Meet Notes

University of Hawai'i women's track and field athletes - Annett Wichmann, Amber Kaufman, and Emily Sheppard - will participate at the NCAA Outdoor Championships June 10-13, at the John McDonnell Field in Fayetteville, Ark. It is the second straight season all three have advanced to the NCAA Championships. For Wichmann, this will mark her fourth consecutive appearance in the heptathlon, while high jumpers Amber Kaufman and Emily Sheppard will compete for the second straight year.

The United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association released its final national rankings and the Rainbow Wahine moved up 10 spots to No. 34, its highest finish in school history.

Wichmann, who placed sixth at last year's national outdoor championships, will be competing in her school record seventh NCAA Championship, counting her three appearances at indoor nationals. She is a three-time All-American and the most decorated track athlete in school history. Currently Wichmann is ranked 13th in the hepathlon.

Kaufman is ranked second nationally in the high jump with a seasonal best mark of 6-4, which occurred at the Western Athletic Conference Championships last month. Two weeks ago, she captured the NCAA West Regional high jump title, becoming the first UH athlete to win an event at that meet. The multi-sport athlete, who also is a starter on UH's nationally ranked volleyball team, is looking to become UH's first national champion since Gwen Loud won the long jump in 1984.

Sheppard earned an at-large selection to the meet for the second consecutive year with a seasonal-best jump of 5-11.25 at the WAC Championships, a mark that currently ranks her 11th nationally. Last year, Sheppard finished sixth at this meet.

The NCAA Championship begins on Wednesday with both Kaufman and Sheppard competing in the high jump qualifying round. The high jump finals is scheduled for Friday. The seven-discipline heptathlon runs Thursday and Friday.

Recapping the NCAA West Regional
The Rainbow Wahine completed their best ever finish at the NCAA West Regionals with two athletes earning automatic qualification to the national championships. As a team, UH tied for 11th place with 19 total points, best among WAC schools. Amber Kaufman became UH's first winner of a regional event, taking the high jump crown after a leap of 6-1.5. Annett Wichmann placed third in the javelin and earned an automatic spot to nationals for finishing in the top five. Wichmann will not enter in the event at this week's NCAA Championships. Emily Sheppard tied for fifth place but lost in a jump-off for the fifth and final automatic entry to nationals. In all, eight UH athletes competed at the regional meet.

National Rankings
The Rainbow Wahine are ranked No. 44 in the latest USTFCCCA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Rankings (May 27). At one point during the season, UH was ranked as high as No. 31, the highest ranking in school history. As a team, UH is the highest ranked WAC school and the third highest women only track program (behind SMU and San Diego State). Individually, Amber Kaufman is ranked No. 2 in the high jump, Annett Wichmann is No. 15 in the heptathlon and No. 19 in the javelin, and Emily Sheppard is No. 13 in the high jump. TeRina Keenan is No. 37 in the discus and Careena Onosai is No. 46 in the discus.

WAC Honors Wichmann, Kaufman
Annett Wichmann and Amber Kaufman were named the co-Field Athlete of the Meet at the WAC Outdoor Championships. In addition, Wichmann earned the meet's High Point Award after accumulating 32 total points in five events. In February, Wichmann shared co-Field Athlete of the Meet honors at the WAC Indoor Championships. Both Wichmann and Kaufman were also honored as the WAC's Field Athlete of the Week this season.

One of A Kind
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 will appear in her school-record seventh NCAA Championship at outdoor nationals. Wichmann was also 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. Last week she became the first UH track athlete to be named academic all-district for the fourth consecutive year. She is already a two-time academic All-American and qualifies for that distinction again this season.

World Class Jumper
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 second nationally in the event during the outdoor season with a mark of 6-4 (1.93m). 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 6-4, respectively. She also qualified for her second NCAA Regional.

WAC Rankings
Four UH athletes top the WAC rankings in their respective events while a total of 26 rank in the top 10. Annett Wichmann leads the way with top marks in the javelin and heptathlon while also ranking third in the high jump and sixth in the shot put. Four high jumpers rank in the top five - Amber Kaufman (1st), Emily Sheppard (2nd), Wichmann (3rd) and  Saddleton (5th). 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 fourth in the 10,000-meter run, Sheppard is tied for sixth in the long jump, and Emma MacCorquodale is seventh in the hammer.

Records Broken In 2009
The Rainbow Wahine have broken seven school records this season - three during the indoor season and four 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. Emily Sheppard set a new standard in the triple jump with a mark of 39-8.5 (12.11m) and broke the heptathlon event 200-meter dash record (25.24).

Recapping the Indoor Season
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.