Boxscore

TULSA, Okla.- Louisiana Tech erased a four-point deficit to run away with the Western Athletic Conference Outdoor Track and Field Championship on Saturday giving the Lady Techsters a sweep of the league?s indoor and outdoor titles.

It was a team effort as Tech?s superior jumpers and sprinters led the way as the Lady Techsters ran away from the field on Saturday to score 194 points.
Second place Rice had 167 points with Fresno State in third place.

The Bulldogs finished in fourth place at the WAC Championships.

Just like the WAC Indoor Championships that the Lady Techsters dominated in February, Tech took control of the meet by outclassing the competition the sprints, relays and hurdles on day three.

The women had seven individual champions with the Bulldogs collecting one individual WAC title.

?This was by no means as easy as it looks on paper when you look on the final results,? said Tech head track and field coach Gary Stanley. ?It would have been very easy for our girls to be content with the fact that most of them were getting rings for winning the indoor title but that was not the case. Rice is an outstanding team and if we did not come in here focused and ready to compete, we could have lost.?

Doria Appleberry was the high point female for the meet and voted the WAC?s outstanding performer of the year by the league?s coaches. The senior won the 100 and 400-meter hurdles while also running on both relays that won WAC titles as well for the Lady Techsters.

Tech head coach Gary Stanley picked up his third coach of the year award from the WAC and has now been named coach of the year by his peers 11 times in his tenure at Tech.

Tech had the top two finishers in the 100 and 400 meters along with the 100 and 400-meter hurdles. Lady Techsters finished second and third in the 200 meters to give the Tech women their first-ever WAC Outdoor title.

Nina Gilbert nipped teammate Latonia Wilson at the finish line to set a school record of 52.93 in the 400 meters.

Appleberry and Brigitte Ladouceur dominated the hurdling events with Appleberry taking first place in the 100 and 400-meter hurdles ahead of Ladouceur. Appleberry clocked a 13.39 in the 100-meter hurdles and a 57.79 in the 400-meter hurdles.

Donesha Spivey (11.58) took first in the 100 meters with Shandra Freeman coming in second at 11.61.

?It was the sheer determination of the seniors that enabled us to come up big and win the outdoor title,? said Stanley. ?It was not automatic, the kids gave it all they had just like the do every week and it paid off once again.?

Monica Williams came in third place (157-8) and Cierra Butler (146-2) was a fifth place finisher in the discus throw as Tech collected nine points in the event.

Ayanna Alexander won her third straight WAC triple jump title with a leap of 42-8 ?, a season best for the senior.

Latonia Wilson and Spivey finished second and third in the 200 meter behind Rice?s Yvonne Umeh.

The 400 and 1,600-meter relay teams defended their titles with dominating performances.

For the Bulldogs, Nolan Jackson clocked a personal best 13.75 to take first place in the 110-meter hurdles, just missing the WAC Championships record of 13.72. John Kent came in fourth with a time of 14.28, which is a regional qualifying time.

Johnathan Holland took second in the 100 meters with a 10.53 while Mark Dillard came in fourth with a time of 10.65.

Holland and Dillard were third and fourth in the 200 meters with Holland posting a regional qualifying time of 21.11.

The men?s 1,600-meter relay also ran well with a season best time of 3:10.92 and the 400-meter relay team also came in second place.

Stefan Malmqvist and Kinsey Dinnel were fourth and fifth in the 1,500 meters.

Results
Women
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1) Louisiana Tech University 184 2) Rice 159
3) Fresno State 99.50 4) University of Nevada 83.50
5) UTEP 82 6) University of Hawaii 69
7) Tulsa 56 8) SMU 51
9) Boise State University 30
Men - Team Rankings -
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1) UTEP 208.50 2) Fresno State 186.50
3) Rice 122.50 4) Louisiana Tech University 103
5) Boise State University 98.50 6) Tulsa 84

2005 WAC Women's Outdoor Track and Field Awards

Championship High Point: Doria Appleberry, Louisiana Tech, 25 points

Freshman of the Year: Marissa Daniels, Rice

Coach of the Year: Gary Stanley, Louisiana Tech

Outstanding Performer of the Year: Doria Appleberry, Louisiana Tech



2005 WAC Men's Outdoor Track and Field Awards

Championship High Point: Mickael Hanany, UTEP

Freshman of the Year: Patrick Mutai, UTEP

Coach of the Year: Bob Kitchens, UTEP

Outstanding Performer of the Year: Mickael Hanany, UTEP