CSU's Smith Shatters Another Record

Men's and Women's Teams Finish Second

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May 14, 2005

FORT COLLINS, Colo. - Three records, three gold medals, three championships, one woman. In the final day of competition at the Mountain West Conference Outdoor Track & Field Championship, senior Loree Smith, picking up the outdoor shot put for the first time this season, broke the Colorado State, Mountain West Championship and Mountain West All-Time record in the shot put with a throw of 54-9.5.

Smith also earned the championship's High Point Award after scoring 30 points and earned the women's Outstanding Performance of the Meet Award. Colorado State head coach Del Hessel was named the Women's Coach of the Year. The women's team finished second with 171 points behind BYUs 218, while the men placed third with 150.5 points, finishing behind BYU (280) and Air Force (168).

The women's 4x100 meter relay team broke the school record, finishing second behind UNLV with a time of 45.81. The quartet of sophomore Megan Fox, senior Katrice Thomas, freshman Emily Pearson and sophomore Janay DeLoach broke their own record of 46.15 from earlier this season. Thomas then finished fourth in the 400 meters with a regional qualifying time of 54.11 -- posting a season best time, while Fox placed sixth with a time of 55.34. In the 100 meter hurdles, sophomore Rachelle Mims finished eighth and DeLoach ran an 11.74 to finish second in the 100 meters. Senior Cristina Gourdin was eighth in the 400 hurdles with a time of 1:02.80 and junior Becky Hammitt was sixth in the 800 meters with a time of 2:12.91. Thomas ran a season-best time of 24.22 to finish third in the 200 meters, while Fox was fifth in 24.48 and DeLoach was seventh with a time of 24.84. In the women's 5000 meters -- the last individual race of the day -- senior Michelle Carman finished third with a time of 17:41.08. The women's 4x400 relay team consisting of Fox, Hammitt, Pearson and DeLoach ran a 3:55.92 to place seventh to end the championship.

Pearson finished sixth in the javelin with the fourth best throw in school history at 140-2. Junior Jill McCormick placed fifth in the shot put with a personal best and NCAA regional qualifying throw of 47-1.5, while sophomore Jaimee Troth was sixth with a personal best throw of 46-7.5. Junior Amanda Huddleston finished second in the women's triple jump after a leap of 41-3.25.

Sophomore Trey Eder finished second in the men's shot put with a toss of 55-4.75, while senior Adam Trainor earned one point with a throw of 52-3.75. In the triple jump, freshman Jarelle Johnson finished second with a huge personal best jump of 49-9, qualifying for the NCAA regionals and bettering his personal record by almost four feet. Senior Jacob Benson was fourth with a jump of 47-11, freshman Jason Smith was sixth with a leap of 47-6.5 and freshman Clayton Eilert was eighth.

The quartet of sophomore Rodnee Pope, sophomore Denny Majerus, senior Chris Grapsas and senior Mike Horton finished second in the 4x100 meter relay with a time of 40.94. Junior Paul Michel finished sixth in the 1500 meters with a time of 3:55.28. Horton then earned all-conference with a third-place finish in 14.59 and senior Tom Waido was right behind him in fourth place at 14.81. Senior Brandon Kent placed seventh in the 400 meters with a season-best time of 48.16 and Majerus was fourth in the 100 meters with a personal best time of 10.79. Freshman Kyle Keeler placed fifth in the 400 meter hurdles after clocking in with a personal best time of 53.64 and Waido was seventh in 54.36. Junior Paul Michel finished sixth with a clocking of 1:51.84 in the 800 meters, while senior Brett Melin was eighth in a personal best time of 1:52.12.

Majerus then earned all-conference honors finishing third in the 200 meters with a time of 21.58 and Grapsas was seventh in 22.18. The men's 4x400 relay team placed fourth to end the day with Keeler, Michel, Melin and Kent running a 3:13.49.

Several Colorado State athletes will continue to train to compete in the NCAA Midwest Regional in two weeks in Norman, Oklahoma for a chance to advance to the NCAA Championship June 8-11 in Sacramento, Calif.