THIS WEEK IN THE WAC
Friday, February 13
Chicago State at Chicagolannd Championships Naperville, Ill.
UTPA at Houston Tune Up Houston, Texas
Seattle U at Husky Classic Seattle, Wash.
Grand Canyon at NAU Invitational Flagstaff, Ariz.
UMKC at SDSU Indoor Invitational Brookings, S.D.
Saturday, February 14
New Mexico State at Don Kirby Collegiate Open Albuquerque, N.M.
Monday, February 16
Bakersfield at Run for the Dream Fresno, Calif.
UTAH VALLEY & SEATTLE U MEN EARN WEEKLY REGIONAL RECOGNITION- (Feb. 9)
The Utah Valley men's indoor track and field teams earned their second consecutive week of USTFCCCA recognition after being ranked in the top 15 of the regional rankings.
Utah Valley appeared in the men's Mountain Region rankings placing 12th.
BAKERSFIELD ROADRUNNERS
Bakersfield opened their 2015 season on Jan. 24 at the Lumberjack Team Challenge in Flagstaff, Arizona. Tricia Cervantes impressed in her Roadrunner debut, coming close to personal bests in both the long jump and 60m hurdles at the Lumberjack Team Challenge in Arizona. Cervantes posted a time of 9.42 to finish eighth in the 60m hurdles on Saturday, but her time is already two seconds faster than the best CSUB mark from 2014. The junior would go on to post a distance of 16-04.50 in the long jump, another solid mark in a competitive field that included UCLA. Joining Cervantes in making a debut was freshman Susannah Vera. Her mark of 5-01 in the high jump is just the first mark of her young career, but is already only three inches away from the best ‘Runner height of 2014 in the event (5-04) and puts her on the CSUB Top 20 all-time list for high jump. Redshirt Senior Megan Thompson ran a solid 3000m race, finishing fourth in a time of 11:28.71, which is less than 30 seconds outside of the CSUB all-time Top 20 in the event. The Runners will be back in action on February 16 at the Run for the Dream in Fresno, Calif.
CHICAGO STATE COUGARS
Chicago State had a strong showing for the Cougars at the Kentucky Invitational on Jan. 24. Junior Kory Jackson started 2015 strong with a 3rd place finish in the Men's Long Jump in Lexington, KY. His mark of 7.07 (23' 2.5â€) places him on top of the current WAC performance list. Senior DeShaunte Lewis breaks his own school record in the 3K distance run, lowering his mark by 2 seconds with a 8:50.53 to finish 17th overall in the event. On the women's side, Senior Oslyn Collins lowers her own school record in the Women's 800m with a time of 2:24.01 at the Kentucky Invitational. Collins' performance earned her a top 25 finish in the event and in the top 10 in conference rankings. The Cougar men's and women's track and field teams head to South Bend, Indiana for the Meyo Classic on Feb. 6.
GRAND CANYON ANTELOPES
The Grand Canyon University men's and women's track and field teams had impressive showings Friday at the Air Force Team Challenge inside the Cadet Fieldhouse in Colorado Springs, Colo. The meet was scored as head-to-head duals, with the Antelope women coming out on top in all three of their matchups, while the GCU men fell only to Utah Valley (223-220). Moya McKenzie won the 200-meter dash after finishing in a time of 24.80 seconds. Tope Williams was behind her in second with her time of 25.00 seconds. McKenzie also captured first in the 400-meter dash after posting a time of 55.69 seconds. Williams raced to a top finish in the 60-meter dash, notching a time of 7.47 seconds-the fastest in the WAC this season. Briana Myers won the 60-meter hurdles after recording a time of 8.74 seconds to lead the field. Kevina Godfrey (5.51 meters) edged Cook (5.50 meters) to win the long jump competition Friday. Andrea Olstead placed second in the triple jump with her distance of 11.75 meters. Josh Ralston had another strong outing Friday, winning both the 200-meter and 400-meter dashes, setting season and conference-best times. Grand Canyon took the top two spots in the long jump, as Marcus Flannigan led the way with his distance of 7.03 meters and Jude Olear coming in behind him with a mark of 6.91 meters. The Lopes will next travel to NAU for next weekend's two-day NAU Invitational.
