THIS WEEK
Five WAC schools are in action this week. Nevada sends three athletes to the New Balance Invitational in New York City. Idaho hosts two meets, the Vandal Indoor on Friday and Idaho Open on Saturday. Hawai’i hosts the Dr. Donnis Thompson Memorial on Saturday. Utah State travels to Boise for the Bronco Classic. New Mexico State will attend the New Mexico Classic.
Verizon WAC Women’s Athletes of the Week
Idaho’s Hannah Kiser and Louisiana Tech’s Chelsea Hayes were were named the Verizon Western Athletic Conference Women’s Indoor Track and Field Athletes of the Week, respectively, for the week of Jan. 23-29.
Kiser, a sophomore from Wenatchee, Wash. (Wenatchee HS), posted a pair of career bests and individual victories, as well as a meet record, last Saturday at the Cougar Indoor. She ran a career-best 4:42.41 (converted for track size) in the women’s mile run to break the former meet record by a seven-second margin. The mile time is the fastest in the WAC this season by a full second and ranks 22nd in the NCAA. The mark is also the third-fastest in school history. She added an individual victory in the 800-meters with a career-best 2:12.96 (converted), which is the second-fastest time in the WAC this season. She won the 800-meters by more than five seconds and won the mile by more than eight seconds at the meet. She is the only WAC woman ranked in the top 10 in both the 800-meters and the mile so far this season.
Hayes, a senior from New Orleans, La. (Butler County CC), set a new school record in the long jump last weekend at the Arkansas State Invitational with a mark of 20-11.25 (6.38m). That is the second-best mark in the nation this year and leads the Western Athletic Conference by more than a foot and a half. It is almost two full feet better than any non-Louisiana Tech jumper in the conference. Hayes also set a school record to win the 55-meter dash (6.91), in addition to victories in the 200-meters (23.76) and as the second leg of the winning 4x400-meter relay team. She holds the fastest time in the WAC in four different distances.
Other track nominees included: Fresno State sophomore Breeauna Thompson … Nevada freshman Kashae Knox … New Mexico State junior Courtney Schultz … Utah State senior Kim Quinn.
Other field nominees included: Hawai’i senior Madara Apine … Idaho senior Gabby Midles … Nevada senior La Tjiera Avery … New Mexico State senior Bellosie Frazier … Utah State sophomore Chari Hawkins.
Verizon WAC Men’s Athletes of the Week
Louisiana Tech’s Trey Hadnot and Idaho’s Andrew Blaser were named the Verizon Western Athletic Conference Men’s Indoor Track and Field Athletes of the Week, respectively, for the week of Jan. 23-29.
Hadnot, a sophomore from Ruston, La. (Ruston HS), set a new school record in the 200-meter dash last weekend at the Arkansas State Invitational. His time of 21.04 topped Al Fullwood’s time of 21.25 set in 2010. Hadnot leads the WAC by over half a second and his time currently ranks sixth in the nation. The 200-meters is Hadnot’s specialty, as he competed for Team USA at last year’s Pan American Junior Championships, claiming the bronze medal for the Americans.
Blaser, a senior from Meridian, Idaho (Louisville), opened his indoor season last weekend with a career-best indoor pole vault of 15-9 (4.80m), which is second-best in the WAC this season. In the high jump, he reached a height of 6-3.25 (1.91m), also second-best in the conference. He posted a time of 8.45 in the 60-meter hurdles, good for third in the WAC. Blaser rounded out his performance when he just missed his career-best distance in the long jump, by half an inch, with a leap of 21-11.75 (6.70m).
Other track nominees included: Idaho sophomore Andrew Bloom … Utah State freshman Bishop Bowens.
Other field nominees included: Utah State sophomore Bryce Hall.
TEAM RECAPS
Fresno State
Fresno State competed at the Jacksons Invitational in Boise, Idaho, last Friday and Saturday ... sophomore Breeauna Thompson finished first in the 200-meter dash with a time of 24.72, her first time competing in the 200m on an indoor track ... she added a win in the 400-meters, finishing in a time of 55.83 ... freshman Meagan McKee won the shot put with a mark of 50’ 7”....she finished third in the weight throw with a mark of of 18.11m ... the Bulldogs are off this week ... Fresno State will be in action next, on Feb. 11, at the Husky Classic in Seattle, Wash., where the Bulldogs will be joined by six other WAC schools.
