Aggie Men To Defend 2011 Title, Women Look To Avenge One-Point Loss To Louisiana Tech
Feb. 22, 2012
LOGAN, Utah -
Utah State 2012 WAC Indoor Championships Notes
Utah State's men and women's track and field teams will compete at the 2012 Western Athletic Conference Indoor Track and Field Championships held Thursday-Saturday, Feb. 23-25, at Jacksons Indoor Track at the Idaho Sports Center in Nampa, Idaho.
The USU men look to defend their 2011 Indoor WAC Indoor Championship when they tied with then WAC-foe Boise State. Utah State's men have won two-straight WAC indoor titles and three out of the last four, while the women suffered a one-point defeat in 2011 to Louisiana Tech, who has won six out of the last seven WAC indoor titles.
This marks the third time this season the Aggies have traveled to compete at Jacksons Indoor Track and it is also the ninth consecutive season that the WAC Indoor Championships will be held in Nampa, Idaho.
"The reason we compete at Jacksons Indoor Track every year is so the athletes get a chance to get used to a good track, the hotels, places to eat and everything that goes along with that," said Aggie veteran head coach Gregg Gensel. "In a sense, it becomes like a home meet because they feel comfortable and they can just go out and compete."
Action will begin on Thursday at 11 a.m. (MT) with the women's pentathlon and four of the seven events in the men's heptathlon. On Friday, the men will conclude the heptathlon beginning at 11 a.m., while the first field events will get underway at 1:30 p.m. The track events are set to start at 4 p.m., that same day. On Saturday, the field events start at 11 a.m. with the running events beginning at 1 p.m., all times are subject to change.
"Our goals both as a team and as individuals are always to do our best. Everything we have done this season has been building up to this conference championship. When you come right down to it, it is how we perform over the next three days. The team is really excited about this chance to compete and we will go out and do our very best," Gensel said.
Returning to defend their individual 2011 WAC Indoor Championship titles for the Aggies are senior Sonia Grabowska in the pole vault and sophomore Devin Lang, who was part of the winning distance medley team.
The USU women's team is ranked in the top 150 in the nation according to USTFCCCA, as they sit at No. 110, while also ranking fifth in the Mountain Region. Grabowska ranks 21st in the nation for the pole vault with a mark of 13-05.75 (4.11m).
Utah State's men sit at No. 10 in the Mountain Region as senior Daniel Howell ranks 35th in the nation in the 5,000m with his USU-record setting time of 14:04.25.
Utah State student-athletes have the WAC season-best marks in nine events preceding the WAC Indoor Championships. The Aggie men and women's track and field teams also have won 24 event titles in the 2012 season, with the women winning 17 and the men adding seven.
Tickets can be purchased for a single session for the men's heptathlon and women's heptathlon, as well as the individual event sessions on Friday and Saturday. Tickets can also be purchased for all sessions. Visit www.wacsports.com for more information.
Live results for the 2012 WAC Indoor Championships are available through www.utahstateaggies.com as well as http://wac.org/itf/2012/index.htm.
Those who qualify will return to Nampa, Idaho on March 8-11 for the 2012 NCAA Indoor Championships. The field for the championships will be announced on March 5 by the NCAA Division I Men's and Women's Track and Field Committee. The Aggies will also be in action on March 3 at some last chance meets that have yet to be determined.
Fans can follow Utah State Athletics, including USU track & field and cross country, at http://twitter.com/USUAthletics.com or on Facebook at Utah State University Athletics.
-USU-
