United Athletic Conference

Final Results (pdf) | WDN Video Recap

Utah Valley Men and Missouri-Kansas City Women Win WAC Outdoor Track & Field Championships

OREM, Utah - The Utah Valley men and the Missouri-Kansas City women won the 2015 WAC Outdoor Track and Field Championships at Hal Wing Track and Field on the campus of Utah Valley on Saturday.

For the men, Utah Valley won its first WAC Outdoor Track & Field title, tallying 252.50 points. Grand Canyon placed second with 199 points, and Missouri-Kansas City earned 138 points for third place. Texas-Pan American came in fourth, recording 79 points. Seattle U placed fifth with 71.50 points, followed by Bakersfield in sixth with 45 points. Chicago State placed seventh with 23 points.

On the women's side, Missouri-Kansas City captured its first WAC outdoor championship, compiling 199 points for the crown. Grand Canyon placed second, posting 156.50 points. Utah Valley finished in third place with 128.50 points. New Mexico State placed fourth with 117.50 points, followed by Texas-Pan American in fifth with 87.50 points. Seattle U finished in sixth place with 79 points, while Bakersfield placed seventh with 24 points and Chicago State placed eighth with 21 points.

Coming into the final day of competition in the top spot, Utah Valley's men maintained the lead with help from four first-place finishes, including eventual Freshman of the Year Tyson Lambert's first-place finish in the 1,500-meter run. The Wolverines' head coach Scott Houle was named Coach of the Year.

Grand Canyon's men solidified their hold on second place overall with four gold-medal performances, including LeSean Marks' sweep of the 110-meter and 400-meter hurdles on his way to being voted Outstanding Track Performer. Teammate Marcus Flannigan earned his second gold medal of the week, amassing 30.50 points to earn the High Point Award.

Missouri-Kansas City's men earned three first-place finishes, including Bryce Miller's repeating as WAC outdoor champion in the 1,500 meters to stand atop the podium for the second time this championship week.

Seattle U's Shaddye Melu added a second gold to his medal tally, crossing the line first place in the 400-meter dash. Bakersfield earned another first-place finish and Texas-Pan American's Trey Taylor added to his point tally and was voted Outstanding Field Performer.

For the women, Missouri-Kansas City won six events on the day, including Dahlia Dyson and Courtney Frerichs both earning their second gold medals of the championship. Dyson earned High Point Award honors and was voted Outstanding Field Performer, while Frerichs was voted Outstanding Track Performer. The ‘Roos head coach Shameika McField was named Coach of the Year.

Grand Canyon took first place in three events, including Tope William's wins in the 100- and 200-meter dashes. Williams was voted Freshman of the Year.

New Mexico State picked up three first-place finishes, Texas-Pan American added two gold medal performances to their point tally, and Seattle U earned their second gold of the meet.

Interviews: UVU Coach Houle | UMKC Coach McField | Dahlia Dyson, UMKC | Marcus Flannigan, GCU

Men's Individual Awards (voted upon by the coaches)
Outstanding Track Performer: LeSean Marks, Grand Canyon
Outstanding Field Performer: Trey Taylor, Texas-Pan American
Freshman of the Year: Tyson Lambert, Utah Valley
High Point Award Winner: Marcus Flannigan, Grand Canyon, 30.50
Coach of the Year: Scott Houle, Utah Valley

Women's Individual Awards (voted upon by the coaches)
Outstanding Track Performer: Courtney Frerichs, Missouri-Kansas City
Outstanding Field Performer: Dahlia Dyson, Missouri-Kansas City
Freshman of the Year: Tope Williams, Grand Canyon
High Point Award Winner: Dahlia Dyson, Missouri-Kansas City, 26 points
Coach of the Year: Shameika McField, Missouri-Kansas City

Photos by August Miller and Jay Drowns