Hawai‘i
Hawai’i competed at the UW Invite, in Seattle, Wash., last Friday and Saturday ... senior Madara Apine was the meet’s top collegiate finisher, placed second overall with a mark of 40-9.5 (12.43m) and finished one inch behind winner Allison Wilder (40-10.5/12.46m) ... Apine broke her own school record, of 40-1.5 (12.23m), which she set last year ... senior TeRina Keenan set a personal best in the shot put with a heave of 49-1.5 (14.97m) and placed second overall among 17 competitors ... UH returns home to host the Dr. Donnis Thompson Memorial on Saturday ... the meet is the second of five all-comer meets during the Sunset Series, which UH will host ... due to the meet taking place outside, there will be no official scores.
Idaho
Idaho competed last weekend at the Cougar Indoor in Pullman, Wash. ... in the four dual format, both the men’s and women’s teams went 2-2 .. the men earned victories over Montana (76-45) and Utah State (62-57), while falling to Washington State (95-27) and UCLA (60-53) ... the women defeated UCLA (58-54) and Montana (59-58), but fell to Utah State (74-47) and Washington State (68-51) ... sophomore Hannah Kiser ran a career-best 4:42.41 in the women’s mile run, which 22nd in the NCAA this year ... she added an individual victory in the 800-meters with a career-best time of 2:12.96 ... this week, the Vandals stay home to host the Vandal Indoor on Friday evening, followed by the Idaho Open on Saturday morning.
Louisiana Tech
Louisiana Tech competed last weekend at the ASTATE Invitational, setting two school records ... sophomore Trey Hadnot’s time of 21.04 in the 200-meter dash broke Al Fullwood’s time of 21.25, set in 2010 ... senior Chelsea Hayes broke the school record in the long jump with a mark of 20-11.25 (6.38m) ... that is the second-best mark in the nation this year and leads the WAC by more than a foot and a half ... she also set a school record to win the 55-meter dash (6.91), in addition to victories in the 200-meters (23.76) and as the second leg of the winning 4x400-meter relay team ... LT won seven events as a team during the meet ... this week, Louisiana Tech is off ... the squad returns to action on Feb. 11-12, at the Tyson Invitational in Fayetteville, Ark.
Nevada
Nevada competed in the UW Invitational, last Friday and Saturday, in Seattle, Wash. ... senior La Tijera Avery won the high jump at 1.76 meters, followed by Nicole Williams in second at 1.71 meters ... Avery’s mark is currently tied for 31st nationally and slots her into the NCAA Championships ... freshman Kashae Knox took third in the 60-meter dash at 7.52 seconds, setting a new school record ... junior Deborah Amoah finished second in the long jump with a height of 5.73 meters. ... the Pack will return to the track at the New Balance Invitational on Saturday ... team will take three athletes, Amoah, Avery and Williams, to New York City for the competition.
New Mexico State
New Mexico State competed at the New Mexico Collegiate Invitational, in Albuquerque, N.M., last Friday and Saturday ... senior Bellosie Frazier finished first overall in the weight throw with a distance of 16.84m. Frazier also finished second overall in the shot put with a measure of 13.02m ... senior Leah Benton finished fourth in the 200-meters with a time of 24.63, and junior LaSasha Aldredge finished right behind, for fifth, with a time of 24.69 ... Aldredge finished second in the 400-meters with a time of 55.91 and Meade finished fifth with a time of 57.07 ... Courtney Schultz finished second in the 3,000-meters with a time of 9:53.51 ... this week, NMSU travels to Albuquerque for the third-straight week, for the New Mexico Classic on Friday.
Utah State
Utah State competed last weekend at the Cougar Indoor meet in Pullman, Wash. ... the meet was scored as four individual duals ... the women went 2-2, securing a victories over WAC foe Idaho (74-47) and Montana (77-44) ... the men dropped all four decisions ... sophomore Chari Hawkins won both the high jump and long jump during the pentathlon competition, to walk away with second-place after scoring 3,610 points ... freshman Bishop Bowens was the only individual champion, as he broke the tape in the 60-meter dash with a time of 6.90 ... this week, the Aggies will compete on Saturday at the Bronco Classic in Nampa, Idaho.