Pirates Win Two Titles at CUSA Outdoor Championships
May 18, 2008 | Track & Field
May 18, 2008
CUSA Outdoor Championships, Final Results (PDF) 
IRVING, Texas - UTEP men and Rice women captures the 2008 Conference USA Outdoor Track and Field Championship titles after inclement weather delayed the start of the finals of the running events Saturday night at Kidd Field in El Paso, Texas. East Carolina brought home a pair of victories on the final day of competition.
The men's 4x100 team, consisting of Kris Bell, Kevin Thompson, Christopher Richardson, and Mario Brisco, took home the outdoor title with a time of 41.31. Thompson added to his titles with a victory in the 200 meter dash with a time of 20.99. Matt Dennish's time of 3:53.15 earned him 3rd place honors in the 1,500 meter run, while his time of 1:56.37 in the 800 meter run was good for 5th. Bell came in 2nd in the 110 meter hurdles with a time of 14.28. Richardson (47.48) and Ron Wright (48.08) took home 3rd and 5th place honors, respectively, in the 400 meter dash. Thompson added a 3rd place finish to his afternoon with a time of 10.53 in the 100 meter dash. Brisco added a 4th place finish in the 400 meter hurdles with a time of 56.23. The 4x400 relay squad took home 4th with a time of 3:14.22.
For the women, Danielle Eiler finished 5th in the discus throw with a mark of 46.74m while Camelia Morman took home 9th in the triple jump with a mark of 12.39m. Finally, the 4x400 relay team finished 8th with a time of 3:48.75.
The Miners racked up a championship-best 171 points, followed by Houston's 154.5 and Rice's 118.50. Defending champion Memphis placed fourth with 11 points and Tulsa finished fifth with 92 points. Southern Miss (86) and East Carolina (72) rounded out the men's standings.
The Owls repeated as outdoor champions with 175 points, out distancing runner-up and host UTEP (143.50) by 32.5 points. UCF continues to improve as the Knights finished third with 84.33 points. UCF was fifth in 2007 and ninth in 2006. UAB (70), SMU (64) and Memphis (58) placed fourth, fifth and sixth, respectively. Tulsa and Houston tied for seventh with 51.50 points each.
Winning his second C-USA high jump title was UTEP's Mickael Hanany. The senior All-American established a conference championship mark of 2.30m (7'6.5") for the gold medal. Senior Omar Wright of Rice took silver with a leap of 2.10m (6'10.75"). Southern Miss Myreon Sartin, a freshman, placed third after earning a 2.00m (6'6.75") mark on his next to last attempt.
The women's discus titles went to SMU's Christina Mueller who produced a throw of 54.26m (178'0"), while Memphis' Susan King placed second with a mark of 51.91m (170'4") and Keisha Walkes took third with a toss of 49.62m (162'9").
Memphis' Steffan Nerdal won the men's discus title throwing 53.94m (177'00"), followed teammate Seth Major second-place throw of 53.92m (176'11"). Southern Miss Ricardo Page was third in 49.83m (163'6").
The nation's leading pole vaulter, Jason Colwick, captured his first outdoor title with a championship record clearance of 5.31m (17'5"). The defending C-USA champion Alex Bentley of Houston placed second with a mark of 5.05m (16'6.75"), while Rice's Shea Kearney cleared 4.75m (15'7") for third place.
Memphis scored 10-more-points when freshman Aaron Whetstone won the men's triple jump with a mark of 16.60m (54'5.5"). Rice's freshman Ugo Nduaguba (15.74m/51'7.75") edged Houston rookie Chris Carter (15.69m/51'5.75") for second-place.
UTEP's 4x100m relay team of Quashanda Welch, Halimat Ismaila, Shalaiyah Sommerville,and Blessing Okagbare won the event in a time of 44.46. The men's crown went to East Carolina's Kris Bell, Kevin Thompson, Christopher Richardson, Mario Brisco in 41.31.
