Fresno State Athletics
Fresno State
WAC Outoor Championships
Women's Track and Field Crowned 2002 WAC Outdoor Champions
5/18/2002 12:00:00 AM | Track & Field
May 18, 2002
HOUSTON, Texas - For the first time in Fresno State women's track and field history, the Bulldogs have won the Western Athletic Conference Outdoor Championships. The women earned 129 points today, Saturday, May 18, to skim by host Rice, which had 126 points and had won the previous two championships. The men finished in fourth place with 116 points. Fresno State's head coach, Bob Fraley, was named Women's WAC Head Coach of the Year.
Since the program's inception in 1993, the women have never won an outdoor championship. The program did win an indoor championship in 1994, and now the drought comes to an end. Led by junior Crystal Simmons, who was the meet's High Point winner on the women's side, the Bulldogs tallied 14 medals, including two championship crowns. Simmons took home three medals today, including a crown for her first place effort of 41-8 in the triple jump. She was the only Bulldog in the final day of competition to win an individual championship. Sophomore Kara June was the other champion, which she won yesterday in the steeplechase. Simmons also finished second in the 100 hurdles in a personal-best time of 13.95. Her final medal was a bronze one, which earned as the 4x100-meter relay team took third place with a collective time of 45.73. Also part of the relay team were freshmen Ocie Parks, Raynisha Bragg and Crystal Phillips. Parks earned two medals of her own when she finished second in the 100-meter dash, 11.81, and third in the 200-meter dash, 24.42. Three other women earned medals as well. Senior Bergann Hernandez was second in the pole vault after a height of 12-2. Seniors April Wiechmann and Andrea Stelter took home bronze medals, with Wiechmann reaching 5-6 in the high jump and Stelter throwing the hammer a personal-best 183-3.
The men finished the meet in fourth place with 116 points, while earning 10 medals. Once again, senior Justin Schwartz displayed his leadership as he took second in the pole vault at 15-1. He tied the first place finisher from Louisiana Tech, but did not achieve the height in the same number of tries. Freshman Russell Weaver also heighted at 15-1, but finished third. The men's 4x100-meter relay team took third place, as junior Kevin Carano, sophomore Chad Seiler, junior Darnell Hammock and freshman Chris Berrian finished in a season-best time of 41.20.
The squad now turns its attention to the NCAA Championships, May 29-June 1, in Baton Rouge, La. Senior Mike Guidry, men's discus, junior Kyle Carano, men's triple jump, Simmons, women's long and triple jump, Wiechmann women's hammer and senior Kayla Russum, women's javelin, and June, women's steeplechase, will wait to see if their provisional marks will be accepted into the meet.
Final Scores
Women
1. Fresno State, 129
2. Rice, 126
3. Nevada, 119
4. SMU, 103
5. UTEP, 83
6. Tulsa, 80
7. Louisiana Tech, 65
8. Boise State, 63
9. Hawai'i, 49
Men
1. SMU, 205
2. UTEP, 170
3. Boise State, 122
4. Fresno State, 116
5. Rice, 94
6. Louisiana Tech, 61
7. Tulsa, 36
