nevada 57
Fresno State 48
New Mexico State 47
Men’s Final Standings
Boise State 150
Utah State 145.5
Idaho 121.5
Louisiana Tech 104
2009 WAC Honors
Women
Freshman of the Year ? Stacia Hanneman, Louisiana Tech
Outstanding Track Performer ? Allix Lee-Painter, Sr., Idaho
Co-Outstanding Field Performer ? Annett Wichmann, Sr., Hawai’i and Eleni Kafourou, Sr., Boise State
High Point Award - Eleni Kafourou, Sr., Boise State (28 points)
Coach of the Year ? Gary Stanley, Louisiana Tech
Men
Freshman of the Year ? Markus Geiger, Idaho
Outstanding Track Performer ? Mike Coleman, Sr., Louisiana Tech
Outstanding Field Performer ? Ryan Grinnell, Sr., Boise State
High Point Award - Ryan Grinnell, Sr., Boise State (28 points)
Coach of the Year ? Mike Maynard