2007 Outdoor Recaps

ALLEN NARROWLY MISSES ALL-AMERICAN FINISH AT NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS

Results

SACRAMENTO, Calif. – June 8 – Southern Utah’s Justin Allen cleared the bar set at seven feet .25 inches to finish tied for 11th in the finals of the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships on Friday afternoon.

The jump was just short of his all-time mark of seven feet one inch and just above his conference championship mark of six feet 10.75 inches.

“This was probably one of the best events of the day,” head coach Eric Houle said of the competition.  “The winning jump was seven feet seven inches with some really close finishes.”

ALLEN ADVANCES TO HIGH JUMP FINALS AT NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS

Results

SACRAMENTO, Calif. – June 7 – Southern Utah high jumper Justin Allen is tied for first-place after clearing six feet 10.75 inches and will advance to compete in the finals on Friday after day one of the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships.

DeWayne Lewis finished with a time of 10.66 in the men’s 100-meter dash, but did not move onto the semi-finals.

Allen was log jammed with 15 other competitors that cleared the preliminary mark and will look to secure an NCAA title in the high jump finals on Friday.

SUU RECORDS FOUR TOP-TEN FINISHES AT NCAA REGIONALS

Final Results (courtesy of the Univ. of Oregon)

EUGENE, Ore.– May 26 – Southern Utah’s showing at the NCAA West Regionals was capitalized by four top-ten performances, highlighted by a fourth-place finish by freshman DeWayne Lewis in the men’s 100-meter dash.

Other top-ten finishers included Dave Sheeran with a 1:53.48 finishing time in the men’s 800-meters for an eighth-place finish.  In the field events, Justin Allen cleared six feet 11 inches in the high jump for an eighth-place finish and Nate Ott recorded the final top-ten mark for the men on the day with a ninth-place finish in the men’s hammer throw, throwing 198 feet seven inches.

Lewis was joined by Brian Taylor and Jess Baumgartner in improving upon their regional qualifying mark with Taylor clearing the bar at 16 feet7.25 inches in the pole vault and Baumgartner’s 14.33.59 finish in the men’s 5,000-meters.

Greg Watson in the hammer (194 feet two inches, 11th), Trent Nielsen in the javelin (178 feet three inches, 18th), Carlos Valle in the discus (166 feet three inches, 23rd), Sharae Hill in the 100-meter dash (12.53, pre-lims) and Sharla Platt’s time of 17:17.06 (17th) in the women’s 5,000-meters rounded out the rest of the Southern Utah finishes.

CHAMPIONS!! MEN AND WOMEN SWEEP MID-CON OUTDOOR CHAMPIONSHIPS

Final Results (PDF)

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – May 12 – Southern Utah track and field swept both the men’s and women’s outdoor track and field titles as the men collected the hat-trick of crowns during the season with a cross country and indoor title already to their credit.  The women’s title is the first for the Thunderbirds since 2004.

In addition to the team titles, head coach Eric Houle was named the men’s and women’s Coach of the Year with freshman Jeff Alley picking up Men’s Newcomer of the Year honors.

Southern Utah’s men captured their fourth-consecutive title, despite only having a handful of first-place finishes on the day.  In the end SUU accumulated 269 points followed by Oral Roberts with 212, Western Illinois (148), UMKC (78), Valparaiso (55) and Oakland (47).

The women were able to hold off a charging Oral Roberts team and secure the title by a margin of only 11 points.  The Thunderbirds finished with 251 to Oral Roberts’ 240.  Following the duo was Valparaiso (102), UMKC (101), Western Illinois (88) and Oakland (27).

Leading the way for the men was Jess Baumgartner’s 14:43.83 first-place finishing time in the 5,000-meters.  Baumgartner was followed by teammates Rex Shields (second, 14:46.55) and Dave Sheeran (fourth, 14:57.38) to fill three of the top four spots.

DeWayne Lewis and Trent Nielson were the only other Southern Utah athletes on the men’s side to find the top step of the podium as Lewis raced to a first-place finishing time of 10.61 in the 100-meter dash and Nielson tossing a mark of 183 feet ten inches for first-place in the javelin.

