HONOLULU - In its final preparation for next week's Western Athletic Conference Indoor Championship, the Hawai'i women's track and field team competed and hosted the Terry Albritton Memorial, Saturday, at Cooke Field. All together the Rainbow Wahine finished the day by tallying 25 season bests, 13 lifetime bests and 14 UH all-time Top 10 performances.

"The meet was very positive," head coach Carmyn James said, "and our team looks poised to do well at the WAC Championships this year."

The meet saw a lot of action in the field events. In the hammer throw, senior Novelle Murray led the way with a throw of 52.53m (172-4) followed by junior Ku'ulei Karratti, who heaved a lifetime best of 48.75m (159-11.25). Karratti again improved on her lifetime best in the weight throw with a toss of 13.90m (45-7.25).

Junior Patricia Gauthier maintained a solid height in the pole vault at 3.80m (12-5.5) for the win followed closely by freshman Jessica Trujillo who improved to 3.50m (11-5.75).

In the high jump, freshman Emily Sheppard improved on her season best to 1.75m (5-8.75). Second place went to sophomore Annett Wichmann at 1.65m (5-5), a distance also shared by fellow heptathlete junior Mallory Gilbert. Sheppard's mark would have ranked her first in the WAC Indoor Standings, however as an outdoor performance it cannot be counted. All three performances were UH Top 10 marks.

Sophomores Wichmann and Meghan Weaver improved on their season bests in the shot put. Wichmann won the competition with a lifetime best throw of 14.57m (47-9.5). Following her was Weaver who improved to 14.10m (46-3), bettering her previous season best of 14.00m (45-11.25).

In the 60 meter hurdles, junior Candace Rosenthal won the race in a season best time of 9.25. Freshman Thalia Amanakis achieved a lifetime best of 9.26 to take second.

Amanakis again set a new lifetime best of 28.95 in the 200m hurdles, narrowly missing a Cooke Field record. Team captain Chantelle Laan ran a lifetime best and UH Top 10 time of 3:05.30 in the 1000m.

In the Open competition Vince Laurent of Quebec Canada set a new Cooke Field record in the 1000m with a time of 2:35.90. Laurent replaced Fila Hawaii runner Andrew Maixner who had the previous record of 2:42.74 set back in February 2003.

Next weekend, the Rainbow Wahine will travel to Boise, Idaho site of the 2006 WAC Indoor Championships, Feb. 23-25.

Terry Albritton Memorial Results

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