HONOLULU - On the final day of competition at the 2006 Western Athletic Conference Track and Field Championship at Cooke Field, the University of Hawai`i placed another athlete in the top three as freshman
Thalia Amanakis captured bronze in the 400m hurdles.
The Sydney, Australia, native ran a season-best 1:02.15 and finished behind winner Miriam Barnes (57.06) of Louisiana Tech and Amber Judd (1:00.06) of Utah State. In the same event, sophomore Candace Rosenthal placed sixth in 1:06.39 giving the Rainbow Wahine nine team points.
As a team, UH finished eighth with 53.5 points. Louisiana Tech repeated as the women's champion with 174 points, followed by Idaho (145), Utah State (113.5), Nevada (100.5), Fresno State (85.5), New Mexico State (73) and Boise State (72). In the men's competition, Boise State ran away with the team title with 186 points followed by Utah State (127), Idaho (124), Fresno State (108) and Louisiana Tech (104).
Sophomore Meghan Weaver posted a 153-2 throw in the discus throw to post a fourth-place finish for the Rainbow Wahine.
In the women's pole vault, UH junior Patricia Gauthier cleared 11-11.75 for sixth place, a disappointing finish considering she came into the meet with the WAC's second best height this season and one week ago set a new Cooke Field record of 12-11.75. Junior Jessica Trujillo finished in a tie for seventh with a height of 11-11.75.
In the triple jump, a pair of Rainbow Wahine posted personal best marks as senior Nicole Wright leaped 36-7 and freshman Deanna Patacsil jumped 33-3. Sophomore Chantelle Laan clocked in with a PR 18:13.96 in the 5,000m.
During the past two days, sophomore Annett Wichmann won gold in the heptathlon while freshman Emily Sheppard was first in the high jump.
Three UH athletes will next compete in the NCAA West Regionals in Provo, Utah in two weeks. Weaver made standard in the discus, hammer throw, and shot put, while Gauthier and Sheppard qualified in the pole vault and high jump, respectively. Wichmann earned an NCAA Championship provisional mark in the heptathlon.
WAC Championship Final Results -UH-