With the absence of gold medals, Southern Utah filled out its score with 15 other top-five finishes in the run away victory.

The women’s outcome proved to be a lot closer as every event seemed to be won by an athlete from Oral Roberts with SUU acting as the bridesmaid.

Sharae Hill was the lone exception for the Thunderbirds, finishing first in the 100-meter dash with a time of 12.29.

Outside of Hill, Southern Utah finished second in seven events and recorded top five finishes in ten others.

MEN AND WOMEN CONTINUE TO LEAD AFTER DAY TWO OF CHAMPIONSHIPS

Day Two Results (PDF)

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – May 12 – Southern Utah track and field continues to lead at the Mid-Con Outdoor Track and Field Championships as the meet enters the final day.  The men hold a lead of more than 70 points and the women lead by almost 50 with Western Illinois and Oral Roberts looking to take the lead.

Day two was comprised of mostly trials in preparation of today’s finals that will ultimately decide the track and field title.

Southern Utah’s women will have five athletes in the finals of the 100-meter hurdles, three in the 400-meters, at least one in the 100- and 200-meters, and four in the finals of the 400-meter hurdles.

The performance puts the Thunderbirds in a strong position to hold onto the lead heading into the final day.

The women also collected some individual medals on the day with the duo of Tiffany Lindstrom and Jackie Stoddard finishing one-two in the women’s heptathlon with a total of 4,293 points and 4,214 points, respectively.

Kristi Koplin and Becca Bush narrowly missed a first-place finish in their respective events as Koplin finished second in the women’s distance with a mark of 147 feet three inches and Bush cleared a height of five feet five inches in the high jump for runner-up honors.

On the men’s side, Brian Taylor edged out Oral Roberts’ Ernest Martinez for the individual title in the men’s decathlon by a score of 6,782 to 6,775.

Justin Allen was also a pleasant surprise for the Thunderbirds as he bounded 21 feet 10.75 inches for a second-place finish in the men’s long jump.  Allen also accumulated points for SUU as the senior placed first in the high jump after clearing the bar at six feet 10.75 inches.

Southern Utah gleaned a large chuck of points in the other field event of the day as Carlos Valle tossed a regional qualifying mark (173 feet four inches) in the discus for first-place with Greg Watson (158 feet ten inches) and Nate Ott (157 feet one inch) close behind in third and fourth-place.

On the track, the Thunderbirds will have two compete in the finals of the men’s 110-meter hurdle, 400-meters and 200-meters.  Southern Utah will also have a trio of runners in the finals of the 100-meters and 400-meter hurdles.

In the only medal-awarded race of the day, Devan Antczak crossed the line in 9:36.80 in the men’s 3,000-meter steeplechase for second-place honors.

Competition will continue through Saturday with the men’s and women’s champion being named Saturday afternoon.

MEN AND WOMEN IN FIRST AFTER DAY ONE OF OUTDOOR CHAMPIONSHIPS

Day One Results (PDF)

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – May 11 – Southern Utah is in first place in both the men and women’s side after the first day of the Mid-Con Outdoor Track and Field Championships on the campus of UMKC.

The men lead with 46 points followed by Western Illinois (13), Valparaiso (9), UMKC (7) and Oakland with three.

For the women, the Thunderbirds are in first-place with 41 points followed by Western Illinois (27), UMKC (14), Oakland (13), Valparaiso (12) and Oral Roberts (9).

The women benefited with a second-place finish by Kristi Koplin in the women’s hammer with a mark of 160 feet seven inches.  Nicole Creer and Alayna Ferrin also recorded points for the Thunderbirds with a fifth and sixth-place finish with marks of 143 feet three inches and 142 feet five inches, respectively.

The Thunderbirds also pooled several points with three athletes finishing in the top four of the women’s pole vault, including a first-place finish by senior Marie Muscato.  Muscato cleared the bar at ten feet 11.75 inches for the individual victory as Lindsay Sotack and Kim Schoney vaulted over ten feet six inches in their finish.

