Meet Notes

The University of Hawai'i women's track and field team heads to Logan, Utah, site of the 2009 Western Athletic Conference Outdoor Championships this week at Ralph Maughan Track Stadium. The Rainbow Wahine have not finished higher than sixth place at the outdoor championships but are coming off a fifth place showing at WAC Indoor.

 

The four-day meet begins on Wednesday with the men's decathlon and women's heptathlon. The Rainbow Wahine will have three athletes entered in the heptathlon - Annett Wichmann, Emily Sheppard, and Joy Saleapaga.

 

Preliminary heats and some finals are scheduled for Friday with the meet concluding on Saturday.

 

The Rainbow Wahine head to Logan with its largest contingent ever to a WAC Championship - 20 athletes who will be competing in 18 events. UH has three athletes entered in the heptathlon, javelin, shot put, 5000-meter run, triple jump, and high jump.

 

Last year, UH placed sixth at WAC Outdoor with 74.5 points and six medallists, including golds by Wichmann (heptathlon) and Amber Kaufman (high jump). Wichmann is the three-time defending champion in the heptathlon and is looking to become the first four-time winner of the event at the WAC Championship.

What: WAC Outdoor Track and Field Championships

When: Wednesday, May 13 through Saturday, May 16

Where: Ralph Maughan Track Stadium; Logan, Utah

Schedule: Wednesday & Thursday: Heptathlon begins at 1:30 p.m.

Friday: Field events begin at 12:30 p.m.; Track events begin at 2:00 p.m.

Saturday: Field events begin at 12:30 p.m.; Track events begin at 5:00 p.m.

 

UH will be competing in its ninth WAC Outdoor Championship. UH's highest finish was sixth in 2005, '07, and '08. In all three years, the Rainbow Wahine grabbed six medallist honors and in 2007, UH athletes went home with three gold medals. Also in 2007, UH accumulated its highest point total (97). 

The Rainbow Wahine are ranked No. 39 in the latest USTFCCCA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Rankings (May 6), down eight spots from three weeks ago, which was the highest ranking in school history. As a team, UH is the highest ranked WAC school and the second highest women only track program (behind SMU). Individually, Amber Kaufman is ranked No. 3 in the high jump, Annett Wichmann is No. 5 in the heptathlon and No. 17 in the javelin, and Emily Sheppard is No. 26 in the high jump. TeRina Keenan is No. 33 in the discus, Sarah Saddleton is No. 41 in the high jump, and Careena Onosai is No. 42 in the discus.

A total of four UH athletes top the WAC rankings in their respective events while a total of 14 rank in the top eight. At the WAC Championships, the top eight finishers earn points for the team total. Annett Wichmann leads the way with top marks in the javelin and heptathlon while also tying for sixth in the high jump and seventh in the shot put. Four high jumpers rank in the top six - Amber Kaufman (1st), Emily Sheppard (2nd), Sarah Saddleton (4th) and Wichmann (T6th). TeRina Keenan has the top mark in the discus, while Careena Onosai is fourth. In the pole vault Jessica Custance is tied for second and Samantha Weaver is tied for sixth. Gina Nourmohamadian is ranked third in the 10,000-meter run, Sheppard is tied for sixth in the long jump, and Emma MacCorquodale is seventh in the hammer.

A total of seven UH athletes have qualified for this year's NCAA West Regionals - three high jumpers: Amber Kaufman, Emily Sheppard, and Sarah Saddleton; two discus throwers: TeRina Keenan and Careena Onosai; one pole vaulter: Jessica Custance; and one javelin thrower: Annett Wichmann.

Annett Wichmann and Amber Kaufman have been honored as the WAC's Field Athlete of the Week this season. Wichmann earned her honor after setting an NCAA Regional Qualifying mark in the javelin with a personal best and new UH record at Stanford Invitational. Kaufman has been honored twice, after setting a meet high jump record at the Mondo Invitational and a new school record at the Steve Scott Invitational.

The Rainbow Wahine have broken five school records this season - three during the indoor season and two during the current outdoor season. Freshman Jamilee Jimenez set the indoor 60-meter dash record with a time of 7.93 seconds and Annett Wichmann broke the indoor shot put record throw of 46-7.25/14.20m and outdoor javelin record with a mark of 163-11/49.96. Amber Kaufman eclipsed new high jump indoor and outdoor records of 5-11.5 and 6-0.75, respectively.

Multi-event athlete Annett Wichmann will finish her illustrious career at UH as arguably the best all-around athlete in school history. Wichmann became the first UH athlete to compete in both the NCAA Indoor and Outdoor Championships. She is a three-time All-American and has a personal best finish of fourth place in the pentathlon at the 2008 NCAA Indoor Championships. She is the school record holder in both the pentathlon and heptathlon and has appeared in a school-record six NCAA Championship events. Last month, Wichmann was the recipient of the Jack Bonham Award, given to UH's top male and female senior student-athlete, the first track and field athlete to receive that honor.

Amber Kaufman, a starter on the nationally ranked women's volleyball team, also excels in track and field and is one of the sport's top high jumpers. Earlier this season, Kaufman placed sixth at the NCAA Indoor Championships and won the WAC indoor title. She is currently ranked third nationally in the event during the outdoor season. Last season, the San Jose, Calif., native placed fifth at the NCAA Outdoor Championships and earned a spot to the U.S. Olympic Trials, where she qualified to the main draw. She holds the school indoor and outdoor record at 5-11.5 and 6-0.75, respectively. She also qualified for her second NCAA Regional.

Dr. Donnis Thompson, UH's first women's athletics director and first women's track and field coach, died on February 2, 2009 at the age of 75 in Honolulu. A prominent figure in the world of U.S. women's track and field, Dr. Thompson arrived in Manoa to start the women's track and field program in 1961. She coached the team for three years and returned to the islands after receiving her doctorate of education degree to head the women's athletics program in 1972, the year Title IX began, and served in that capacity until 1981. A pioneer and champion for women's athletics, Dr. Thompson was inducted into the school's Sports Circle of Honor in 1988 and the Hawai'i Sports Hall of Honor in 2007. In October 2007, a sculpture in her honor was dedicated and currently stands at the Stan Sheriff Center. 

The Rainbow Wahine capped the indoor season by sending two athletes - Annett Wichmann and Amber Kaufman - to the NCAA Championships. Competing in her first indoor championship, Kaufman placed sixth in the high jump while Wichmann took seventh in the pentathlon. Both earned All-America honors and scored team points for UH at the national indoor meet. The Rainbow Wahine placed fifth at the WAC Championships, while Wichmann was named the meet's co-Outstanding Field Performer. The Jena, Germany native won the gold medal in the pentathlon for the third straight year and also captured bronze in the triple jump. Kaufman led a UH sweep in the high jump winning her first WAC indoor gold. Sarah Saddleton won silver while Emily Sheppard added a bronze along with a silver in the triple jump.