THIS WEEK IN WAC INDOOR TRACK AND FIELD - After a week that featured school records and NCAA marks, Western Athletic Conference teams hit the track again. The United Heritage Invitational hosted by Boise State highlights the week with Nevada joining the Broncos in Nampa, Idaho. Idaho also hosts its own events as it kicks off the Vandal Indoor and Runner’s Soul Open.
FEMALE ATHLETES OF THE WEEK (Jan. 26 - fEB. 1) -
DENVER ? Boise State’s Megan Olivetti and Eleni Kafourou have been named Western Athletic Conference Women’s Indoor Track and Field Athletes of the Week, respectively for Jan. 26 ? Feb. 1.
Olivetti, a senior from Reno, Nev. (Wooster HS), broke the oldest Boise State indoor track and field record last week at the Bronco Invite when she won the 60m hurdle race with a time of 8.60. She broke the previous record of 8.67 set by Karla Jacoby 24 years ago in 1985 and later tied by Tosha Bailey in 1995.
Kafourou, a senior from Athens, Greece (9th Lykeium of Pireas HS), had a record-setting performance of her own at the Bronco Invitational this past weekend, breaking the school record in the triple jump with a leap of 43-5.00 (13.23m). In winning the event, the senior broke her own school record of 43-3.00 set last year. She also won the long jump with a mark of 20-3.00 (6.17m). Both performances are NCAA provisional marks and conference-bests.
Other track nominees: New Mexico State’s Ingrid Flores, Idaho’s Allix Lee-Painter and Utah State’s 4x400 relay team.
Other field nominees: New Mexico State’s Jordan Veney, Idaho’s Darcy Collins and Utah State’s Sonia Grabowska.
MALE ATHLETES OF THE WEEK (Jan. 26 - FEB. 1) -
DENVER ? Utah State’s Nick Karren and John Strang have been named Western Athletic Conference Men’s Indoor Track and Field Athletes of the Week, respectively for Jan. 26 ? Feb. 1.
Karren, a senior from Duchesne, Utah (Duchesne HS), won the 400 meter dash clocking in a 48.56 and setting a new Cougar Invitational meet record, breaking his own previous record he set in 2008. The mark is currently the second-best in the conference thus far. Karren was also the anchor on the men’s winning 4x400 relay team in 3:16.34, also a meet record. The foursome won the title for the third meet in a row.
Strang, a senior from Hawthorne, N.J. (Hawthorne HS), won the heptathlon with 5,443 points, capturing first in five of the seven events. After taking first in the heptathlon 60m, long jump, high jump and sixth in the shot put during the first day of competition, he continued his dominance by capturing firsts in the 60m hurdles (8.41) and the pole vault clearing 13-09.25 (4.20m). Strang finished the event with a fourth-place finish in the 1,000m run (2:55.35). The senior set a provisional mark in the high jump, setting a lifetime best and NCAA provisional qualifying mark, clearing 7-00.25 (2.14m).
Other track nominees included: Idaho’s James Clark and Boise State’s Eric Capelle.
Other field nominees included: Idaho’s Mike Carpenter and Boise State’s Eetu Viitala.
WARDHAUGH THROWS NCAA BEST - Simon Wardhaugh, a senior from Bracken Ridge, Australia (University of Queensland), Wardhaugh won the 35-pound weight throw at the Jacksons Open in Nampa, Idaho with a throw of 73-00.0 (22.25 meters). The mark set a new Boise State record previously held by Mattias Jons (72-4.50). The throw also stands as an automatic qualifying mark to the NCAA National Indoor Championships and currently stands as the best throw in the nation.
UTAH STATE MEN MAKE JUMP IN POLL - The Utah State Men’s Track and Field team made a 30 spot jump, to No. 54, in the USTFCCCA poll this week, the highest jump of any school.
THERE IS NO PLACE LIKE HOME - Boise State hosts all six of its meets this year, including the WAC Championships. Hawai?i and Idaho both host three meets, while Utah State hosts one before the end of the indoor season.
