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Vandals track and field still shows dominance in third meet

Written by Levi Johnstone - Argonaut

Monday, 04 February 2008

Near and far the University of Idaho track and field team showed their dominance with strong performances Friday and Saturday. Throwers Matt Wauters and Russ Winger competed at the Frank Sevigne Husker Invitational in Lincoln, Neb., over the weekend and continued to impress against national competition. Wauters, nationally ranked 6th in the men’s weight throw, came in 2nd with a throw of 68-4, and Winger came in third with a personal best 67-3 1/2. Reigning NCAA champion Egor Agafonov defended his title with a throw of 69-8 1/4. “That’s a personal best and a great performance by Russ at a good competition,” Idaho throws coach Julie Taylor said. “Matt’s a little disappointed, because the guy who won it was the guy who won nationals last year, and Matt really wanted to beat him.” Both Vandal athletes did well in the shot put too. Winger defended his championship at the meet with a national best 65-1 1/2 mark, a throw good enough to beat the nearest competitor, and second ranked shot putter in the nation, by more than three feet. Wauters had a lifetime best in the event at 55-10 1/2, nearly a foot better than his previous best, and good enough to take sixth. Taylor said that Wauters, slightly disappointed in his second place performance in the weight throw, took his frustrations out on the shot put.  “When Matt came to Idaho, we actually recruited him as a shot putter, but the weight and hammer have turned into his best events,” Taylor said. “He was very happy, because that now puts him second in the conference and I know he really wants to help the team.” At the McDonald’s Collegiate meet in Moscow, a pair of Vandal pole vaulters continued to excel in the Western Athletic Conference. Idaho athlete K.C. Dahlgren hit an NCAA provisional qualifying mark for the third week in a row and had a lifetime best of 13-3 3/4. Her effort was good enough to win the event by more than a foot and moved her up to ninth in national rankings. In the men’s vault, Lucas Pope cleared a lifetime best 16-3/4 and took away the WAC lead from teammate Mike Carpenter, who didn’t compete. Pope is the only vaulter in the conference to clear 16 feet this season. “Our throws coach Jason Graham has been talking about how Lucas has just been money in practice for the past few weeks, so it’s great to see him transfer that into competition today,” Idaho coach Wayne Phipps said. “To finally go over 16 feet is fantastic. I’m really proud of him.” Former Vandals athlete and current assistant coach Angela Whyte won the 60-meter hurdles with a time of 7.96. Her effort earned her a top five world ranking. The Vandals will try to carry this week’s momentum into next, when they host the Vandal Indoor, sponsored by Runner’s Soul of Spokane. The meet will take place on Friday and will be followed on Saturday by the McDonald’s Open. Both events will be held at the Kibbie Dome. Add as favorites (24) | Views: 354 Be first to comment this article Write Comment Please keep the topic of messages relevant to the subject of the article. Personal verbal attacks will be deleted. Please don't use comments to plug your web site. Such material will be removed. Just ensure to *Refresh* your browser for a new security code to be displayed prior to clicking on the 'Send' button. Keep in mind that the above process only applies if you simply entered the wrong security code. Name: Title: Comment: