United Athletic Conference

Fayetteville, Ark. ? Eight Western Athletic Conference garnered all-American honors this weekend at the 2009 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Fayetteville, Ark.

Hawai`i finished in a tie for 36 place after earning eight team points, while Fresno State ended its season with a 52nd place showing at the championships with four total team points. On the men's side, with three all=Americans Boise State finished in a WAC-best 25th place after garnering 10 points over the course of the championship.

Boise State’s Simon Wardhaugh and Pontus Thomee earned Boise State’s first team points on Friday evening, after finishing third in the men’s hammer throw and fifth in the javelin, respectively.

Wardhaugh, a senior from Brackenridge, Australia (University of Queensland), earned All-American honors by recording his top hammer throw of the season (230-05/70.23m). The hammer was won by Virginia Tech’s Marcel Lomnicky (235-06/71.78m). This marks the top finish Wardhaugh has recorded at an NCAA Championship meet. He also earned All-American honors at the 2009 Indoor Championships with a fifth-place finish in the weight throw.

Thomee, a sophomore from Goteborg, Ojersjo (Porthalla Gymnasium), earned his fifth-place finish and All-American honors in the men’s javelin with a mark of 233-05 (71.14m). The javelin was won by Georgia’s Chris Hill, who recorded a throw of 268-04 (81.80m). Thomee’s finish marks his first career medal at an NCAA championship meet.

Bronco senior Ryan Grinnell concluded his college track and field career, Saturday, as he earned a ninth-place finish in the men’s triple jump finals.

 Grinnell earned the ninth-place finish in the event with a jump of 52-06.75 (15.80m), which also earns him All-American honors. The triple jump was won by Will Clay of Oklahoma, who recorded a mark of 56-06.75 (17.24m). Grinnell also qualified for the high jump finals on Friday, where he would finish 11th (6-10.75/2.10m).

Fresno State boasted a pair of all-American finishers after Sharon Ayala grabbed All-American honors in the hammer throw, and freshman Latrisha Jordan nabbed the accolade in the 400-meter hurdles. The team's last All-American was Mallory Webb throwing the javelin in 2007.

Ayala finished sixth in the hammer throw after a two-hour rain delay that cut through the competition. Ayala's All-American honors in the hammer throw is a first for Fresno State. The senior marked a 200-foot (60.96 meters) throw on her first and best throw of the day. Her sixth place finish earned the Bulldogs three team points.

Latrisha Jordan nabbed All-American accolades in the 400-meter hurdles.

This is Ayala's second All-American honor, having taken sixth in the weight throw at the NCAA Indoor Championship earlier this season.

Ayala concludes her Fresno State career with the school's record in both the hammer throw (218-3/66.52m) and the weight throw record (66-6/20.26m).

Jordan also owns the Fresno State record in her specialty, the 400 hurdles, having trumped her own record with a time of 58.14 Thursday in the NCAA semifinals.

University of Hawai?i high jumper Amber Kaufman captured the program’s first medal at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships since 1984 after winning the bronze medal Friday in the high jump finals.

Kaufman cleared 6-1.25 (1.86m) before bowing out with the bar set at 6-3.5 (1.92m). Texas’ Destinee Hooker captured her fourth NCAA title with a jump of 6-4.75 (1.95m) over Arizona’s Elizabeth Patterson (6-2.25/1.89m).

Meanwhile multi-event athlete Annett Wichmann placed seventh in the heptathlon, eclipsing her personal best by five points with a total of 5,675. The Jena, Germany native concluded her illustrious career by competing in her seventh NCAA Championship and earning her fourth All-American award.

Utah State's Krista Larson earned All-American honors by finishing ninth in the hammer throw Friday.

Larson becomes USU's first female overall All-American since Jennifer Twitchell earned the honor in 2007 at the Indoor National Championships and the first female for outdoor track and field since Shae Jones-Bair in 2000. Overall, Larson is the eighth Aggie woman to earn All-American accolades. Larson is the first USU female hammer thrower to earn All-American honors and only the third field athlete.

After earning an at-large bid to the championships and entering the national meet No. 16 in the rankings, Larson tabbed 12th-place in the qualifying round Wednesday with a distance of 188-01 (57.33m), earning her a spot in Friday's final round.

Larson launched her All-American throw on her sixth and final throw. She topped the 10th-place finisher, Brittany Pryor of Vrigina Tech (188-10, 57.55m) by almost six feet. Larson was three feet short of the eighth-place finisher, Rhode Islands', Jasmine Jennings (197-04, 60.15m).

Final Women's Standings

Final Men's Standings