Feb. 28, 2009

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. -

The BYU men and women both emerged victorious in the 2009 Mountain West Conference Indoor Track & Field Championships, held at the Air Force Academy. The Cougar men won their seventh-straight title, while the BYU women took home their eighth crown in 10 years.

On the men's side, New Mexico finished second (102), followed by Air Force (91), Colorado State (85), TCU (78) and Wyoming (77). The TCU Horned Frogs finished second on the women's side (117), with Colorado State (61), Utah (59) and New Mexico (53) finishing third, fourth and fifth, respectively. San Diego State came in sixth (46), while Air Force (40), UNLV (36) and Wyoming (26) rounded out the scoring.

Final Team Scores (Men):
1. BYU - 224; 2. New Mexico - 102; 3. Air Force - 91; 4. Colorado State - 85; 5. TCU - 78; 6. Wyoming - 77.

Final Team Scores (Women):
1. BYU - 224; 2. TCU - 117; 3. Colorado State - 61; 4. Utah - 59; 5. New Mexico - 53; 6. San Diego State - 46; 7. Air Force - 40; 8. UNLV - 36; 9. Wyoming - 26.

2009 MWC Indoor Track & Field Championships Award Winners:
Men's Coach of the Year -Mark Robison, BYU
Women's Coach of the Year - Craig Poole, TCU
Men's Outstanding Performance - Jake Shanklin, WYO (Weight Throw)
Women's Outstanding Performance - Jessica Young, TCU (60-meter Dash)
Men's Co-High Point Awards - Sean Houseworth, AFA; Jeremiah James, WYO (20)
Women's High Point Award - Amy Menlove, BYU (30)

2009 MWC Indoor Track & Field Championships Notes:

• The top-four finishers in the women's triple jump provisionally qualified for the NCAA Championships. San Diego State senior Decontee Kaye captured the team's second title for the weekend when she won the event with a leap of 43'-8.50" (13.32m). Teammate Karoline Koehler finished second with a mark of 43'-2.50" (13.17m) and New Mexico junior Deanna Young followed in third at 43'-1.75" (13.15m).

• TCU sophomore Jordan Pitts became the back-to-back 60-meter hurdle champion, clocking a time of 8.03. Kellen Curry, an Air Force senior, crossed the finish line in 8.09 to place second, while Colorado State sophomore Nigel Joseph finished third with a time of 8.27.

• BYU junior Amy Menlove defended her 2005 60-meter hurdle crown, winning the event with a provisional-qualifying time of 8.365. TCU senior Kishelle Paul followed closely behind, also registering a provisional-qualifying time of 8.370. Candise Maxwell, a UNLV junior, ran a time of 8.42 to finish third.

• TCU junior Jessica Young broke a school record, winning the women's 60-meter dash with a provisional-qualifying time of 7.26. Her time is currently the second-fastest in the country, according to TrackShark.com, and ranks second in MWC championship history. Senior Lekeisha Lawson, from UNLV, followed in second, clocking a time of 7.42, while San Diego State junior Karoline Koehler finished third with a time of 7.43.

• TCU senior Andon Mitchell completed the Horned Frog sweep of the 60-meter dash, earning his second-consecutive title with a time of 6.801. TCU held the top three positions as freshmen Mark Barnes (6.810) and Richard Knotts (6.88) placed second and third, respectively.

• In the women's mile race, BYU dominated the top four positions. Senior Angela Wagner captured the title for the second year in a row, clocking a time of 5:13.93. Teammates Katie Palmer (5:14.46), Lacey Cramer (5:15.22) and Anna Sperry (5:17.72) came in second, third and fourth, respectively.

• The BYU Cougars won the men's mile for the seventh-consecutive year, as senior Kyle Perry made a late sprint past teammate Miles Batty to defend his championship title and finish in 4:21.04. Batty, also a senior, crossed the finish line in 4:21.52 to take second, while New Mexico senior David Bishop came in third (4:23.29).

• New Mexico's Jarrin Solomon became the first Lobo to win the men's 400-meter title. The senior crossed the finish line first in a provisional-qualifying 47.17. He was trailed by TCU junior Dell Guy (47.72), who took second, and BYU junior Kevin Biesenger (47.94), who finished third.

• TCU's Jessica Young won her second event of the day, becoming just the second Horned Frog to capture a MWC 400-meter dash title. Young clocked a provisional-qualifying time of 53.81to finish first, while New Mexico senior Ariel Burr (54.05) placed second and BYU freshman Nachalle Stewart (55.19) came in third.

• Lacey Cramer, who led the conference throughout the season in the 800-meter, edged teammate Katie Palmer in the women's event. Cramer provisionally qualified for the NCAA Championships after crossing the finish line in 2:10.00. Her time ranks second in the MWC championship record books. Palmer (2:10.28) followed in second, while Utah senior Chelsea Shapard (2:11.82) placed third.

• Ryan Friese, a junior at Colorado State, clocked the fifth-fastest time in championship history to win the men's 800-meter run, becoming the second Ram to win the event since 2000. The 1:51.17 performance provisionally qualifies Friese for the NCAA Championships. New Mexico senior Lee Emanuel also provisionally qualified, finishing second with a time of 1:51.42. Jacob Gustafsson, a BYU senior, came in third (1:52.06).

• The top three finishers in the men's pole vault provisionally-qualified for the NCAA Championships, led by BYU senior Bob Low whose height of 17'-7.25" (5.37m) earned him a championship crown. Defending champion Nick Frawley, an Air Force junior, earned runner-up honors with a mark of 17'-3.50" (5.27m), while BYU senior Whitney Neves, the 2007 champion, finished third at the same height due to the tie-breaking procedure.

• Air Force's Sean Houseworth captured his second title of the weekend in the men's 3,000-meter, clocking a top-five championship time of 8:26.74. He was trailed by New Mexico senior Rory Fraser (8:32.94) and BYU senior Stephen Shay (8:34.03).

• Candis Kelley, a TCU senior, won her fourth-consecutive women's shot put title with a provisional-qualifying distance of 50'-2.75" (15.31m). Also provisionally qualifying were fellow Horned Frog teammate Stormy Harrison in second with a mark of 50'-0.00" (15.24m) and Colorado State junior Jennifer Ugochukwu in third at 49'-11.75" (15.23m).