Fresno State Athletics
Fresno State
WAC Outdoor Championships
Pancotti Wins WAC Pole Vault Title
5/12/2007 12:00:00 AM | Track & Field
May 12, 2007
FRESNO, Calif. - A Bulldog freshman kept an impressive streak alive. Andrew Pancotti, a first-year student-athlete from Clovis, moved into the great lore of Bulldog pole vaulters by winning the 2007 WAC title at Warmerdam Field Saturday afternoon.
It kept alive a streak of 10 consecutive WAC championships in that event for Fresno State, which has long been regarded as one of the nation's elite pole vaulting programs going back to the track & field facilities' namesake Dutch Warmerdam.
It was no surprise then, that it was the biggest event of the WAC event for the Dogs, who had three men place in the top four, led by Pancotti and senior Roy Phelps, who went 1-2. Each reached the height of 16 feet 7 ¼ inches but Pancotti did it in fewer misses. Ryan Rupcich was fourth at 15 feet 7 inches.
Fresno State's men finished in fourth place overall with 102 points. Utah State won the men's team title with 183 points, followed by Boise State, 141, and Louisiana Tech, 117. Idaho was fifth with 100 points.
The Bulldog women's track & field team placed seventh at the 2007 Western Athletic Conference Championships. The Bulldogs scored 80 points in an event won by Louisiana Tech with 162 points.
"We certainly could have done better and are not pleased with how we finished," said head coach Bob Fraley. "But people need to remember that the WAC is a very good conference and there are some of the nation's elite athletes, so there is little room for error when competing against those caliver of athletes. We had some real good individual performances, though. I'm happy about that."
Senior Katie Richardson was the top Bulldog finisher for the women's team on Saturday, earning second place in the discus with a throw of 178-6.
The Dogs scored seven points in the women's hammer throw as Grace Wiesmann placed fourth and Richardson seventh. Wiesmann had a throw for 174 feet 9 inches. Richardson also placed in the javelin on Friday.
The Bulldog 4x100 meter relay team of Rayna White, Christina Lopez, Krystina Jackson and Latoya Green finished in third place with a time of 46.73. Jackson added a fifth place finish in the 100 meter hurdles (14.28).
Junior Renee Winston placed sixth in the 400 meters in a time of 56.49, while Lopex was sixth in the 200 meters with a time of 24.90.
Fresno State scored six team points in the 400 meter hurdles as Green, Erica McCoy and Jackson played 6-7-8.
Senior Zinzi Evans, the defending WAC champion in the 800 meters, placed sixth with a time of 2:13.08, scoring three team points.
The Dog scored one point in the 1500 meters as Marina Santana placed eighth (4:42.78).
Fresno State's 4x400 meter relay team placed third with a time of 3:45.58. The team consisted of Winston, McCoy, Lopez and Evans.
Two Bulldogs placed in the men's triple jump, let by DeAnte Brown at third (49 feet 1 inch) and freshman Aaron Green was sixth (47 feet 2 ¼ inches).
The Dogs went 2-3 in the men's shot put scoring 14 team points, led by Oscar Rodriguez (56-11 ¼) and Dave Endler (54-4). Both student-athletes are juniors.
Senior Ryan Moore, who was expected to place in both the 400 meters and 400 meters hurdles, pulled up with an injury in the 400 meter finals and was unable to race the hurdle event, his specialty, or run the final leg of Fresno State's 4x400 meter event. Moore, the reigning two-time defending WAC champion in the 400 meters, is one of Fresno State's top scholar-athletes.
Junior Juan Valdez was fifth in the 400 meters with a time of 48.26 giving the Dogs two team points.
A couple of senior Bulldogs, Aaron Berry and Kyle Sunderland, placed third and fourth, respectively, in the 800 meters, combining for 10 team points.
The Bulldog 4x100 meter relay squad of Charles Williams, Quenton O'Neal, DeAnte Brown and Durran Moore finished second with a time of 41.86. Moore added a fifth-place showing in the 200 meters at 21.97.
Pancotti joins Dave Endler (discus) and Mallory Webb (javelin) as 2007 WAC individual champions.
The Bulldogs now prepare for the NCAA Regional Championships in Eugene, Ore., May 25-26. The NCAA Outdoor Championship meet will again be held in Sacramento June 6-9.
Players Mentioned