WAC CHAMPIONSHIP RETURNS TO BOISE ? The 2009 edition of the WAC Championship returns to Idaho Sports Center and Jacksons Track in Nampa, Idaho. The meet will be held Feb. 26-28.
NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP ? The 2009 NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championship returns to College Station, Texas, March 13-14. Texas A&M University is hosting the event.
TEAM NOTES
Boise State Broncos
Boise State captured 11 first-place finishes and broke two school records en route to a strong showing at the Bronco Invitational at the Jacksons Indoor Track in Nampa, Friday and Saturday (Jan. 30-31) ... the Broncos earned seven NCAA provisional marks at the two-day meet ... on her way to WAC Women’s Track Athlete of the Week, senior Megan Olivetti got things started for the Bronco women as she won the 60-meter hurdles, while breaking the Boise State women’s indoor record with a time of 8.60 ... Eleni Kafourou, a senior, would earn the women’s second record-breaking performance of the weekend by triple jumping 43-05.00 (13.23m) ... the jump not only earned her a first-place finish at the meet, but it also broke her previous school record of 43-03.00 (13.18m), which she set last season ... freshman Eric Capelle earned his second 60m individual title of the season, running a personal record 6.88 ... his time was just good enough to edge out teammates Per Strandquist and Marlon Douglas ... this week, the Broncos host the United Heritage Invitational.
Fresno State Bulldogs
The Bulldogs picked up wins over all six teams, including USC, Cal State LA and Cal Poly, in the dual face-offs at the third annual Run for the Dream on Jan. 19 ... senior Grace Wiesmann (Van Nuys, Calif.) won the weight throw with a personal best toss of 58-3 (17.76m) ... Wiesmann broke her former mark by four feet on her second throw of the day ... fellow senior Vanessa Sautebin (Kloten, Zurcich, Switzerland) finished on top of the 55-meter hurdle finals, capturing a first place finish in a tie with Cal State Dominguez Hills’ Channel Parker, the two crossed at exactly 8.26 seconds apiece ... Kayla Xavier won Fresno State’s first event of the day, she earned a victory in the shot put with her final throw, marking 45 feet, 7 inches (13.89 m), a mark good for sixth-best in the WAC ... junior Roxanne Sellick ran for the second-best 1 mile time in the conference, 5:00.35 ... the Bulldogs next compete at the New Mexico Invitational in Albuquerque, N.M. on Feb. 7.
Hawai?i Rainbow Wahine
Three women athletes placed in the top 10 of their respective events on the second day of the University of Washington Invitational last weekend ... multi-event athlete Annett Wichmann placed fourth in the individual shot put with a throw of 46-6.75 (14.19m) ... Wichmann scored an NCAA provisional mark of 3,919 points in the pentathlon, an event in which she placed fourth at the NCAA Indoor Championships last season ... senior Emily Sheppard, who also competed in the pentathlon on Friday, placed seventh overall in the high jump after clearing 5-6.5 (1.69m) ... sophomore Anika Borden placed eighth in the weight throw after heaving 53-11 (16.43m) ... all of UH’s other shot putters ? Careena Onosai, TeRina Keenan, and Kai Schmidt ? threw seasonal bests while milers Liisa Cushing, Mariana Monasi, and Briana Goodnight ran personal bests ... UH returns to action this week as it hosts its Sunset Meet #2 at the newly dedicated Clarence T.C. Ching Field.
Idaho Vandals
Idaho earned five individual victories, hit three NCAA provisional qualifying marks and broke one meet record over the weekend at the Cougar Indoor in Pullman, Wash. ... seniors KC Dahlgren and Matt Wauters, along with junior Mykael Bothum, all hit the NCAA provisional standard for the second weekend in a row ... Dahlgren cleared a season-best 3.95m (12-11.5) to tie for the best height of the day, but finished third based on attempts; Wauters won the men’s weight throw with a season-best toss of 20.11m (65-11.75), which moves him from 13th to ninth in the NCAA in the event ... senior Allix Lee-Painter, the 2008 Western Athletic Conference women’s cross country champion, had the top track performance of the weekend, as she cruised to a meet record and a personal best in the 3,000m with a time of 9:51.25 ... the performance is also the best in the WAC so far this season by more than 25 seconds ... Idaho hosts the Vandal Indoor this Friday and the Runner’s Soul Open on Saturday.