MISSOURI-KANSAS CITY KANGAROOS
The Kansas City track and field teams had another solid meet at the Tiger Invitational on Friday, as the women came in second place out of six teams and the men finished second out of five teams. The ‘Roo women had several top five finishers. On the men's side, there were five-first place finishers (Roach, Yarbrough, Miller, and Harden), including the men's 4x400m relay team. Members of the cross country squad scored numerous points in the men and women's 3000m run. Jason Fambrough earned second place, running 8:44.63. The one mile run was a strong course for the senior Bryce Miller as he won the whole thing recording a finish at 4:13.93 minutes-which is now the third best time in school history. For the shorter sprints, Kenny Roach and Genel Rollins finished in the top three for the 60m dashes as Roach came in first with his split of 6.96, and Rollins came in third with her split of 7.77 seconds. The 400m race proved to be a solid one for the freshman from St. Louis, Eric Yarbrough, as he finished first recording a split of 50.10 seconds. Senior Joshua Harden won the men's triple jump with his bound of 13.75 meters. Both of the women's and men's teams took first place in the 4x400m relays. The Kangaroos will return to action Friday and Saturday, Feb. 13-14, in Brookings, S.D. to compete in the SDSU Indoor Invitational.
NEW MEXICO STATE AGGIES
The New Mexico State track and field team finished the University of New Mexico Collegiate Classic with junior Kelsi Gonzalez leading the way in the women's 800 and 600-meter events. Gonzalez posted a career-best time of 1:35.49 in finishing eighth in the 600 meters, and chalked up a 2:18.54 to finish 16th in the 800. In the high jump, Kayli Farmer finished 15th, clearing 1.59m (5-2 1/2), which is her best-recorded height as an Aggie. The Aggies continue their season back in Albuquerque, N.M. on Feb. 14 as they compete in the Don Kirby Collegiate Classic/Elite Invitational.
SEATTLE U REDHAWKS
Another Seattle University indoor track and field record was broken last weekend when the Redhawks competed at the UW Invitational at the Dempsey Indoor Facility. Alisa Poplawski etched her name into the Seattle U record book, posting a time of 2:16.89 in the women's 800 meter run. Davis also competed in the 800 meter run Saturday, finishing with a time of 2:18.96. Shaddye Melu came close to breaking another record, finishing second in the 400 meter dash in 48.28 seconds. Sophie Curatilo won her section of the women's 5000 meter run, finishing in eighth place overall with a time of 17:14.94. Joe Charbonneau (Bellingham, Wash.) posted a similar performance in the men's 5000 meter run, finishing first in his section and 11th overall in the event with a time of 14:54.25. Gus Arroyo finished third in his section in the men's one mile run with a personal collegiate-best time of 4:15.39. Austin Thummel-Gravitt finished fourth in his heat and 15th overall in the men's 200 meter dash with a time of 22.80 seconds. The Seattle University track and field team returns to Dempsey Indoor this weekend for the Husky Classic Feb. 13-14.
TEXAS-PAN AMERICAN BRONCS
The University of Texas-Pan American Broncs men's and women's track and field teams wrapped up the Masked Rider Open with seven top-10 finishes last Saturday at the Texas Tech Athletic Training Center. Freshman Jennifer Zapata posted a sixth place finish in the one-mile run with a time of 5:15.04 while Robin Galloso finished just outside of the top-10 in 11th with a time of 5:19.86. Galloso also posted a seventh place finish in the 3,000-meter run after recording a time of 10:32.88. Erika Anderson finished in third place in the weight throw after hitting a mark of 16.01 meters and sophomore Cristina Santiago Bravo posted a 10th place finish with a throw of 14.34 meters. On the men's side, senior Trey Taylor posted a third place finish in the weight throw with a throw 17.20 meters while sophomore Javier Carretero posted a 10th place finish with a throw of 16.73 meters. Junior Jose Juan Wells added a 10th place finish in the 3,000-meter run with a time of 8:59.24. The Broncs are back in action on February 13 when they travel to Houston for the Houston Tune Up.
UTAH VALLEY WOLVERINES
In the double-dual scored meet, the Utah Valley women's team just fell short to WAC foe Grand Canyon, 228-213, while the men's team bested the Lopes 223-220. The Wolverines defeated Air Force (Women 255-152, Men 222-183) and Wyoming (Women 208-180, Men 233-163) respectively. Senior Jessica Beatty set a new indoor track and field school record in the 60m hurdles with a time of 8.74 seconds. She also set new personal records in the 60m with a time of 7.85 seconds and in the high jump with a mark of 1.65m or 5'5". Alena Gillespie set a personal record in the 200m with a time of 25.65 seconds, while teammate Chantil Martin had a PR in the shot put with a mark of 11.77m or 38' 7.50". On the men's side, Brenden Emery also had two PR's in the mile and the 3000m, with times of 4:25.90 and 9:00.80, respectively. Teammate Logan Petty finished just ahead of Emery in the 3000m run, for first place with a time of 8:59.78. Rusty Jones, ranked No. 23 nationally in the heptathlon, set a new personal record in the 60m with a time of 7.22 seconds. The Wolverines will travel next to the Weber State Invitational on Feb. 19 in Ogden, Utah.
This Week in WAC Indoor Track & Field
WAC Indoor Performance List