EUGENE, Ore. - With automatic advancement to the national championships at stake, the Hawai`i women's track and field team was back in action at the NCAA West Regional Championships, Saturday, at the University of Oregon's Hayward Field. The Rainbow Wahine concluded the meet with a school record for points (5) and had five athletes place in the Top 10 of their events.
None of the five Rainbow Wahine competing on Saturday earned automatic invitations but three - sophomore Kelly Young, senior Tasha Monroe, and freshman Meghan Weaver - placed in the top eight of their finals, meaning they are in contention for at-large spots for the NCAA Championships.
Weaver posted a huge personal best in the shot put with a heave of 15.02m (49-3.50) to place eighth. The London, Ontario native, threw 14.23m (46-8.25) in her first throw and followed that with her personal best effort on her next toss. However the freshman fouled on her final four throws. Jessica Pressley of Arizona State won the event with a throw of 17.05m (55-11.25). Weaver's previous best throw was 14.68m (48-2) at the Mt. SAC Relays in April.
"I'm very pleased with our effort, we posted our best ever score and five of our six athletes placed in the Top 10," UH head coach Carmyn James said. "I was most impressed with Meghan. She had a very big PB and as a freshman, she came through in the clutch giving us team points. Dana had a very good race as well, with her personal best in the 1500."
In the 800m finals, Young finished seventh with a time of 2:08.58, her fourth fastest mark of the season. Winning the event with a meet record time of 2:03.90, was Brigham Young's Aneta Lemiesz. Young was hoping to earn an automatic invitation to the championships after missing out by one spot at last year's Regional.
Monroe placed seventh in the 400m finals, clocking in at 54.98 seconds. Monroe raced out among the early leaders before faltering on the home stretch. Still the Surrey, British Columbia native earned two team points for the Rainbow Wahine. Olympic champion Monique Henderson of UCLA defended her Regional title in 50.78.
Sophomore Dana Buchanan finished ninth in the 1500m finals with a personal best time of 4:27.10. The Beachburg, Ontario native, eclipsed her previous best mark of 4:27.64 set at the Occidental Invitational earlier this month. Brigham Young's Heidi Magill won the event at 4:18.29.
Junior Novelle Murray competed in the discus but the two-time Western Athletic Conference champion failed to advance to the finals. Murray fouled on her first and third attempts in her heat. On her second throw, Murray tossed 47.35m (155-4), which was not one of the top eight marks needed to advance to the finals.
"We'll just wait and see who'll qualify for Sacramento (host of the NCAA Championships)," James said. "Kelly, Tasha, and Meghan placed in the top eight so they have a chance but we'll find out Monday, when all of the selections are made."
Temperature in Eugene dropped into the 60s on the final day of competition. Overcast skies finally gave way late in the day when rain and lightning forced postponement of competition with a handful of events remaining.
The Rainbow Wahine sent its largest contingent to the NCAA West Regionals with six athletes. The competition was one of four held simultaneously around the country. The West Regionals featured athletes from schools representing the western states of Arizona, California, Hawai'i, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, Washington, and Utah. The top five individual event finishers and top three relay teams advance to the NCAA Championships, June 8-11, in Sacramento, Calif.
NCAA West Regional Results
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