Louisiana Tech Bulldogs
LTU registered numerous top finishes in its second competition of the 2009 indoor season at the Arkansas Razorback Invitational Jan. 24 ... the team competed in an un-scored meet against top teams such as Alabama, Arkansas, Baylor, Georgia Tech, Iowa, Mississippi State, North Texas, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Oral Roberts, Southern, TCU and Tulsa ... in the triple jump, Quatisha Williams brought home a second place finish with a jump of 40’ 7.5” while team mate Brittany Guy finished just out of the top five at sixth place with a jump of 38’ 9.75” ... junior Tiera Hall finished third in the shot put with a throw of 45’ 3.5” ... the women’s 4X400 relay team had yet another great run as they finished fifth with a time of 3:44 topping their time from last weeks meet by four seconds ... the men’s 4X400 relay team also had a good showing, finishing fifth as well with one of the top times in school history at 3:13.15 ... the team will now take the second of two weeks off before preparing for the Texas A&M Invitational on Feb. 13-14.
Nevada Wolf Pack
Nevada tallied several top ten finishes in its meet in Boise at the Blue and Orange Invitational last week ... junior thrower Constance McAlman led the Pack as she placed third in both the shot put and weight throw ... she threw a 13.16m in the shot put and a 17.06m in the weight throw ... Aurelia Houston and Amanda Moreno recorded the Wolf Pack’s highest finish of the day ... Houston finished second in the triple jump with a jump of 11.24m, while Moreno finished second in the 3000m run with a time of 10:20.07, the top 3000m time in the WAC ... Polly Smith finished fourth in the 800m run with a time of 2:15.84, the mark was the fourth-best finish in the conference ... the Pack’s 4x400m relay team of Tiffany Sells, Analisa Serrano, Polly Smith and Regal Minyard finished fourth out of 11 teams with a time of 3:59.66 ... after a week off, Nevada will return to Boise to compete in the United Heritage Invitational, Feb. 6-7.
New Mexico State Aggies
New Mexico State junior thrower Jordan Veney highlighted all Aggie performances with a third-place finish in the shot put at the elite Washington Invitational, in Seattle, Wash. last weekend ... Veney recorded a throw of 46-07.25 in the shot put, which increased her personal best mark by two inches ... junior distance specialist Ingrid Flores recorded a lifetime-best performance in the 5000-meter run with a time of 17:54.31 ... the time placed her 18th overall, but also ranks her second on New Mexico State’s all-time record list ... in the 3000-meter run sophomore Brittany Hurtado recorded a lifetime-best as she stopped the clock at 10:27.25 ... the time ranks her third on New Mexico State’s all-time record list ... New Mexico State is back in action, Saturday, Feb. 7, as the Aggies head to Albuquerque, N.M., to compete at the New Mexico Lobo Classic.
Utah State Aggies
On their way to sweeping the WAC Men’s Track and Field Weekly Awards, the Aggies won individual titles in seven events with the men taking first in the heptathlon, high jump, 400m and 4x400 relay ... the women captured titles in the 4x400 relay, pole vault and weight throw ... Strang won the men’s heptathlon with 5,443 points ... after taking first in the heptathlon 60m, long jump, high jump and sixth in shot put Friday, Strang continued strong Saturday capturing two more firsts in the 60m hurdles (8.41) and the pole vault clearing 13.09.25 (4.20m) ... Strang finished out the heptathlon with a fourth-place finish in the 1,000m run clocking in at 2:55.35 ... Sonia Grabowska won the pole vault clearing 13.03.5 (4.05m) ... Grabowska also took sixth overall in the women’s pentathlon (2,619) ... the meet was round-robin dual team scoring with five points for first, three for second and one point for third ... the USU men finished with a 2-2 win-loss record while the women were 3-1 for the weekend ... this week, the team will make the trip to Seattle Wash. to compete in the Washington Invitational.