United Athletic Conference

Fayetteville, Ark. ? After outstanding performances at the NCAA Regionals, 20 student-athletes will head to Fayetteville Ark. to represent the Western Athletic Conference in the 2009 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships slated to run June 10-13.

Boise State qualified four athletes, the most among WAC schools, in seniors Ryan Grinnell and Simon Wardhaugh, along with sophomores Pontus Thomee and Sasa Kampic.

Pontus Thomee earned Boise State’s first automatic berth of the weekend by placing second in the men’s javelin. His mark of 239-03 (72.93m) is also his best throw of the season. Thomee won the WAC javelin title two weeks ago with a throw of 230-09 (70.34m).

Grinnell earned NCAA berths in three events after his regional performances in the high jump, long jump and triple jump. The senior won the NCAA West Regional in the men’s triple jump with a mark of 53-09.75 (16.40m).

Kampic placed tenth in the final flight of the women’s javelin with a throw of 145-02 (44.26m), but it was her mark of 49.61m at the WAC Championships that earned her an at-large bid in the NCAA’s.

Wardhaugh earned Boise State's final automatic bid to NCAA's by winning the hammer throw on Saturday with a toss of 216-10 (66.09m). Wardhaugh entered the weekend with the top mark in the region so far this season (224-00/68.29m). His mark is also ranked No. 6 nationally.

Two Fresno State athletes will make the trip to Arkansas as Sharon Ayala and Latisha Jordan represent the Bulldogs.

Ayala, a senior, placed third in the hammer throw earning her spot to compete at the NCAA Outdoor Championships. Ayala won the WAC title in the hammer event after propelling the hammer 218 feet, 3 inches (66.52 meters) during the conference championships.

Since her start at Fresno State in January 2008, Ayala has set and broken the record six times. She currently holds the No. 3 spot in the USTFCCCA's rankings for the hammer. This will be Ayala's third trip to the NCAA Championships as she qualified for last year's NCAA Outdoor Championships as well as the NCAA Indoor Championships this spring where she earned All-American honors in the weight throw.

Jordan, a freshman, qualifies after taking third in the 400-meter hurdle event. Jordan broke her personal and school record with a time of 58.17 for the fourth time this season at the regional.

The Rainbow Wahine completed their best ever finish at the NCAA West Regional Championships last weekend led by Amber Kaufman and Annett Wichmann, both of whom earned automatic qualification to the national championships in their respective events. Hawai’i placed 11th overall with 19 points, the best of WAC schools.

Kaufman won the high jump after clearing 6-1.5 (1.87m), tying the West Regional record set last year. She became the first-ever athlete to win an event at the West Regional in school history. Kaufman will now compete in her second straight NCAA Championships after placing fifth in 2008.

Kaufman won’t be the only UH athlete to compete in the high jump in a week as senior Emily Sheppard also qualified in the event after a mark of 1.81m at the WAC Championships just one month ago. Kaufman and Sheppard finished in fifth and sixth-place, respectively, in the 2008 Championships.

Making her fourth-consecutive trip to nationals will be Annett Wichmann. The senior garnered high-point honors at the WAC Championships and will now make an appearance at the NCAA Championships in the heptathlon. She also qualified in the javelin, but will only compete in the heptathlon event. Wichmann will look to improve upon her sixth-place finish in the heptathlon in last year’s NCAA Championships, as she garnered 5,670.

On the men’s side, Idaho sends two student-athletes to Arkansas as junior James Rogan automatically qualified on Saturday in the hammer throw, while sophomore Paul Dittmer earned an at-large bid to the championships after his time in the 110m hurdles.

After a third-place finish in the event, Rogan heads to the NCAA Championships for the first time in his career. His toss of 212-10 (64.87m) was a lifetime best for the junior.

Dittmer ran to a sixth-place finish with a time of 13.85 as he just missed a top-finish for an automatic qualifying berth. The sophomore was selected as an at-large participant on Tuesday by the NCAA. Dittmer becomes the second Vandal to qualify for an NCAA meet in the men’s 110m hurdles.

Sending the conference’s only relay team to Fayetteville, Louisiana Tech’s 4x400 team will try its luck against the top competition in the nation. Along with the women’s relay team, Nadia Alexander, Kamelia Story, Antoinette Cobb and Monique Wright will all compete in individual events next weekend.

Story and Wright will both be seeded in the 400m after solid performances in the Mideast Regional. Story had a top five finish after garnering fourth place with a time of 53.14, while Wright earned an at-large berth to the championships with a time of 53.37, good for sixth place.

Alexander punched her ticket to the NCAA’s with a shot put throw of 53-7.75 (16.68m) and a third-place finish. The senior currently owns the nation’s sixth-best mark in the event.

Running in the 100m hurdles, Cobb earned an at-large bid at the Mid-East Regional meet last weekend.

The 4x400 relay team of El Charrita Reynolds, Story, Lashannda Worthy and Wright finished sixth with a time of 3:36.20.

With three male athletes in the final NCAA meet of the season, Utah State senior Nick Karren will compete in the 400m hurdles after a time of 50.84, good for third place, in the NCAA West Regional. Joining Karren will be juniors Steve Strickland and Casey Parker.

Strickland earned his trip to the NCAA National Championships by finishing second in the 3,000m steeplechase in an 8:53.05 clocking, five and a half seconds behind the winning time of 8:47.98 by BYU's Richard Nelson. Strickland's time is 11 seconds behind his school record time of 8:42.71.

Parker jumped a career-best in the high jump, clearing 6-11.75 (2.16m) tabbing third.

The University of Arkansas will play host to the 2009 Championships. The meet is scheduled to be held June 10-13 at John McDonnell Field in Fayetteville, Ark.

Click here for results from the West Regional

Click here for results from the Mid-East Regional

Complete list of WAC athletes competing below: