Boise State Men and Idaho Women Lead After Day Two

Boise State Men and Idaho Women Lead After Day Two
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Courtesy: WACNAMPA - Boise State’s men and Idaho’s women are in the lead after day two of the three-day WAC Indoor Track and Field Championships on Friday. For the men, Boise State is out in front with 75.50 points, followed by Idaho in second with 66.50 points. Utah State is in third with 59 points and Louisiana Tech has 13 points for fourth place. For the women, Idaho is in the lead with 44 points, and Utah State is in second with 34 points. Louisiana Tech and New Mexico State are tied for third with 30 points, while Hawai‘i and Nevada are tied for fifth with 19 points. Fresno State is in seventh with 10 points and Boise State is in eighth with 9 points.

Day two of championship competition began with the conclusion of the men’s heptathlon. After completing four of the seven events on Thursday, Boise State’s Kurt Felix was leading with 3,142 points. The Bronco sophomore went on to capture the heptahlon title, posting 5,348 points, two better than his NCAA Provisional regular-season WAC-leading mark. Idaho’s Mike Carpenter took silver for the second year in a row with 5141 points, while Utah State’s Philip Noble compiled 5,016 points to win bronze.

In the men’s high jump, Utah State senior Clint Silcock won his second-consecutive WAC title in the event, clearing 2.15m (7-0.50) to better his NCAA Provisional mark of 2.14m during the regular season. Idaho’s Andrew Blaser took second with a season-best leap of 2.00m (6-06.75m) and no misses, while Utah State’s Casey Parker also posted a season-best height of 2.00m to earn third place with one miss overall.

Boise State’s Trevor Kraychir (Twentynine Palms HS, CA) took home the men’s weight throw title with an NCAA Provisional heave of 19.60m (64-03.75) to give the Broncos the second top medal of the night. Idaho senior Beau Whitney finished second with a toss of 18.59m (61-00.00), while Bronco thrower Alex Nelson recorded a season-best 18.41m (60-05.00) for third.

Idaho took the two top spots in the men’s pole vault, as sophomore Jeremy Klas edged out teammate Lucas Pope at an NCAA Procisional height of 5.23m (17-01.75) for the Vandals’ first gold of the evening. Utah State sophomore John Johnson and Idaho senior Mike Carpenter both vaulted 4.93m (16-02.00) to tie for third place. It was Carpenter’s second medal of the day, while Johnson’s mark was a season best.

A trio of Boise State Broncos stood atop the medal podium in the men’s long jump. Senior Zacharias Arnos jumped a season-best 7.56m (24-09.75) to take the title, improving on his NCAA Provisional 7.55m result from earlier in the season. Sophomore teammates Kurt Felix and Eutu Viitala posted marks of 7.26m (23-10.00) and 7.20m (23-07.50) for second and third places, respectively.

Utah State’s Brian McKenna captured his second-consecutive gold medal in the men’s 5,000 meters, clocking a time of 14:30.13. Boise State freshman Jeff Howard finished second in 14:44.77 and Utah State sophomore Daniel Howell took third with a time of 14:55.38.

For the fourth year in a row, Utah State won the men’s distance medley relay. The Aggie team of Eric Larson, James Allred, Andrew Niccoli and Steve Strickland took home the title with a time of 9:59.09. Louisiana Tech edged Boise State for second, as the Bulldogs crossed the finish line in 10:02.85, fractionally ahead of the Broncos’ 10:02.91.

For the women, Louisiana Tech earned the first two places in the women’s long jump. Lady Techsters Tiana Davis and Quatisha Williams both posted season-best marks, jumping 5.99m (19-08.00) and 5.78m (18-11.75) for first and second places, respectively. Boise State sophomore Racquel Jones nabbed third with a leap of 5.75m (18-10.50) to put her team on the board.

Utah State captured its first gold of the evening as sophomore Kim Quinn ran 17:32.23 in the women’s 5,000 for the title. New Mexico State freshmen Camille Schultz and Chelsa McDonnell earned silver and bronze, posting times of 17:48.92 and 17:52.77, respectively.

In the women’s shot put, Mykael Bothum unleashed an NCAA Automatic Qualifying and season-best throw of 17.20m (56-05.25) to grab her second-consecutive conference title. Fresno State junior Rosario Sanchez (Selma HS, CA) earned the Bulldogs’ first medal of the evening, with a toss of 14.62m (47-11.75) for second place. Utah State junior Lindsey Spencer took third with a throw of 12.81m (42-00.50).

In the distance medley relay, the Utah State women mirrored the Aggie men, capturing the gold for the fourth year in a row. The Aggie team of Alex Litzsinger, Jen Day, Erin Stratton and Jessie Chugg took the title posting a time of 11:53.10. New Mexico State ran 11:58.15 for second, while Nevada finished third with a time of 12:27.04.

Tomorrow’s action begins at 11 a.m. with the remaining field events, while the running event finals start at 1 p.m.


THURSDAY RESULTS

NAMPA - Idaho’s women are in the lead after day one of the three-day Western Athletic Conference Indoor Track and Field Championships in Nampa, Idaho. After one women’s event, the pentathlon, Idaho leads with 22 points, followed by Hawai‘i with 7 points and Nevada in third place with 6 points. Louisiana Tech (3 points) and Utah State (1 point) round out the day’s point totals.

The day began with the women’s pentathlon and the men’s heptathlon. For the women, Idaho earned the top two spots in the pentathlon. Vandal junior Ulrike Hartz earned the first gold of the meet, posting 3,784 points for the individual title. Her teammate, senior Lindsay Goodman, took second for the second year in a row, with 3545 points. Nevada sophomore April Pate came in third with 3,494 points.

With four of the seven men’s heptathlon events complete, Boise State sophomore Kurt Felix is in the lead with 3,142 points. Idaho senior Mike Carpenter (2,925) and junior Andrew Blaser (2,798) follow in second and third places, respectively. The heptathlon’s three remaining events will take place tomorrow, Feb. 26, starting at 11:45 a.m. with the 60-meter hurdles. Tomorrow’s events continue as the field events begin at 2 p.m. and the running events start at 4 p.m.


PREVIEW

The 2010 edition of the WAC Indoor Track and Field Championship returns to Jacksons Track in Nampa, Idaho, Feb. 25-27, for the eighth-straight year. Four men’s teams and eight women’s teams will compete for the 2010 championship crown. On the men’s side, Boise State looks to defend its 2009 title, hoping for a second-consecutive and fifth-overall WAC championship. For the women, Louisiana Tech hopes to extend its championship dominance, as a 2010 crown would be the fifth in the last six years.

The championship gets underway on Thursday with the women’s pentathlon and men’s heptathlon, with field event finals and running events taking place on Friday and Saturday.


SCHEDULE OF EVENTS

Thursday, February 25
Pentathlon: 11:00 a.m.
Heptathlon: 11:45 a.m.

Friday, February 26
Field Events (Finals): 2:00 p.m.
Running Events (Prelims & Finals): 4:00 p.m.

Saturday, Febryary 27
Field Events (Finals): 11:00 a.m.
Running Events (Finals): 1:00 p.m.

All times Mountain