Sunday, April 12, 2009

Despite lightning delays, UW thinclads compete well in New Mexico

The University of Wyoming track and field teams gained a little momentum from the New Mexico Tailwind Invitational late Saturday evening in Albuquerque, after a couple lightning delays that pushed the finish back a few hours.

The Cowboy throwers led the team as they entered two names into the NCAA Regional meet. Senior Jake Shanklin and junior Sam Lambert both qualified in the hammer throw, as they finished first and second respectively. Shanklin threw his personal best 212-feet, 11 inches, while Lambert threw his personal best 194-4. They were followed closely by freshman Joe Plante, who finished fifth with his personal best 167-4.

“I was very impressed with their performances today in a ring full of water and mud,” said assistant coach Paul Barrett. “We got delayed a few times due to rain and lightning but it didn’t keep these guys from performing at their best.”

Philemon Kimutai finished first in the 1,500-meter run with a personal best time of 4 minutes, 6.73 seconds. Junior Keith Brauneis finished the 400-meter dash in second-place with in 50.13, while Kekoa Chavez finished the 400-meter hurdles in third place in 53.94. For the first time since the indoor season, freshman Henry Ferreira competed for the Cowboys and placed second in the javelin throw with his personal best toss of 191-7.

“With the delays, we had a lot of guys have to warm up and cool down, which made for a very long day,” said head coach Don Yentes. “We really performed better as a whole today and had some nice performances from some young guys and girls that will help us down the road.”

For the Cowgirls, sophomore thrower Amanda Aimone competed placed third in the hammer throw at 160-6 and had a personal best in the discus throw, as she finished second with at 142-11. Freshman Kelly Gray followed Aimone in the hammer throw with her personal best toss of 155-1, good for sixth place.

Senior Sharon Larrier ran a solid 200-meter dash, as she won the event in 24.03, meeting the regional mark. Yet, she was denied qualifying because of a 2.6 wind reading. In order for the mark to count for regional qualifying the wind must be 2.0 or below. Andrea Frary ran in her first meet this season coming off a knee injury and ran her personal best in the 400-meter hurdles in 1:04.00, good for second place.

The Cowboys and Cowgirls will host their first meet of the season with the Gem City Duals on Saturday at the Louis S. Madrid Sports Complex

No comments: