May 17, 2008
FORT WORTH, Texas -
The Colorado State women's team captured its first Mountain West Conference Women's Outdoor Track and Field Championship Saturday at the Lowdon Track and Field Complex with 187 points, while the BYU men claimed their ninth-consecutive men's title after earning 210 points.
Trailing closely behind the Rams on the women's side was BYU with 141 points. San Diego State came in third with 126 points, followed by TCU (122) in fourth and New Mexico (78) in fifth. Utah (58), Wyoming (46) and UNLV (35) took home sixth, seventh and eighth-place honors, respectively, while Air Force (26) rounded out the women's field in ninth.
On the men's side, TCU scored 192 points for the runner-up position and Air Force came in with 135 points for third-place. Colorado State (126), New Mexico (87), and Wyoming (53) placed fourth, fifth and sixth, respectively.
Final Team scores (Women):
1. Colorado State - 187; 2. BYU - 141; 3. San Diego State - 126; 4. TCU - 122; 5. New Mexico - 78; 6. Utah - 58; 7. Wyoming - 46; 8. UNLV - 35; 9. Air Force - 26
Final Team scores (Men):
1. BYU - 210; 2. TCU - 192; 3. Air Force - 135; 4. Colorado State - 126; 5. New Mexico - 87; 6. Wyoming - 53
Coaches of the Year:
Women: Brian Bedard, Colorado State
Men: Mark Robison, BYU
High Point Performers:
Women: Emily Pearson, Colorado State (26.25 points)
Men: Leif Arrhenius, BYU, (28 points)
Outstanding Performance:
Women: Katie Coronado, New Mexico (Javelin)
Men: Robert Caldwell, New Mexico (Pole Vault)
2008 MWC Outdoor Track and Field Championships Notes:
- Defending champion Tiyana Peters of New Mexico won the women's high jump with a regional qualifying leap of 5'-.8.75" (1.75m). Niomi Ridge of Colorado State earned runner-up honors by soaring 5'-07.00" (1.70m).
- TCU's women's 4x100 relay squad clocked a winning time of 44.36, while the TCU men were also victorious with a time of 40.03. The Horned Frogs have now won both the men's and women's 4x100 relay titles for the past three-consecutive years.
- Women's discus thrower Missy Faubus of Colorado State won the event title with the fifth-longest throw all-time in MWC Championship history. Her toss of 168'-05.00" (51.33m) was an NCAA regional-qualifying mark.
- BYU's Carlee Platt captured the 1,500-meter title by crossing the finish line in 4:25.84. Her time was an NCAA regional-qualifying mark. BYU swept the first two spots as junior Angela Wagner earned runner-up honors with a regional-qualifying time of 4:25.46. This was the first time BYU has won the 1,500 since 2005. On the men's side, New Mexico's Lee Emanuel won with a time of 3:47.63, marking the first time a Lobo has ever won the event.
- Wyoming's Shaylee Babbitt took home the women's 100-meter hurdle title with a time of 13.62. The win marked only the second time in MWC history that the Cowgirls have won the competition.
- TCU freshman Jordan Pitts swept both of the men's hurdle events Sunday for his first career MWC Outdoor titles. Pitts claimed the 110-meter hurdles with a regional-qualifying time of 14.12 for TCU's first MWC title in the event. He later won the 400-meter hurdles with a time of 51.94, which also marked a regional-qualifying performance.
- TCU's Jessica Clarke won the women's 400-meter dash with the fifth-fastest time in MWC Championship history. Her time of 52.52 is currently the seventh-fastest time in the nation. TCU has now won the 400-meter dash for three-straight years. On the men's side, Colorado State's Drew Morano, who was the 2007 MWC runner-up, placed first overall with a time of 45.98. He improved upon his second-place all-time Championship record.
- Three-time champion Virgil Hodge defended her 100-meter title with a new complex and Championship record. Her regional-qualifying time of 11.21 is currently the seventh-fastest time in the nation. She later added to her collection a third straight outdoor 200-meter championship title with a time of 22.94.
- TCU claimed the top-three times in the men's 100-meter dash with Justyn Warner winning with a time of 10.44 seconds. Otis McDaniel (10.47) and Andon Mitchell (10.55) followed in second and third places, respectively. McDaniel later led a four-Frog sweep in the 200-meter dash in 20.60. Seven of the final eight placing positions were held by TCU athletes.
- BYU freshmen Katie Palmer and Stacey Slight swept the top two spots in the women's 800-meter run with respective times of 2:06.70 and 2:07.96. The victory marked the sixth-consecutive season and eighth time in the last nine years that a Cougar claimed the event title. Air Force senior Kevin Hawkins earned his second-straight outdoor Conference crown in the men's race with a time of 1:49.64. Hawkins notched the Falcons' second MWC outdoor title in the event.
- Utah senior Chelsea Shapard set a Lowdon Track Complex record in the women's 400-meter hurdles with a winning time of 58.51, which broke Alison Erzinger's former standard of 58.72 set in 2007. The victory marked Shapard's second-consecutive MWC outdoor title in the event.
- TCU senior Jonathan Jackson claimed his third-career MWC outdoor crown in the men's triple jump with a winning leap of 51'-2.25" (15.60m). Jackson won the event by more than four feet over Colorado State's Nnamdi Agwu (47'-0.75" [14.34m]).
- BYU sophomore Leif Arrhenius won the Cougars' fifth MWC men's shot put title with a season-best mark of 57'-4.75" (17.49m). Arrhenius's brother, former BYU thrower Niklas Arrhenius, won Conference titles in both 2004 and 2005.
- TCU senior Joe Brown claimed his first-career MWC men's javelin title with a winning heave of 221'-7" (67.55m). Brown overtook New Mexico junior Anthony Fairbanks (220'-11.00" [67.34m]) on his final attempt of the competition to become only the second Frog ever to win a Conference crown in the javelin.
- The women's triple jump was decided by a tiebreaker after San Diego State junior Decontee Kaye and TCU sophomore Neidra Covington each broke the former MWC Championship record with leaps of 43'-1.75" (13.15m), Kaye took top honors for her second-career MWC outdoor triple jump title, as her second-best mark of 42'-9.75" outdistanced Covington's No. 2 jump of 42'-7.5".
- Colorado State junior Kristen Hemphill pulled out a five-second victory in the women's 5,000-meter run with a time of 17:32.14. Hemphill grabbed her first-career MWC crown with the victory over New Mexico senior Kara Henry, who placed second with a time of 17:37.54. Air Force senior Ian McFarland won the Air Force men's second 10,000-meter crown, a clocking of 14:37.33 to finish just ahead of TCU sophomore Festus Kigen (14:39.35) and New Mexico senior Jeremy Johnson (14:40.38).
- San Diego State sophomore Stephanie Bagan won her first MWC outdoor championship in the women's pole vault with a meet-and Lowdon Complex-record mark of 14'-0" (4.27m). BYU senior Ashley McCallister, who also surpassed the previous track record, finished second at 13'-2.25" (3.85m).
- TCU swept the women's and men's 4x400-meter relays for the second-consecutive year. The women's Horned Frog team held off San Diego State (3:40.84) for the title, while the TCU men ran in 3:10.77 to claim a victory over second-place Colorado State (3:13.43). The TCU women have won the event during each of their three seasons as members of the league.
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