USU Men Finish Second, Women Fourth At WAC Track and Field Championships
Utah State University's men's team was runner-up while the women's squad was fourth at the Western Athletic Conference Track and Field Championships, held at Boise, Idaho, and hosted by Boise State at Bronco Stadium. The Aggies had three event winners on the day, sweeping the 400m hurdles and winning the men's 5,000 meter run.
USU, the defending men's champion, ended in second-place with 135 points, finishing seven behind champion Boise State's 142.
USU, the defending men's champion, ended in second-place with 135 points, finishing seven behind champion Boise State's 142.
"On the men's side, I've got to hand it to Boise State, they did what it took today to win," USU head coach Gregg Gensel said. "I'm really proud of how our kids battled back. We were down and they could've just packed it in, but we battled back. The distance guys in the 5,000 put us within reach, there was just too much distance to make up. I'm proud of how they just battled back. Our kids performed a great meet, it just wasn't enough, the other team was just better."
On the women's side, the Aggies were fourth with 100 points. Defending champion Louisiana Tech repeated with 173 points.
"The women's team had a great meet across the board, they did one great thing after another," Gensel said. "We were fifth last year and this year we were fourth and we weren't that far out of third. I'm proud of the way they battled. With more maturity and some more bodies, we'll continue to improve and be right there contending again."
In the 400m hurdles, USU swept both the women's and the men's title with senior Katie Thatcher winning the women's race in a career-best 59.47, the fourth-fastest time in school history. Junior Keith Williams won the men's crown in 51.87, a personal-best and an NCAA regional qualifying time.
Thatcher took the lead by the second of the 10 hurdles and opened up a big lead, coasting to the win.
"It feels really good to finally pull it off," Thathcher said, who broke the 60-second barrier for the first time in her career. "Ever since I started running the 400 hurdles, my goal was to break 60 and I've gotten super close a number of times before, so to finally get into the 59's is really exciting and pretty rewarding."
Williams was with the pack before pulling away down the home stretch for the victory.
"It's by the grace of God," Williams said, who was not among the top three favorites coming in. "When people are that closely ranked, it’s anybody's race. God brought me from nothing to something and I'm very thankful."
Williams is a Boise, Idaho, native and had a small contingent of his own personal cheering section made up of family and friends.
"This is my hometown so that helps. My cheering section helped push me to the win," Williams said.
The men's 5,000m saw freshman Chio Lopez win in 15:25.64 while sophomore Steve Strickland was second in 15:26.25.
"It was definitely unexpected," a happy Lopez said afterward. "I was just going out there for my team, I didn't care who won but I knew we were more than capable of winning because we've got a talented team, today it was just me. I'm just happy about winning and this is a great experience."
Lopez and Strickland didn't pull away from the pack until the last two laps, but stretched their lead together.
"We went out and definitely wanted to stay together and we wanted to work together," Lopez said. "Steve and I knew we'd be right next to each other and we just pulled away together. Coach Steve Reeder's a great coach and we couldn't have done this without him."
Earlier in the afternoon, Williams was third in the 100m hurdles with a personal-best and NCAA regional qualifying time of 14.27.
Freshman Silas Pimentel was fourth in the 100m dash with a 10.59 time and seventh in the 200m at 24.49.
Senior Dasheek Akwenye was second in the 400m with not only a career-best time of 46.50, but the fifth-fastest time in USU history. Senior Brett Knighton (48.73) and junior Brandon Waller (48.76) were seventh and eighth, respectively behind Akwenye.
Sophomore Jason Holt was second in the 1,500m, just getting edged at the finish line by Fresno State's Frank Sanders, as both had a 3:53.20 time, but Sanders out-leaned Holt at the finish line. Freshman Eric Larson was fifth in 3:57.08 while Strickland was seventh in 4;05.88.
Holt (1:55.63), Larson (1:57.87) and sophomore Andrew Niccoli (2:00.17) were 7-8-9 in the 800m.
In the 4x100 relay, the Aggies' squad placed fourth with a season-best time of 41.22, while the 4x400 relay was third in 3:16.68.
