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May 17, 2008
BOISE, Idaho -- The championships are almost starting to become too numerous to count for Louisiana Tech's track and field squad.
Make it four in a row for now as head coach Gary Stanley's bunch has clinched four Western Athletic Conference outdoor championships in as many years Saturday with another masterful performance on the final day.
"I'm so proud of both teams," Stanley said. "It was just a great effort; absolutely remarkable. We haven't had a track to run on in a couple of months now. I'm so very proud of the kids."
Tech's women scored a total of 177 points on the weekend, besting number two Idaho by 51 points. The Bulldogs stayed in the hunt and came just a half a point shy of second place in what Stanley called "a huge performance."
Sophomore Al Fullwood was also named WAC Outstanding Performer of the Year for the men, while freshman Chasidee Lewis earned the honor on the women's side along with Co-Freshman of the Year.
Junior Antoinette Cobb took first place in the women's 100-hurdle with an NCAA Regional Qualifying time of 13.65 seconds, while sophomore Kamelia Stroy took first in the women's 400 at 54.18 for a regional mark.
Fullwood won the men's 400 at 46.30 for a regional qualifying mark, while Lewis took the women's 100 at 11.83. Junior Michael Coleman won the men's 100 at 10.34 for another regional mark, while junior Cory Denstel took first place in the men's 800 at 1:51.71.
Fullwood also won the men's 200 with a regional qualifying mark of 20.67 while in the field, junior Phelecia Reynolds placed first with a throw if 160 feet, 11 inches in the discus.
The women's 4x100 team of Lewis, Stroy, and freshmen Rakeisha Green and Nancy Shelton took first with a time of 45.73, while the men's 4x100 team of Fullwood, Coleman and freshmen Josh Harvey and Terry Carter won the championship at 39.98 for a regional qualifying mark.
The relays were not done. The 4x400 team of junior El Charitta Reynolds, Stroy, and freshmen Monique Wright and Shante Benion hit a regional time of 3:41.59 for the win while the men's 4x400 team of Coleman, Fullwood with sophomore Wad MaGaha and freshman Demonte Willis took first at 3:10.07.
Friday, Alexander took first in the women's shot after breaking the school record and vastly improving her NCAA Regional Qualifying mark with a toss of 54-6.75 which also scored the team 10 points. Sophomore Tierah Hall also had her best throw of the season at 47-11 for a fifth place finish to score four points.
Freshman Quatisha Williams also had a brilliant performance in the women's long jump with a mark of 19-6.75 which led the way to a total of four Lady Techsters scoring in the event. Williams mark was third overall.
Also scoring for Tech on the men's side was freshman Larry Jones in the men's discus who finished second at 176-08, while junior Kinsey Dinnel placed third in the men's 3000 Steeplechase with a time of 9 minutes, 17.20 seconds. Alexander, Williams, Dinnel and Jones all earned 2008 All-WAC honors for placing in the top three in their respective events Friday evening.
Some highlights of athletes advancing to the finals included Coleman racking up a couple of regional marks in the men's 100 and 200 with times of 10.37 and 20.75, respectively. Both Fullwood (21.01) and Carter (21.03) also finished with regional marks in the men's 200.
The top three finishers in each category were named All-WAC. Tech earned a total of seven conference championships in the women and six for the men.
All-WAC
Nadia Alexander - Shot*
Shante Benion - 4x400*
Antoinette Cobb - 100-hurdle*
Terry Carter - 100*, 200*, 4x100*
Michael Coleman - 100*, 200*, 4x400, 4x100*
Latoya Collins - Triple Jump
Kinsey Dinnel - 3000 Steeple
Cory Denstel - 800
Albert Fullwood - 400*, 200*, 4x400, 4x100*
Rakeisha Green - 100, 200, 4x100
Josh Harvey - 100*, 4x100*
Larry Jones - Javelin*, Discus*
Chasidee Lewis-Baker - 100, 200, 4x100
Wade MaGaha - 4x400
El Charrita Reynolds - 400, 4x400*
Phelecia Reynolds - Discus*
Nancy Shelton - 100, 200, 4x100
Kamelia Stroy - 400*, 4x400*, 4x100
Demonte Willis - 400*, 4x400
Quatisha Williams - Long Jump, Triple Jump
Monique Wright - 400, 4x400*
* - Also Denotes NCAA Regional Qualifying Mark