Amanda Feigt - Utah. Photo by Jaren Wilkey/MWC
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BYU Men, Colorado State Women Lead MWC Outdoor
Colorado State's Loree Smith sets NCAA record in the hammer, also wins discus.
May 13, 2005
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FORT COLLINS, Colo. - The BYU men's team and the Colorado State
University women's team are each in first place after the third day of
competition at the 2005 Mountain West Conference Outdoor Track and Field
Championships held at Colorado State University's Jack Christiansen
Track in Fort Collins, Colo.
The Cougar men, five-time MWC defending champions, have 112 points after
eight events, while the Colorado State women's team has 94 points, after
seven events. On the men's side, Colorado State is second with 72.50
points, Air Force is third with 53 points, New Mexico is fourth with
33.50 points, Wyoming is in fifth place with 30 points, while Utah is
sixth with eight points. On the women's side, defending champion BYU
has 79 points, while Utah is third with 34 points. San Diego State is
fourth with 18 points, followed by UNLV in fifth place (14), Air Force
and Wyoming in sixth place (12) and New Mexico in eighth place (10).
Loree Smith of Colorado State got the meet off to a roaring start as she
set a NCAA record in the opening event, the women's hammer throw, with a
heave of 229'-9". Smith broke Candice Scott's (Florida) mark of 229'-1"
set in April 2004. It is also the best throw in the United States this
year. She also broke her own MWC record of 220'-8" set earlier this
year and set a new MWC championship record, breaking Wyoming's Robin
Lyons' throw of 204'-10" set in 2000. In addition, it was a Jack
Christiansen Track record. Later in the afternoon, Smith also won the
discus throw with a MWC meet record mark of 177'-1".
The fourth and final day of competition begins Saturday at 10:30 a.m.
with the women's javelin and the men's shot put. Running events begin
at 11:30 a.m. with the women's 4x100 meter relay.
Mountain West Conference Outdoor Track and Field Championship Notes:
Loree Smith of Colorado State set a new NCAA record, MWC championship,
MWC all-time record and Jack Christiansen Track record in the women's
hammer throw with a mark of 229'-9". Colorado State finished first,
fourth, fifth, sixth and eighth in the event. Utah's Vanessa Mortensen
finished second with a mark of 186'8". Smith also won the MWC hammer
title in 2002 and 2004.
Colorado State's Adam Trainor won the men's hammer throw with a mark
of 216'10". The Rams finished first, fourth, fifth, seventh, eighth and
ninth in the event. Trainor was also the MWC hammer winner in 2002.
Wyoming's Kyle Herl finished second with a mark of 208'-7", while the
Cowboys' Zack Schaefer was third with a throw of 207'-1".
BYU finished 1-2 in the men's high jump as David Pendergrass won the
event with a jump of 6'-10.75", and Bryce Bergen finished second, also
with a mark of 6'-10.75. Colorado State's Jacob Benson was third at
6'-8.75". Both BYU athletes scored a NCAA regional-qualifying mark.
Pendergrass was also the 2002 MWC champion in the high jump.
BYU swept the top three places in the women's 3,000-meter steeplechase
as Rena Williams-Chesser won the event with a time of 10:42.81, while
Micheala Mannova was second with a time of 10:43.95 and Sarah
Ingebretsen was third at 11:04.42. The top five finishers in the event
all ran NCAA regional-qualifying times.
BYU's Josh McAdams won the men's 3,000-meter steeplechase with a time
of 9:02.93. Teammates Chandler Goodwin and Matthew Adams finished third
and fourth, while Colorado State's Mike Nicks finished second. McAdams
is the MWC record holder in the event.
BYU's Amy Menlove won the women's long jump with a MWC championship
record leap of 21'-4.75", while Janay DeLoach of Colorado State finished
second with a mark of 19'-8.75". Both are NCAA regional-qualifying
marks. Menlove was also the 2004 MWC long jump champion.
Loree Smith won her second event of the day, the women's discus, with
a throw of 177'-1", a new MWC meet record. Smith broke CSU's Liz
Toman's 2001 mark of 174'-4". It is Smith's third outdoor discus title
as she won the MWC titles in 2002 and 2004. Teammate Katie Hansen was
second with a mark of 170'-7". The top five finishers in the event all
had NCAA regional-qualifying marks.
Halima DeCree tied the MWC meet record with a time of 11.43 in the 100
meters. It is also a NCAA regional-qualifying time. DeCree posted the
top time in the preliminaries and qualifies for tomorrow's final.
Jacob Benson of Colorado State won the men's long jump with a leap of
24'-00.75". He finished third at last year's MWC Championship. It was
a personal-best mark for the senior. Earlier in the day, he finished
third in the high jump.
Trent Powell of BYU won the men's pole vault with a mark of 17'-9.25",
a NCAA regional-qualifying mark. Teammate Robison Pratt, the MWC record
holder in the event, was second, also at 17'-9.25". Powell tied Pratt
for the 2003 MWC pole vault title.
Brothers Niklas and Leif Arrhenius of BYU finished 1-2 in the men's
discus throw. Niklas threw 188'-6" to win his second consecutive MWC
discus title, while freshman Leif placed second with a mark of 182'-5".
The top six finishers scored NCAA regional-qualifying marks.
Lindsay Metcalf of BYU won her third MWC outdoor high jump title with
a mark of 5'-11.25". Last year's winner, Christine Spence of UNLV,
finished second with the same mark. Yesterday's women's heptathlon
winner, Katie Lloyd of Colorado State, finished third with a jump of
5'-7".
Chelsea Smith of BYU won the women's 10,000 meters in a time of
37:45.29, while teammate Lisa Frischknecht was second in 37:49.90. A
BYU woman has won the 10,000 meters in every MWC outdoor meet except
2002.
Josh Rohatinsky of BYU won the men's 10,000 meters in a time of
31:18.90.
