Season Ends Strong at Independent Championships
May 13, 2007
Final Results
Davis, Calif. - A senior and a freshman shined for Utah Valley track as the Wolverines finished their 2007 outdoor season with a fourth place finish (men's and women's) at the Division I Independent Championships. The UV men finished with 75 team points, good for the fourth place finish out of 12 competing teams. The Wolverine women also finished fourth with 93.5 team points. North Dakota State won the team championships on both the men's and the women's side. "Going in to the meet we expected to finish where we did," UV head track coach Scott Houle said. "We didn't do as well as I think we should have in some areas and we did better than I expected in others. As a whole, I think it was a good meet for us." Senior Kari Snow-Tupou shined in her final career meet. Tupou broke her own meet record in the 100 meter hurdles with a time of 14.31, bettering her time of 14.48 in the 2005 Independent Championships. Tupou also placed fourth in the 100 meters with a personal-record time of 12.13. She was also a part of the UV women's 4x100 team that finished second at the meet. "Kari ran an excellent race in the 100," Houle said. On the men's side, it was freshman Zach Cook who shined in his first shot at the Independent Championships. Cook won the long jump with a meet-record leap of 24-01.75. He also shined in the hurdles events, taking second in the 400 meter hurdles (54.12) and fourth in the 110 meter hurdles (15.42). Cook was also part of the UV 4x400 team that placed third. Other Wolverines that made significant contributions include thrower Gavin Shaw. Shaw won the hammer throw by out-heaving his nearest competitor by nearly seven feet. He also set the new meet record with his 196-05 throw. Kirsten Barney finished her stellar season strong, placing first in the 3000 meter steeplechase by posting a 10:56.46 in the event. She also placed 10th in the 1500 meters. "The most impressive thing about Kirsten's day is that she finished 10th in the 1,500 meters just 30 minutes after winning the steeplechase," Houle said. Utah Valley's stellar sprint duo of Chris Fogt and Mariama Salifu both had excellent meets even though each was battling hamstring injuries. Fogt finished second in the men's 100 (10.79) and 200 (21.71). Impressively, Fogt bounced back from a fourth-place finish in the 200 preliminaries to post a second-place finish. Salifu finished second in the 100 (11.93) and third in the 200 (24.94). Salifu's 100 time was just .01 of a second behind the winner. "Both Mariama and Chris had great meets for having pulled hamstrings," Houle said. "If they were healthy they would have each had a great shot in winning both the 100 and 200." To find the final results in pdf format, click on the link at the top of the page. |
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