SUU women are also first and second in the women’s heptathlon with Tiffany Lindstrom (2873) and Jackie Stoddard (2635) leading the way after four of seven events.

On the men’s side, the Thunderbirds benefited from a first through third finish in the men’s 10,000-meters and a one-two finish in the men’s hammer throw.

All-American Jess Baumgartner led the charge for the men in the 10,000-meters with a first-place time of 33:25.91 followed by Mark Currell (33:26.03) and Rex Shields (33:44.38).

The one-two punch of Nate Ott and Greg Watson in the hammer throw proved to be just that as Ott’s toss of 195 feet was good enough for first with Watson’s mark of 192 feet three inches, finishing second.

Southern Utah’s Brian Taylor finished the day in second place in the men’s decathlon with half of the events completed.

The Mid-Con Outdoor Track and Field Championships continue today with a full slate of events, culminating with the men and women’s 200-meter dash trials this evening.

REGULAR SEASON CONCLUDES FOLLOWING MEET IN OGDEN

Weber State Results

OGDEN, Utah – May 3 – Southern Utah track and field concluded the outdoor regular season at the Weber State Campus Stores Twilight Meet in Ogden, recording more than 20 season-best times and marks in a mid-week meet on Wednesday.

“This was a great meet for us,” head coach Eric Houle said.  “We had some really good performances that will give us some momentum as we head into the conference championships.”

Among the top performers at the meet included first-place finishes by Marie Muscato, Kristi Koplin, DeWayne Lewis and Nate Ott.

Muscato tied for first after clearing the bar at 11 feet six inches in the pole vault while Lewis raced to a season-best time of 10.66 and a first-place finish in the men’s 100-meter dash.

Koplin’s toss of 147 feet two inches in the discus garnered the individual title and was one of three events in which the sophomore placed.  Koplin also finished fourth in the hammer (162 feet six inches) and seventh in the shot put with a mark of 39 feet 1.5 inches.

Ott continued his stellar season in the throwing events with the individual title in the hammer throw with a 195 feet six inch mark and a third-place finish in the shot put with a heave of 52 feet 5.5 inches.

The men’s 4x100-meter relay team also recorded a first-place finish for the Thunderbirds with a season-best time of 41.31.  The women’s relay team narrowly missed the top of the platform with a second-place performance of 47.03.

Other top finishers on the track included Brittany Lee in the 400-meters (second, 55.76) and Sharla Platt in the 1,500-meters with a season-best time of 4:37.32 and a second-place finish.

A host of Thunderbirds finished second through fourth in the women’s 400-meter hurdles as Lauren Calton (1:05.41), Jennifer Sparks (1:05.50) and Becca Bush (1:05.80) crossed the line in order.

Bush and Jackie Stoddard turned in the final top finishes for the women in the field events as the duo finished fourth and second, respectively, in the high jump after clearing marks of five feet three inches and five feet five inches.

The final top performances for the men during the meet included Chris Bringhurst with a season-best time of 1:54.41 in the 800-meters for the second-place finish and Tim Dalene in the 400-meter hurdles with a third-place time of 53.90.

In the field, Justin Allen doubled up his top three finishes with a second-place effort in the high-jump after clearing seven feet and a third-place performance in the triple jump with a season-best mark of 44 feet 5.5 inches.

The track and field team will now prepare for the Mid-Con Outdoor Championships with the men looking for a clean sweep after a cross country and indoor title to their credit.  The championships are scheduled for May 10-12 in Kansas City, Mo. hosted by UMKC.

SMALL NUMBERS PRODUCE BIG RESULTS FOR SUU T&F

BYU Invitational Results

PROVO, Utah – April 28 – Three Southern Utah track and field athletes posted NCAA regional qualifying marks as a handful of athletes competed at the BYU Invitational over the weekend.

Most notably on the list were two school records broken by 800-meter runner Dave Sheeran and thrower Nate Ott.

Sheeran finished second in the men’s 800-meter invitational race with an NCAA regionally qualifying time and school record of 1:50.17.  SUU redshirt, competing unattached, Nate Houle was just behind Sheeran in third place with a finishing time of 1:51.57.

Nate Ott broke through the 200 foot mark in the hammer throw with an enormous toss of 201 feet 5 inches to break the previous school record of 200 feet 9 inches.  Ott was followed closely by Greg Watson, posting a second-place mark of 199 feet as the two throwers continue to battle this season.

Both distances were regional qualifying marks.

High jumper Justin Allen turned in the final top finish of the day with a second place finish in the men’s high jump by clearing mark of 6 feet 10.75 inches.

The outdoor season will culminate with the men looking for a clean sweep with an outdoor title and the women looking to move up from second at the Mid-Con Championships in Kansas City on May 10-12.

SIX FACILITY RECORDS FALL AT SUU INVITATIONAL

SUU Invitational Results

CEDAR CITY, Utah– April 19 – Six facility records fell as Southern Utah hosted the Utah Valley State Wolverines at the SUU Invitational on a chilly Thursday night at Eccles Coliseum.  The Thunderbirds held court well, capturing 24 first-place finishes in the 36 total events.

Thunderbirds eclipsed five of the six facility records, while SUU alum Anna Dolegiewicz crushed the mark in the hammer with an enormous toss of 200 feet 6 inches.  The mark equaled that of first-place finisher Nathan Ott on the men’s side, also with a throw of 200 feet 6 inches.

Both records in the high jump fell with Justin Allen clearing the bar at 7 feet .50 inches and Jackie Stoddard soaring over 5 feet 5 inches.

Senior Brian Taylor also cleared a record-breaking mark for the facility with a region qualifying clearance of 16 feet 7 inches.

On the track, Sharla Platt easily erased the 10:30.16 record in the 3,000-meters with a finishing time of 10:16.72 for first-place in the event.

Tim Dalene seized the final record of the evening with a first-place time of 53.14 in the men’s 400-meter hurdles.

Southern Utah logged another 19 first-place finishes in the meet as Thunderbird track and field fans got their first look at the team this season.

SUU will now travel with its success and confidence to the UNLV Invitational and warmer weather in Las Vegas this weekend as the season continues.

SUU CAPTURES FIVE INDIVIDUAL TITLES IN CALIFORNIA

Mt. SAC Relay Results
Azusa Pacific Results

AZUSA/WALNUT, Calif. – April 15 – Southern Utah track and field accumulate four individual titles in its latest trip to California as the Thunderbirds competed at the inaugural Azusa Pacific Invitational and the 49th installment of the Mt. Sac Relays.

Leading the way for SUU was Sharla Platt, Kristi Koplin and Marie Muscato for the women and the 4x400-meter relay team and Justin Allen for the men.

Platt captured the title in the 5,000-meters at Azusa Pacific with a season-best time of 16:51.53.  The time also broke the school record by almost two seconds.  Muscato cleared 11 feet 7 inches en route to her first-place finish in the pole vault.

At the Mt. Sac Relays, Koplin recorded a mark of 152 feet 9 inches for the title in the discus throw, improving her season-best throw.

The Thunderbird men found most of their success at Azusa Pacific as the 4x400-meter relay team raced to a first-place time of 3:14.69, almost four seconds faster than the previous season-best finish.

Allen, competing in the high jump, turned in performances of 6 feet 10.75 inches at both meets, posting a first place finish at Azusa and a fourth-place finish at Mt. Sac.

Greg Watson and Nate Ott finished second and fourth, respectively, in the hammer throw at Azusa with marks of 196 feet 5 inches and 188 feet 5 inches.

Other Thunderbirds narrowly missing the top platform at the meets included the women’s 4x400-meter relay team (second, 3:53.15), Brian Taylor in the pole vault (second, 15 feet 5 inches) and Austin Hill in the 400-meters (second, 47.20).

Other top-five finishes for SUU included Kate Eborn in the 1,500-meters (third, 4:43.97), Karl Siebach in the 10,000-meters (fourth, 32.19.86), Watson in the discus (fourth, 153 feet 10 inches), the women’s 4x100-meter relay team (fourth, 47.90), the men’s 4x100-meter relay team (fifth, 42.49) and Jackie Stoddard and Becca Bush tying for  fifth in the high jump, clearing a mark of 5 feet 5 inches.

