Unofficial 2004 Wyoming Mens Track Page

UW Track & Field Opens Indoor Season At Air Force All-Comers Meet

Herl and Batt dominate shot put and weight throw events.

Jan. 18, 2004 - Colorado Springs, Colo. - The University of Wyoming track and field teams kicked off the 2004 indoor season at the Air Force All-Comers meet Saturday at the Academy in Colorado Springs. Four Cowboys and two Cowgirls claimed first place finishes in their respective events.

On the track, freshman Jermaine Kelly claimed a first place finish in the 400 meter dash with a time of 49.94. Kelly edged out Air Force's Sean Temple (49.95) by one-hundredth of a second. In the 60 meter dash, freshman Dwight Neptune finished in third with a time of 6.91. Neptune also placed fifth in the 200 meter dash crossing the finish line in 22.30.

The Cowboys dominated the field events on Saturday. Junior transfer Kyle Herl recorded first place finishes in both the shot put and weight throw events. Herl provisionally qualified for the NCAA Championships with his mark of 66' 8 3/4" in the weight throw and came just inches shy of provisionally qualifying in the shot put with his toss of 58' 2 1/2". Fellow Cowboys Tyg Long and Brad Vodicka finished second and third in the shot put with marks of 56' 1" and 53' 11 1/4", while Zack Schaefer finished in second place with a 62' 8 1/2" mark in the weight throw.

Sophomore Blake Jackson out jumped his competition by two feet in the triple jump to claim first place. His mark of 48' 6" pulled himself away from second place finisher Chris Banks of Air Force who posted a mark of 46' 6". Freshmen Phillip Thomas and Jared Grant tied for second place in the high jump for the Pokes. Thomas and Grant both cleared 6' 4 3/4" in their first collegiate meet.

Senior Andrea Batt took home two first place finishes to lead the Cowgirls. Batt opened her senior season with two dominating performances. She recorded a 48' 10 1/4" mark in the shot put and a 60' 6 3/4" performance in the weight throw. Cowgirl sophomore Melissa Vallejos took second place in the weight throw with a 54' 7 1/4" performance.

In the women's triple jump, three Cowgirls finished in the top four. Junior Courtney Schlegel finished second with a mark of 36' 6 1/4" followed by freshman Aniis Hopkins in third place with a distance of 35' 10 1/2" and sophomore Leah Burke in fourth place with a mark of 34' 4".

2003 All-American Shauna Smith took first place in the 60 meter hurdles with an impressive time of 8.59. Senior Kelly Ann Charles followed in second place crossing the finish line in 8.75. In the 60 meter dash senior Kima Wells earned second place with her time of 7.53, while Charles finished third in 7.69 and freshman Amanda Hopper finished fourth in 7.72 for the Cowgirls.

The Cowboy and Cowgirl 4x440 yard relay teams both raced to first place finishes. The Cowboy team of Robert Harris, Jeremiah Johnson, Jermaine Kelly and Dominic Baysinger finished with a time of 3:22.10, while Cowgirls Kima Wells, Ingvild Carstens, Ainsley Thraikill and Amanda Hopper took the top spot with a relay time of 3:58.50.

"We had some ups and some downs today," said UW head track and field coach Don Yentes. "This was a good meet to get the nerves out of the kids and see how they can perform. Overall it was a good opener and we are looking forward for next week."

The Cowboys and Cowgirls will be in action next week again in Colorado Springs as they are scheduled to compete at the Air Force Invitational.