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2008 Mountain West Conference Indoor Track and Field Championships Begin Thursday, February 28
Feb. 27, 2008 COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. -
The 2008 Mountain West Conference Indoor Track and Field Championships begin Thursday, February 28. Live stats will be available online by visiting http://themwc.cstv.com/sports/c-track/stats/08-itrack-realtime.html. For the seventh time in nine years, the U.S. Air Force Academy will serve as the host site for the MWC Championships, which will run from Thursday, February 28 through Saturday, March 1, 2008. The championships return to the Cadet Field House after being held at the Albuquerque Convention Center in Albuquerque, N.M., for the past two years. Air Force senior and three-time defending 200-meter champion Travis Picou is on track to complete a four-year sweep of the event, entering this week's action with the third-fastest time in the league this season (21.67). Sophomore Melissa Beerse recently became the first female in Academy history to clear the 13-foot pole vault mark (13'2.25") and will give the Falcons an edge in that event.
The BYU men will be looking to win their sixth consecutive MWC title, while the Cougar women aim for their eighth Conference crown in nine years. Cougar distance runner Kyle Perry comes into the weekend having broken the all-time MWC record in the 3,000-meter run (7:51.20) earlier this season, while pole-vaulter Ashley McAllister's season-high mark of 13'2.50" currently ranks her 17th in the nation, according to TrackShark.com.
Colorado State has trailed closely behind BYU the past several years and both Ram squads have their sights set on overtaking the Cougars for only the second time in Mountain West history. Three Rams currently hold season-best times in the league for the men's 400-meter and women's 3,000-meter and pentathlon, with perennial top-five finishers Drew Morano and Kristen Hemphill expected to lead their respective squads in those events. New Mexico junior transfer Lee Emanuel established himself as the fastest indoor miler in Lobo history earlier this season, breaking the program's 24-year-old record with a time of 4:02.47. On the women's side, Tiyana Peters returns as the reigning MWC indoor high jump champion and three-time all-MWC selection. Decontee Kaye is the San Diego State entrant to watch in the horizontal jumps. The junior has provisionally qualified for the 2008 NCAA Championships in the long jump, setting a school record with an MWC-season best leap of 20'2.25." TCU is led by sprinter Virgil Hodge, who was the recipient of the Female High Point Award at last year's MWC championships. The senior Lady Frog is ranked first in the league this season in both the 60-meter (7.32) and 200-meter (23.33) events, ranking fourth in the country in the latter, according to TrackShark.com. Senior Jonathan Jackson leads the TCU men, having automatically qualified for the 2008 NCAA championships in the triple jump (53'3.5"). UNLV's Monique Humphries owns the school weight throw (57'7") and shot put (41'7") records, ranking third and 13th in the league this season, respectively, in those two events. On the track, Rebel distance runner Charlotte Browning returns after collecting MWC Freshman of the Year honors in 2007. Leading the Conference in the women's mile run this season (4:53.85), Chelsea DiGrazia will be a force to reckon with for Utah. The junior distance harrier broke the 10-year-old school record in the mile and is one of only six women to run the mile in under five minutes in the state of Utah. Wyoming has a powerhouse in junior Mark Korir, the reigning indoor 3,000-meter men's champion and 2007 all-MWC selection. The school record-holder in both the 3,000-meter and 5,000-meter races, Korir ranks eighth (8:19.12) and first (13:57.65) in the league this season in those two events, respectively. On the women's side, senior Sharon Larrier has an All-American honor under her belt as well, as the third-best 400-meter time in Cowgirl history (54.84). At last year's MWC championships, a combined eight men's and women's records were broken, while 46 total performances ranked among the top five in MWC championships history. BYU won five individual titles and earned 180 points overall to capture the men's team crown, while the Cougar women claimed finished with 179 points and five individual titles for their crown. |
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