Fans will have their first opportunity to catch the track and field teams at home this week when the Thunderbirds host the Southern Utah Invitational on Thursday, April 19.

THUNDERBIRDS ENJOY SUCCESS IN CALIFORNIA

Pomona Results
Weber State Results (PDF)

POMONA, Calif. – April 7 – Southern Utah University track and field enjoyed a fair amount of success at the Pomona Invitational over the weekend in the team’s second of three trips to the state of California this season. 

Sharla Platt proved to be the top finisher for the Thunderbirds over the course of the competition with an individual title in the 5,000-meters with a time of 17:01.90.  However, the sophomore wouldn’t end there and captured a fifth-place finish in the 800-meters with a time of 2:14.74.

Platt’s teammate, Chelsey Allen, also recorded multiple top-five finishes with a fifth-place finish in the 200-meters (25.22) and a fourth-place finish in the 400-meters (57.62).

Southern Utah runners would take two top-five spots in the 400-meter hurdles as Lauren Calton and Jennifer Sparks crossed the line in third and fifth with times of 1:04.81 and 1:05.08, respectively.

The feat happened again in the 3,000-meter steeplechase as Thunderbirds finished second and third in the event.  Kate Eborn recorded a second-place time of 11:42.90 and teammate Madison Syndergaard was right behind in third with a time of 11:46.13.

Other top-five finishes for the women included Jackie Stoddard and Becca Bush tying for second in the high jump (five feet three inches), Marie Muscato tying for fourth in the pole vault by clearing a mark of 11 feet 5.75 inches and Kristi Koplin finishing fifth in the hammer throw with a toss of 158 feet 8 inches.

The men were without a first-place finish in California, but still recorded several personal best times in the process.

The top finisher of the day was the 4x400-meter relay team comprised of Steve Hart, Jeff Alley, Brad Jeppsen and Austin Hill, finishing the event in a second-place time of 3:14.99.

Hill, Alley and Hart each recorded top-eight finishes in their individual events, including Hill (21.85, 5th) and Alley (21.87, 6th) in the 200-meters and Hart in the 400-meters (49.30, 8th).

Brian Taylor turned in the best individual finish with a second-place mark of 16 feet 2.75 inches in the pole vault.  The senior then followed up this success in that event with a sixth-place finish in the long jump with a distance of 20 feet even.

After back-to-back seven feet performances, senior Justin Allen secured a third-place finish in the high jump with a mark of six feet 8.75 inches.

Nate Ott, competing with a handful of throwers at the Weber State Invitational in Odgen, finished first in the hammer throw, improving his regional qualifying mark with a heave of 192 feet 10 inches.

“The meets this weekend were really good for us,” head coach Eric Houle said.  “We just keep getting better and better as the season goes on.”

Southern Utah will return to the Golden State next weekend when the team competes at the Mt. Sac Relays in Walnut, California.

REGIONAL QUALIFYING MARKS SET AS THUNDERBIRDS COMPETE AT BYU AND STANFORD

Stanford Results
BYU Results (PDF)

PALO ALTO, Calif./PROVO, Utah – March 31 – Justin Allen, Greg Watson and Nathan Ott each achieved regional qualifying marks to headline Southern Utah track and field success at the Stanford Invitational and it would be a handful of freshman with the most success for the Thunderbirds at the BYU Invitational over the weekend.

"We did a great job today, competing against over 60 teams from all over the nation," head coach Eric Houle said of the Stanford meet.  "We did some really great things and overall the meet was just awesome."

Watson and Ott recorded distances of 195 feet nine inches and 189 feet seven inches for a fifth and eighth-place finish, respectively.  The marks equaled regional qualifying distances for each of the throwers.

Allen picked up the third regional qualifying mark of the day with a school-record bound of seven feet one inch and a second-place finish in the high jump.

