Track and Field prepares for NCAA Championships

Seven track and field athletes for Boise State University will travel to Des Moines, Iowa June 11-14 to compete in the NCAA Track and Field Championships. These individuals will compete against the top college athletes in the nation in hopes of bringing home an individual and possible team title.

From WAC to Regionals to Nationals

The Boise State men’s track and field team started their quest for nationals off right. May 17 they captured the 2008 Western Athletic Conference Outdoor Championships with 142 points.
Leading the way at the WAC Championships for the men was Ryan Grinnell who took first in the high jump and triple jump and second in the long jump.

For the women, who took home eighth place, junior Eleni Kafourou captured the individual championship in the long jump and triple jump. She also set a school record and career-best mark of 43-10 in the triple jump. Both Grinnell and Kafourou earned the WAC Top Field Performer of the Year award.

Advancing from the WAC to the West Regional qualifiers were 11 different Boise State athletes. These individuals competed at the Matador Track and Field Complex on the California State – Northridge campus May 30 through May 31.

At regionals, seven different Broncos finished in the top five in their respective events including Simon Wardhaugh and Grinnell who won their events.

Wardaugh  made easy work of his competition in the hammer throw. He hit a mark of 67.40m (221-1ft). The throw was five meters farther than his mark last year at regionals. His fellow teammate, Jarrod Stevens, was not far behind him. He placed third in the event where he marked 65.14m (213-8ft).

Grinnell excelled in the triple jump, leaping to 16.01m (52-6.5ft). The leap was 0.54m shy of his jump at the WAC where he posted his personal best. Grinnell will be followed by his teammate Zacharias Arnos, who placed third. Also joining the jumpers at nationals will be Savvas Diakonikolas, who took home third place in the long jump.

The Broncos will also send two of their women to nationals to contend for titles in their events.

Kafourou placed fourth in the triple jump. The leap measured 12.96m (42-6.25ft).

Megan Olivetti is the only Boise State team member to compete at nationals in a track event. She posted a time of 13.75 seconds in the 100-meter hurdles. It was a personal best for Olivetti and enough to put her in fourth place and qualification to compete for a national crown.

Vying for the national title

The Broncos will prepare this week and part of next week for nationals. Going into the event, Head Coach Mike Maynard knows that if they’re going to have success at such a high level, it starts and finishes with the athletes.

“The tradition of Boise State track and field has been built on great jumpers and throwers,” Maynard said. “I think that the real story here is how this team is such a continuation of the tradition of dominance in the field events.”

Domination is right. All but one athlete going to nationals will compete in a field event for Boise State. One field event in particular that the Broncos are going to lean on is the jumpers. The jumpers know that if one of them performs well, they all will.

“We just feed off of each other,” Grinnell said. “When somebody jumps well, we all jump well because we all have that competition level.”

The Broncos will also lean on their coaches, particularly Jumpers Coach Petros Kyprianou.

“[Kyprianou] has more faith in us than we have in ourselves,” Grinnell said. “He has been a huge influence on us jumpers. We have all had personal bests this year.”

“Kyprianou has a way of helping to hit our marks,” Grinnell said. His faith in the team has been a major factor in the domination of the Boise State jumpers.

At nationals, Boise State will lean on just about everything as they vie for a national title.

KIRK BELL
Sports Coordinator

Related Posts:

1. Track and Field prepares for NCAA Western Regional competition
2. BSU sends four to track national championships
3. Three seniors to compete at NCAA Indoor Championships
4. Kafourou brings Greek flavor to track team
5. Victorious: Boise State men’s track and field wins the WAC Championship, while the women’s team takes third