Senior Kelly Young of UTEP won the women's 1,500m with a time of 4:31.95. Rice's duo of senior Callie Wells and junior Nicole Mericle crossed the finish line with the second and third best times of 4:34.38 and 4:37.81, respectively.
Miner Blessing Okagbare won the women's triple jump for her second gold medal of the meet. She set a C-USA record leap of 13.86 (45'5.75"), while teammate Nelly Tchayem placed second with a leap of 13.48 (44'2.75").
Freshman Mark Davidson crossed the finish line first in the men's 1500m race in 3:52.48, followed by sophomore Nicodemus Ng'etich of UTEP (3:52.90) and junior Matthew Dennish of East Carolina (3:53.15) who finished second and third, respectively.
The hurdle crowns went to UAB's Erika Russ (13.41) and Memphis' Amaechi Oselukwue (14.28).
Sophomore Sarah Lyons picked up her first C-USA individual title with a time of 53.11 in the 400m. Senior Tara Colvin of UAB followed clocking 53.92, while freshman Jennifer Mace of Tulsa was third in 54.18.
Southern Miss continued to have a strong day as Cornelius Duncan defended his 400m title in a time of 46.63, edging out UTEP's Anderson Mutegi who crossed in 46.81. East Carolina's Christopher Richar placed third in 47.48.
Houston took the top two honors in the men's 100m as Tremaine Smith won gold in 10.42 and Tyrone Carrier clocked 10.48 for second. East Carolina's Kevin Thompson took third in 10.53.
The women's 100m title went to UTEP's Halimat Ismaila in a league record time of 11.31. Rice's Shakera Reece and Desarie Walwyn finished second and third in 11.46 an 11.50, respectively.
UTEP dominated the men's 800m taking the top three honors with senior Elias Koech capturing top honors in 1:49.87. The Miners also won the women's 800m crown as Kelly Young won her second individual title of the meet in 2:07.74.
UTEP also placed two among the top three in the women's 200m as Halimat Ismaila won the event in a time of 23.18 and Shalaiyah Sommervi placed third in 23.56. Rice's Sarah Lyons took silver with a clocking of 23.37.
The men's 200m title went to East Carolina's Kevin Thompson who crossed the finish line in 20.99, edging out Houston Tremaine Smith's 21.00 and UTEP Anderson Mutegi's 21.04.
Houston scored 18 points in the men's 400m hurdles as Jason Perez (52.39) and Darryl Cloud (53.22) were the top two finishers.
Jacinta Scruggs of UAB was the women's 400m hurdle winner in 58.96.
Winning her second C-USA individual title in less than 24 hours was SMU's Silje Fjortoft. The freshman won the 5,000m tonight with an impressive time of 16:45.52, after capturing the 3,000m steeplechase crown late Friday night. Rice had a pair of distance runner to finish second and third as Marissa Daniels crossed in 17:12.79 and Callie Wells finished in 17:13.79.
The men's 5,000m saw UTEP's Japheth Ng'ojoy clock a winning time of 14:22.13, while teammate Nicodemus Ng'etich took third in 14:23.30. C-USA Indoor Newcomer of the Year, John Beattie of Tulsa placed second in a time of 14:22.97.
The final two events of the championship came down to Rice women winning the 4x400m relay in 3:39.07 and UTEP won the men's in 3:10.28.
2008 C-USA OUTDOOR TRACK & FIELD CHAMPIONSHIPS
EL PASO, TEXAS / KIDD FIELD
WOMEN'S STANDINGS
1) Rice 175
2) UTEP 143.50
3) UCF 84.33
4) UAB 70
5) SMU 64
6) Memphis 58
7) Tulsa 51.50
7) Houston 51.50
9) Southern Miss 45
10) Tulane 39
11) Marshall 19.33
12) East Carolina 17.83
MEN'S STANDINGS
1) UTEP 171
2) Houston 154.50
3) Rice 118.50
4) Memphis 111
5) Tulsa 92
6) Southern Miss 86
7) East Carolina 72
