THIS WEEK IN THE WAC
Friday January 24
Bakersfield at Northern Arizona Invitational Flagstaff, Ariz.
Idaho at Idaho Collegiate Moscow, Idaho
Kansas City at Jayhawk Classic Lawrence, Kan.
Grand Canyon at Northern Arizona Invitational Flagstaff, Ariz.
New Mexico State at Cherry and Silver Albuquerque, N.M.
Saturday, January 25
Bakersfield at Northern Arizona Invitational Flagstaff, Ariz.
Chicago State at Bucknell Gulden Invitational Lewisburg, Pa.
Grand Canyon at Northern Arizona Invitational Flagstaff, Ariz.
New Mexico State at Cherry and Silver Albuquerque, N.M.
Kansas City at Jayhawk Classic Lawrence, Kan.
Idaho at Idaho Open Moscow, Idaho
LAST WEEK’S RESULTS
Chicago State at Kentucky Invitational No Team Scores
Grand Canyon at Lumberjack Team Challenge No Team Scores
Idaho at WSU Cougar Indoor No Team Scores
Kansas City at Holiday Inn Classic No Team Scores
New Mexico State at Lobo Invitational No Team Scores
Seattle U at UW Indoor Preview M-5th, W-9th
Texas-Pan American at Texas A&M 12-Team Challenge M-5th/12, W-9th/11
Utah Valley at Snake River Open No Team Scores
MEN’S ATHLETES OF THE WEEK, JAN. 13-19
Utah Valley’s Trac Norris and Grand Canyon’s Kevin Lashley have been named the Western Athletic Conference men’s track and field Athletes of the Week, respectively, for Jan. 13-19.
Norris, a sophomore from Panguitch, Utah (Panguitch HS), won the 800-meter run and ran the final leg of the winning 4x400-meter relay team on Saturday at the Snake River Open. Norris began his meet by taking the 800m title with a time of 1:53.57, which was nearly three seconds faster than the next closest finisher. He finished the day by helping his relay team win the 4x400m relay in a time of 3:18.16.
Lashley, a senior from North Hollywood, Calif. (Moorpark Community College), won the triple jump on Friday at the Lumberjack Team Challenge and took third in the long jump. His jump of 14.40 meters in the triple jump is the best among WAC athletes this season. Lashley’s leap of 7.05 meters in the long jump is the second best effort among WAC performers this season. Friday’s meet marked as the season opener for the ‘Lopes.
Other Track Nominees: Kory Jackson, Chicago State … Lance Parker, Grand Canyon … Andrew Bloom, Idaho … Zachary Schlachter, Seattle U … Dijan Johnson, Texas-Pan American.
Other Field Nominees: Andrey Levkin, Idaho … Shaddye Melu, Seattle U … Jesus Alvarez, Texas-Pan American … Michael McPherson, Utah Valley.
WOMEN’S ATHLETES OF THE WEEK, JAN. 13-19
Grand Canyon’s Shavine Hodges and Vanessa Levy have been named the Western Athletic Conference women’s track and field Athletes of the Week, respectively, for Jan. 13-19.
Hodges, a senior from Montego Bay, Jamaica (Colbourne College), won the 60-meter dash at the Lumberjack Team Challenge and took second in the 200-meter dash. Hodges has posted the fastest time in the WAC this season in the 60m, recording a time of 7.42 seconds on Friday in Flagstaff. Her time of 24.56 seconds in the 200m at the event is also the fastest recorded time in the WAC this season.
Levy, a junior from Clarendon, Jamaica (Johnson County Community College), broke her own school record in the weight throw on Friday at the Lumberjack Team Challenge. The junior recorded a throw of 17.65 meters and took home second-place honors in the event. Her throw ranks second in the WAC this season.
Other Track Nominees: Zhate Jackson, Chicago State … Lance Parker, Grand Canyon … Karlene Hurrel, Idaho … Alishia Perkins, New Mexico State … Sophie Curatilo, Seattle U … Rebekah Rodriguez, Texas-Pan American … Brooke Hodson-Davies, Utah Valley
Other Field Nominees: Molly Meyers, Idaho … Taylor Black, New Mexico State … Bethany Richards, Seattle U … Jasmine Davison, Texas-Pan American … Lauren Hicks, Utah Valley.
TEAM RECAPS
Bakersfield Roadrunners
The Bakersfield women will compete in three indoor meets, including the WAC Championships during the 2014 Indoor Track season ... this will be the ‘Runners first season in the WAC .... sophomore Jamara Scott placed second in the triple jump and sixth in the long jump at the 2013 Great West Outdoor Championships ... junior Alyssa Page was third in the 400-meters at the 2013 Great West Outdoor Championships .... Marcia Mansur-Wentworth is in her second season at CSU Bakersfield ... Mansur-Wentworth joined the Roadrunner staff in 2013 as the director of track and field, adding cross country responsibilities in the summer of 2013 ... Bakersfield begins the season this Friday and Saturday at the Northern Arizona Invitational in Flagstaff, Ariz.
Chicago State Cougars
The Chicago State competed last week at the Kentucky Invitational in Lexington, Ky. ... no team scores were recorded at the event, which featured over 20 teams ... for the men, sophomore Kory Jackson placed fifth in the long jump with a personal-best leap of 7.03 meters and added a 16th place finish in the 60-meter dash with a time of 7.17 seconds ... on the women’s side, freshman Zhate Jackson set school records in the 400m (59.05) and the 200m (25.78), finishing in 24th and 16th place, respectively ... this week, Chicago State travels to the Bucknell Gulden Invitational on Saturday.
Grand Canyon ‘Lopes
Grand Canyon opened the season with athletes setting three school records at the Lumberjack Team Challenge ... Lance Parker set a new record in the 200-meter dash (21.47), Jelena Andjelkovic in the 800 meters (2:17.79), and Vanessa Levy in the weight throw (17.65 meters) ... Kevin Lashley (triple jump), Parker (200m), Oliver Smith (400m), and Stephan Bullard (800m) all recorded first place finishes at the meet ... Shavine Hodges had a stellar showing in meet, as the senior raced to first and second-place finishes in the 60m and 200m, respectively ... her times in the 60m (7.42) and 200m (24.56) are the fastest recorded times in the WAC this season ... the ‘Lopes continue the season at the Lumberjack Team Challenge, again in Flagstaff, Ariz., on Friday.
Idaho Vandals
University of Idaho track and field finished off the inaugural meet of its 2014 indoor season with multiple individual victories and career-best marks Saturday at the WSU Open ... the Vandal men led the way with five first-place finishes and two career-best marks ... Idaho newcomer Emmanuel Panchol earned his first individual victory in the triple jump with a mark of 46-00.0 (14.02m) and took second in the high jump with a mark of 6-07.0 (2.01m) ... senior Andrew Bloom took first in the 400m with a time of 50.11, while junior teammate Matt Sullivan placed first in the pole vault with a mark of 16-08.75 (5.10m) and senior Andrey Levkiv finished first in the shot put with a career-best heave of 55-05.75 (16.91m) ... on the women’s side, senior Karlene Hurrel led the way with second place finishes in the 60m (7.95) and 200m (25.53) ... this week, Idaho will host two meets, the Idaho Collegiate on Friday and the Idaho Open on Saturday.
Kansas City Kangaroos
The Kansas City track and field teams competed at the Holiday Inn Invitational in Lincoln last week ... senior Kris Leverette managed a distance of 58-0.25 (17.68m) in the weight throw, falling only to Iowa Central’s Brady Grunder ... the runner-up finish was the highest individual event standing for the ‘Roos ... senior Michelle Momo placed fifth in the women’s 200-meter dash with a final time of 25.01 ... Shanelle Williams earned a fifth place finish in the 60-meter hurdles, finishing in 8.82 seconds in the final heat ... junior Dahlia Dyson added to Leverette’s throwing exploits with a third place finish on the women’s side with a mark of 55-0.75 (16.78m) ... this week, the ‘Roos travel to Lawrence, Kan. for the third time this season to compete in the Jayhawk Classic on Friday.
New Mexico State Aggies
The Aggies competed last week at the Lobo Invitational in Albuquerque, N.M. ... senior Alishia Perkins took third in the 60-meter dash and second in the 200-meter dash ... senior Zoe Meade competed in the shot put where her throw of 12.37m (40’7”) broke her into the top 10 for the Aggies all-time in the event ... junior Taylor Black competed in the Pole Vault Summit in Reno, Nev., where she improved the all-time record for the Aggies with a height of 3.6m (11’9.75”), a record that Black already held ... this week, the Aggies again travel to Albuquerque for the Cherry and Silver meet on Friday and Saturday.
Seattle University Redhawks
The Seattle University track and field team opened the 2014 season at the UW Indoor Preview last weekend at the Dempsey Indoor Facility ... Shaddye Melu cleared 2.09 meters (6’10.25”) in the high jump, a height never cleared before by a Redhawk, to finish in a tie for third place in his flight and a tie for fourth place overall ... Melu also competed in the 200-meter dash, finishing second in his heat and 14th overall with a time of 22.63 seconds ... Rosalyn DiLillo won her heat of the 600m in 1:40.78, almost three full seconds faster than her previous best set at this meet two years ago and setting a school record in the process ... Seattle U will be off this week, before returning to action on at the UW Invitational on Jan. 31-Feb. 1.
Texas-Pan American Broncs
The Broncs opened their season at the Texas A&M 12-Team Invitational where UTPA recorded 10 top-five finishes ... senior Dijan Johnson broke two school records en route to two top-three finishes in the 200m (21.87) and 400m (48.31) dashes ... senior Martin Casse won the mile run with a time of 4:11.73, which is the second fastest time in program history ... he finished six seconds in front of the second place finisher ... junior Jasmine Davison finished third in the weight throw with a mark of 16.80m, while senior Jesus Alvarez finished third in the shot put with a mark of 14.50m ... the Broncs are off this week and will be back in action on Jan. 31-Feb. 1 at the Masked Rider Open at Texas Tech.
Utah Valley Wolverines
The Wolverines track & field teams competed last weekend at Idaho State’s Snake River Open ... UVU won 12 events and had 39 top-three finishes ... freshman Lauren Hicks set a new record for Utah Valley in the women’s triple jump with a leap of 11.56-meters (37-11) to claim the event ... senior Brooke Hodson-Davies continued her early season success in the distance events as she won the 1-mile run with a time of 5:05.08 ... junior Michael McPherson won the long jump with a mark of 7.01m ... junior Nicholas Taylor won the 200m dash in a time of 21.66 and sophomore Trac Norris brought home the 800m run title with a time of 1:53.57 ... the Wolverines are off this weekend, but will be back in Pocatello, Idaho for their next meet at the Mountain States Open on Jan. 31.