Seniors Chase Taylor and Logan Moore were fourth and fifth, respectively in the javelin with Taylor logging a season-best distance of 203-08, behind his personal-best and No. 7 spot on the USU record list at 208-05. Moore marked a 200-06 distance, good for No. 8 on the Aggies' best list.
Freshman Joe Canavan was third in the shot put with a 55-03.50 distance, while junior Blake Hadfield was sixth in the triple jump with a distance of 48-08.00.
The Aggie women posted points in the 800 and 1,500 races, with sophomore Erin Stratton (4:35.34) and freshman Alicia Holt (4:39.30) placing second and fourth, respectively, while sophomore Elaine Connolly was third in the 800m with a 2:14.03 time while senior Stacie Lifferth-Dorius was fourth in a 2:15.13 time.
Freshman Kimiko Kamo was sixth in the 100m in 12.33 while classmate Maria Halton was seventh at a personal-best 12:36. In the 100m hurdles, sophomore Ashlee Cannon clocked a 14.02 for fifth-place. Freshman Katelyn Jensen was fifth in the 400m at 56.06.
The Aggies' 4x100 relay was sixth with a clocking of 47.45, while the 4x400 relay was third in 3:46.34.
In the hammer, junior Krista Larson was third with a 183-05 mark while finishing fifth in the discus with a distance of 151-00.
Those athletes that qualified will be competing in the NCAA Regional Championships, hosted by Cal State Northridge at Northridge, Calif., May 30-31. The NCAA National Championships are June 11-14 at Des Moines, Iowa.
UTAH STATE TRACK & FIELD
WAC Championships - Day 4 Results
May 17, 2008
Boise, Idaho
Utah State Results
WOMEN
1) Louisiana Tech - 173; 2) Idaho - 122; 3) Fresno State - 121.50; 4) UTAH STATE - 100; 5) Nevada - 91; 6) Hawai'i - 74.50; 7) New Mexico State - 71.50; 8) Boise State - 64.50
100m: 6. Kimiko Kamo, 12.33; 7. Maria Halton, 12.36
100m H: 5. Ashlee Cannon, 14.02
400m: 5. Katelyn Jensen, 56.06
800m: 3. Elaine Connolly, 2:14.03; 4. Stacie Lifferth-Dorius, 2:15.13
1,500m: 2. Erin Stratton, 4:35.34; 4. Alicia Holt, 4:39.30; 7. Allison Taylor, 4:46.99
Hammer: 3. Krista Larson, 183-05; Brooke McNaughton, foul
Discus: 5. Krista Larson, 151-00; 14. Brooke McNaughton, 135-00
MEN
1) Boise State - 142; 2) UTAH STATE - 135; 3) Louisiana Tech - 134.50; 4) Fresno State - 132; 4) Idaho - 105.50
100m: 4. Silas Pimentel, 10.59
200m: 7. Silas Pimentel, 24.49
110m H: 3. Keith Williams, 14.27; John Strang, DNF
1,500m: 2. Jason Holt, 3:53.20; 5. Eric Larson, 3:57.08; 7. Steve Strickland, 4:05.88
5,000m: 1. Chio Lopez, 15:25.64; 2. Steve Strickland, 15:26.25; 8. Andrew Niccoli, 15:57.76; 11. Jason Holt, 16:18.00; 15. Eric Larson, 17:05.36
Javelin: 4. Chase Taylor, 203-08; 5. Logan Moore, 200-06
Triple jump: 6. Blake Hadfield, 48-08.00
Pole vault: David Loomis, NH; Jake Maybe, NH
Shot put: 3. Joe Canavan, 55-03.50; 10. Tyler Ellis, 46-09.50
More Aggie sports news is available at the Athletics Web site homepage.
Senior Katie Thatcher won the women's 400m WAC title Saturday at the WAC Track and Field Championships. Thatcher won with a career-best and NCAA regional qualifying time of 59.47. (photos from Athletics Web site.)
Junior Keith Williams won the men's 400m WAC title in 51.87, a personal-best and an NCAA regional qualifying time.
Freshman Chio Lopez won the men's 5,000m with a personal-best time of 15:24.64.
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