Meet Notes

The University of Hawai'i women's track and field team will attempt to duplicate last year's performance at the Western Athletic Conference Indoor Championships. This year's meet runs Thursday, Feb. 26 through Saturday, Feb. 28 at Jackson's Track at the Idaho Sports Center in Nampa, Idaho.

 

Last season, the Rainbow Wahine came within one point of their first WAC Championship. UH, who set school records for medals (10) and points (121), led in the team standings throughout the competition before Louisiana Tech overtook them in the final event.

 

UH will send an 20-member contingent to the WAC Championships, including multi-event specialist Annett Wichmann, who will be looking to defend her pentathlon title for the third consecutive year. Wichmann is also entered in four other events. The Rainbow Wahine will also seek a repeat sweep in the high jump, led by WAC outdoor gold medalist and school record holder Amber Kaufman. In the current WAC standings, 10 Rainbow Wahine are ranked in the top eight of their respective events.

What: Western Athletic Conference Indoor Championships

When: Thursday, Feb. 26 through Saturday, Feb. 28

Where: Jackson's Track at the Idaho Sports Center, Nampa, Idaho

Host: Boise State

Defending Champions: Louisiana Tech (women)

UH High Finish: 2008, 2nd, 121 points

 

Jamilee Jimenez (60m, 200m, long jump, triple jump), Lauren Opsal (400m), Joy Saleapaga (400m), Thalia Amanakis (800m), Briana Goodnight (800m), Samantha Whitehall (800m), Liisa Cushing (800m), Mariana Monasi (mile), Tava Tedesco (3000m), Annett Wichmann (high jump, long jump, triple jump, shot put, pentathlon), Emily Sheppard (high jump, long jump, triple jump, pentathlon), Sarah Saddleton (high jump, triple jump), Amber Kaufman (high jump), Jessica Custance (pole vault), Samantha Culiver (pole vault), Samantha Weaver (pole vault), TeRina Keenan (shot put), Careena Onosai (shot put, weight throw), Anika Borden (weight throw), Emma MacCorquodale (weight throw).

NAMPA, Idaho - The Rainbow Wahine fell one point shy of capturing a share of their first Western Athletic Conference Championship. UH led the team standings heading into the final event, the 4x400 relay. Louisiana Tech placed second while the Rainbow Wahine was sixth, giving the Bulldogs a come-from-behind 122-121 victory. UH set school-records at the meet in points, finish, and medallists. The Rainbow Wahine took home 10 medals during the three-day meet, three golds, five silvers, and two bronzes. Mallory Gilbert captured three silvers (pentathlon, high jump, triple jump) and had one sixth place finish. Annett Wichmann and Emily Sheppard repeated as pentathlon and high jump champions. Thalia Amanakis captured gold in the 800-meter. In all, UH set four school records, set three NCAA provisional marks, and had 23 personal bests.

Multi-sport athlete Annett Wichmann is the only athlete in school history to compete in both the NCAA Indoor and Outdoor Championships. Wichmann participated in both events last season for the second consecutive year. At Indoor Nationals, she set a new school record in the pentathlon with a total of 4,177 points to place fourth overall. Her finish was the highest at a national championship for a UH athlete since Gwen Loud won the high jump in 1984. Wichmann followed that with a school-record 5,670-point total in the heptathlon at Outdoor Nationals for sixth place.

After three competitions in the indoor season, three school records have been broken this season. Freshman Jamilee Jimenez broke the 60-meter dash record during her heat with a time of 7.93 seconds at the season-opening Lumberjack Invitational while Annett Wichmann bested her pentathlon shot put record with a throw of 46-7.25 (14.20m) at the UW Invitational. High jumper Amber Kaufman broke the school mark in at the Northern Arizona Invitational with a jump of 5-11.5 (1.82m), which at the time was tied for the seventh best jump in the country.

Without an indoor facility, the Rainbow Wahine must compete solely on the mainland for indoor competitions. UH will make four trips this season, to Flagstaff, Ariz., twice, for the Lumberjack Invitational and Northern Arizona Classic, to Seattle, Wash., for the University of Washington Invitational, and to Nampa, Idaho for the WAC Championship. The NCAA Indoor Championships will be once again held in Fayetteville, Ark. 

Each year, the Rainbow Wahine traditionally hosts all-comer meets at the Clarence T.C. Ching Field. This season is no different as the team will host six Sunset Series meets. Future dates include the Rainbow Relays (March 21), Sunset Meet #3 (April 11), and Sunset Meet #4 (May 9). Are meets are open to the public and if interested contact uhtrack@hawaii.edu.

Dr. Donnis Thompson, the University of Hawai'i'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.