Utah State Track & Field at WAC Indoor Championships This Weekend

Nampa, Idaho

Jackson Indoor Track Facility

Thursday-Saturday, Feb. 25-27, 2010

 

ON TAP — Utah State University's men's and women's track & field teams will be competing at the 2010 Western Athletic Conference Indoor Track & Field Championships. The championships are Thursday-Saturday, Feb. 25-27, hosted by Boise State at Jackson Indoor Track Facility in Nampa, Idaho.

 

The Aggie men are looking to claim the indoor title that barely slipped away during the 2009 championships as they came up 4.5 points shy to host Boise State. The Aggie women's team will look to improve off last year's fourth-place finish, their third-straight fourth-place finish.

 

 

2009 - Boise State

2008 - UTAH STATE

2007 - Boise State

2006 - Boise State

2005 – UTEP

 

 

2009 - Louisiana Tech

2008 - Louisiana Tech

2007 - Cal State Northridge

2006 - Louisiana Tech

2006 - Louisiana Tech

 

IN THE RANKINGS — Three of the men's schools are ranked in the top 150 by the USTFCCCA Indoor Men's Track & Field Poll, including Idaho (No. 67), Boise State (No. 80) and Utah State (No. 114). On the women's side there were also three WAC teams ranked, including Hawai'i (No. 36), Idaho (No. 47) and Louisiana Tech (No. 117).

 

UP NEXT — Those athletes that qualify will be competing in the NCAA National Championships, in Fayetteville, Ark., March 12-14.

 

LIVE RESULTS — Live results for the 2010 WAC Championships are available through www.utahstateaggies.com as well as the WAC Web site.

 

 

NEW HEPTATHLON CHAMP — For the first time since 2008 a new heptathlon champion will be crowned, as John Strang collected the title in 2008 and 2009 for the Aggies. However, the repeat champion will be in the house but as a USU assistant coach.

 

TOP TWO TIED DOWN — In the five years that USU has been in the WAC the Aggies have finished in the top two each year. The lone year that USU was not in the top two was 2006 when they finished fourth.

 

BATTLE WITH THE BRONCOS — In the last three years, Utah State and Boise State have been the top two finishers. Boise State won the title in 2007 & 2009 while Utah State was second both years. The Aggies took the title in 2008 with Boise State taking second. In USU's five years in the WAC, one of the two teams has finished in the top two as Utah State finished behind WAC Champion, UTEP, in the Aggies' first season in the WAC in 2005, while Boise State won its first conference Indoor Championship in 2006 while Utah State finished fourth.

 

FOURTH FAMILIARITY — The USU women have placed fourth the past three years at WAC Indoor Championships after placing third in 2006 and seventh in their first year in the WAC (2005).

 

STRENGTH IN NUMBERS — Even though the Aggies only lead in one event in sophomore Kim Quinn in the 3,000m, the USU women have 11 athletes listed in the top five on the WAC-best list entering the WAC Indoor Championships.

 

 

"FLORIDA MIKE" Mike Pyrtle — Junior Pyrtle set a new Utah State school record in the 60m hurdles, 6.71. Pyrtle's time leads the WAC and is an NCAA provisional mark. This is Pyrtle's first season with the Aggies after transferring from Merritt College in Florida. Pyrtle was named WAC Track Athlete Feb. 6 for his record-breaking performance.

 

BULLET Brian McKenna — Sophomore Brian McKenna set a new Utah State school record in the 5,000m at 14:20.09. McKenna earned WAC Track Athlete of the Week on Jan. 26. McKenna also had a busy cross country season as he was named WAC Male Athlete of the Year after finishing first in the race.

 

QUICK Kim Quinn — The lone Aggie woman to lead a WAC-top 10 list, coming in the 3,000m (9:54.42). Her time is now second-best in USU history. Quinn also earned second-team all-WAC last year for her fourth-place performance in the 5,000m.

 

Bailee Whitworth & Ashlee Cannon — The freshman and senior hold the seventh (24.96) and eighth (25.07) WAC-best spots in the 200m, respectively. Whitworth also holds the sixth-best time in the WAC in the 60m (7.72) while Cannon holds the fourth-best time in the WAC in the 60 hurdles (8.60).

 

 

Utah State has collected three WAC Track Athletes of the Week and one WAC Field Athlete of the Week honors this season:

 

Jan. 26 — Brian McKenna, sophomore, won 3,000m with PR time

 

Feb. 2 — James Allred, junior, won 800m with PR time

 

Feb. 9 — Mike Pyrtel, junior, won 60m w/NCAA provisional time & set USU school record

 

Feb. 16 — Joe Canavan, junior, won shot & 2nd in weight throw, both were PRs

 

Additional Aggie sports news is available at the Athletics homepage Web site.