Fresno State Athletics
Fresno State
WAC Outdoor Championships
Men Take Fourth, Women Fifth At WAC Championships
5/13/2006 12:00:00 AM | Track & Field
May 13, 2006
HONOLULU- The Fresno State track and field squad wrapped up competition at the 2006 WAC Outdoor Track and Field Championships on Saturday evening, with the men's team taking fourth with 108 points and the women finishing fifth at 85.5.
The Bulldogs registered 13 top-3 finishes overall, with the men's squad claiming eight of those performances.
Boise State won the men's title with 186 points, followed by runner-up Utah State (127) and Idaho (124). Louisiana Tech snagged the women's crown, netting 174 points to finish ahead of Idaho (145) and Utah State (113.50).
Highlighting Fresno State's afternoon on the men's side was a sweep of the 4x100 and 4x400-meter relay races. That included an impressive performance by the 4x400-meter crew of Kenny Moon, Juan Valdez, Darryl Miller and Ryan Moore, as they broke a 43-year-old stadium record with a time of 3:10.95 to qualify for NCAA Regionals.
Ryan Moore, Zinzi Evans and Katie Richardson captured WAC titles while the men's 4x100-meter relay team locked up a thrilling first-place finish to qualify for NCAA Regionals.
Fresno State received a boost on the men's side in the first running event of the afternoon, as the 4x100-meter relay team of Alex Jones, Jesse Smith, Val-Pierre Dai'Re and Tomas Mundarain led the field with a 40.61 to qualify for NCAA Regionals.
Moore, already an NCAA Regional qualifier in the 400-meter hurdles, broke through with a season-high time of 51.41 in the event to capture his second straight WAC crown.
In the 400-meters, Juan Valdez notched a personal-best 47.41 to take second and finish ahead of teammate Kenny Moon at 47.89 in third. Kyle Montgomery established a personal-best 48-0 (14.63m) to take home silver in the triple jump.
In addition to their success during the 4x100-meter relay, Dai'Re took third in the 110-meter hurdles at 14.49 and Smith posted a third-place effort in the 100-meters with a time of 10.77.
On the women's side, Evans handily won the 800-meters with a time of 2:09.95. Already an NCAA Regional qualifier, Evans improved on last year's fourth-place finish.
In the discus, Katie Richardson led all competitors with a toss of 159-6 (48.63m). Richardson, who has already qualified for NCAA Regionals in the event with a 170-11 (52.10m), finished two spots better than teammate La'Sha Hill at 154-9 (47.18m).
Richardson and Mallory Webb- NCAA Regional qualifiers in the javelin- once again displayed their season-long dominance in the event. Richardson took second with a throw of 160-11 (49.05m) while Webb placed fourth at 152-1 (46.36m).
The 4x400-meter relay team of Erica McCoy, Christina Lopez, Evans and Renee Winston checked in third at 3:45.65.
Regina Ollison narrowly missed placing in the triple jump, reaching 38-10.50 (11.85m). The Bulldog's 4x100-meter relay team of Winnie Fletcher, Lopez, Winston and Brittney Gilbert took fourth with a time of 47.51.
Up next are the NCAA Regionals in Provo, Utah, on May 26-27.
2006 WAC Outdoor Track and Field Championships Awards
Men's High Point: Ty Axtman (Boise State)
Men's Coach of the Year: Mike Maynard (Boise State)
Men's Freshman of the Year: Mike Coleman (Louisiana Tech)
Men's Outstanding Performer: Ty Axtman (Boise State)
Women's High Point: Sandra Anane (New Mexico State)
Women's Coach of the Year: Gary Stanley (Louisiana Tech)
Women's Freshman of the Year: Eleni-Maria Kafourou (Boise State)
Women's Outstanding Performer: Donesha Spivey (Louisiana Tech)
