U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. - The Colorado State men's team and the BYU women's team are each in first place after the second day of competition at the Mountain West Conference Indoor Track and Field Championships held at the Air Force Academy's Cadet Field House.
The Rams have 76.5 points, while the five-time defending champion BYU women have 78 points, both after six events. BYU men's team, the defending champion, is second with 50.5 points, while Wyoming is third with 38 points. Air Force (32), New Mexico (31) and Utah (3) round out the men's field. On the women's side, Colorado State is second with 65 points, while Utah is third with 26 points. San Diego State is fourth (25), New Mexico is fifth (15), while Wyoming (9), UNLV (9) and Air Force (7) round out the women's teams.
In the conclusion of the men's heptathlon, Air Force senior Caleb Pelger won the title in come-from-behind fashion with 5,096 points. Pelger trailed Colorado State's Kevin Johnson by 106 points going into the 1,000 meters but Pelger ran a 2:54.34, almost 13 seconds faster than Johnson, to squeak out the victory by 19 points. Pelger finished third in last year's heptathlon. Johnson scored 5,077 points to finish second, while Wyoming's Bret Zowada tallied 5,033 points to finish third.
In the last event of the day, the women's pole vault, both Erin Asay and Shayla Balentine of San Diego State surpassed the MWC indoor all-time (13'-5.25") and championship meet (13'-2.50") records. However, Valentine converted at 14'-0" on her third attempt to unseat Asay, the defending MWC indoor champion. It is also a NCAA automatic-qualifying mark and an indoor personal record of 11 inches.
The third and final day of competition begins Saturday at 12:30 p.m. with the men's triple jump and women's shot put. The meet concludes with the men's mile relay at 3:45 p.m.
Mountain West Conference Indoor Track and Field Championship Notes:
BYU's Laura Turner won the 5,000 meter title, while teammate Chelsea Smith finished second and Utah's Elise Greenwood-Bahr placed third. All times were unofficial as each runner ran one lap short of the full 5,000 meters, although the placements stand. It was Turner's second consecutive MWC 5,000 meter title.
New Mexico's Ben Ortega won the men's 5,000 meters in a NCAA provisional-qualifying time of 14:49.21.
Air Force's Caleb Pelger won the MWC heptathlon title with 5,096 points, while Kevin Johnson of Colorado State was second (5,077 points) and Wyoming's Bret Zowada was third (5,033 points).
Colorado State's Loree Smith won the women's weight throw with a MWC Championship record and NCAA automatic qualifying heave of 72-11.25. Smith also won the MWC weight throw title in 2003 before redshirting last season. Colorado State took three of the top four spots as Jill McCormick finished second (64'-02.25") and Jaimee Troth finished fourth (57'-07.00").
Shayla Balentine of San Diego State won the women's pole vault title with a Mountain West indoor all-time and championship record mark of 14'-00". It is a NCAA automatic-qualifying height. Teammate Erin Asay finished second with a provisional 13'-8.25".
Rodrigo Mendes of BYU won the men's long jump title with a leap of 24'-02.50". It was a season-high jump for the 2004 MWC triple jump champion.
David Pendergrass of BYU won the men's high jump with a personal-best mark of 7'-00.25".
Colorado State senior Adam Trainor won the men's weight throw with a mark of 69'-05.25". Zack Schaefer of Wyoming was second (65'-03.25"), while Colorado State's Nate Heyrman was third (64'-10.75"). The top seven finishers all scored NCAA provisional-qualifying marks.
BYU's Amy Menlove followed up yesterday's women's pentathlon victory with a win Friday in the long jump. The sophomore scored a leap of 20'-05.75", which is a NCAA provisional-qualifying mark. Colorado State sophomore Janay DeLoach was second at 19'-09.75".
The BYU distance medley relay team of Ann Marie Thomas, Challis Firl, Ann Heiner and Allison Passey won the MWC title with a time of 12:17.09.
The men's distance medley team of Josh McAdams, Dustin Bybee, Nathan Robison and Stig Robertson won the MWC title with a conference championship record time of 10:03.22.
Shauna Smith won the women's 400 meter preliminary with a time of 52.95, while Jessica Fox of Wyoming was second with a time of 53.88. Both times are NCAA provisional-qualifying times. Utah's Amanda Feigt ran a school-record 56.41 to advance to the final.