Several other athletes involved in the meet recorded personal records in their respective events, including Sharla Platt (1,500-meters, 4:35.18), Brittany Lee (400-meters, 55.78), Kristi Koplin (hammer throw, 151 feet eight inches; discus, 150 feet 7.5 inches), Dave Sheeran (1,500-meters, 3:53.39), Austin Hill (400-meters, 47.74), Mark Currell (5,000-meters, 14:23.39) and Rex Shields (5,000-meters, 14:23.76).

In Provo, SUU freshmen dominated the top-five finishes by the Thunderbirds led by freshman Jeff Alley with two second-place finishes.  The Logan native crossed the line with a 10.97 effort in the 100-meter dash and ran the leadoff leg of the men’s 4x400-meter relay team with a finishing time of 3:19.98.

Another SUU freshman, Chelsey Allen, capture two other top-five finishes for the Thunderbirds with a third-place finish in the 400-meters (50.06) and a fourth-place finish in the 200-meters with a time of 25.12.

The freshman parade continued with a fourth-place finish for Devan Antczak in the 1,500-meters (4:03.98) and a fifth-place finish for Steve Hart in the 400-meters with a time of 50.06.

Sharae Hill was the lone upper classman for the Thunderbirds with a top-five finish, running to a fifth-place 12.64 time in the 100-meter dash.

Southern Utah will next be in action when the team travels to Pomona, Calif. for the Pomona Invitational on April 7.

ALLEN AND LEE CAPTURE INDIVIDUAL TITLES AS SEASON BEGINS

Complete Results

LONG BEACH, Calif. – March 17 – Seniors Brittany Lee and Justin Allen each captured individual titles as Southern Utah began the outdoor track and field season in Long Beach, Calif. on Saturday.  Lee finished with a time of 56.94 for first-place in the women’s 400-meter dash, while Allen cleared a height of 7 feet .75 inches en route to a first-place finish and a school record in the high jump.

Lee didn’t end her day with just the 400-meters, she also competed in the 200-meters (seventh, 25.22) and ran the second leg in the third-place 4x100 (47.4h) and 4x400-meter (3:57.16) relay teams.

Kristi Koplin and Jackie Stoddard shined in field events as each placed in the top six of two or more events.  Koplin recorded distances of 39 feet 1.25 inches in the shot put, 139 feet 4 inches in the discus and 151 feet 2 inches in the hammer throw for a fifth, sixth and four-place finish, respectively.

 Stoddard cleared a height of 5 feet 3 inches for a fourth-place finish in the high jump and followed it up with a 110 feet 2 inch heave in the javelin for a fifth-place finish.

Teammates Becca Bush and Alayna Ferrin were close behind the duo as Bush tied Stoddard in the high jump and Ferrin finished sixth in the shot put with a distance of 38 feet 8.75 inches.

Marie Muscato had the best finish of the day in the field events for the women as she tied for second in the pole vault after clearing 11 feet 5.75 inches.

On the men’s side, Austin Hill narrowly missed being the third individual winner for the Thunderbirds, finish second in the 400-meters with a time of 48.47.  The time ranks No. 6 on Southern Utah’s record books.

Freshman Jeff Alley also recorded a top-ten time with a 10.77 sixth-place finish in the 100-meters.  The time ties him for ninth all-time at Southern Utah.

Alley was also a part of the second-place 4x100-meter relay team (43.10) and third-place 4x400-meter relay team (3:18.12) to round out his day.

Dave Sheeran continued to run well after a conference athlete of the year honor during the indoor season with a fourth-place finish in the 800-meters with a time of 1:52.47.

The Thunderbirds recorded a bunched finish in the 1,500-meters as Mark Currell, Jess Baumgartner and Rex Shields finished fifth, sixth and seventh, crossing the line at 3:59.48, 4:01.56 and 4:04.05, respectively.

Trent Nielson proved to be a field athlete of note with a fourth-place finish in the javelin after recording a distance of 189 feet.  Dallen Proctor and Steve Bowen were close behind with distances of 178 feet 4 inches and 170 feet 2 inches for a sixth and seventh-place finish.

The outdoor season will continue for the Thunderbirds when Southern Utah splits and travels to Provo for the BYU Invitational and Palo Alto, Calif. for the Stanford Invitational on March 30.