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Five of the six athletes that Weber State sent to the 2007 NCAA Outdoor Track and field Championships competed Wednesday in the first day of the meet in Sacramento, California and three of the five advanced to the finals of their events.
On the women's side senior Lindsey Anderson took first place in the trials of the 3,000 meter steeplechase. Anderson entered the meet with the best time in the nation in the event. She posted a time of 9:56.14 in the preliminaries of the event to finish in first place. The Morgan, Utah native set an NCAA record in the steeplechase in April.
Also advancing in the women's steeplechase is junior Sariah Long. Long finished 12th overall in the event and posted a career best time of 10:05.42 to qualify for the finals. That time also ranks as the third best time in Weber State history. The Oceanside, Utah native is making her second straight trip to the national championships, but this is the first time she has advanced to the finals.
Anderson and Long will run in the finals of the steeplechase Friday at 8:25 p.m. Mountain time.
Senior Heidi Bouwhuis also competed in the steeplechase but failed to qualify for the finals. The Plain City, Utah native posted a career best time of 10:10.77 in the event but finished in 16th place in the trials. The top 14 finishers advance to the finals. Bouwhuis missed advancing by just over two seconds. Her time is a seven second improvement on her career best and ranks as the fourth best in WSU history.
"Lindsey ran very well and was really relaxed during the race and Sariah was also superb and did what she needed to do," said WSU head coach Jim Blaisdell. "They will both now advance to the finals and we'll see what they can do there. Heidi Bouwhuis ran a great career best race but it just wasn't enough."
On the men's side WSU sophomore David Olson advanced to the finals in the men's steeplechase. The Colorado Springs, Colorado native finished 13th in the preliminaries of the event and posted a career best time of 8:42.28 to qualify. That time also ranks as the ninth best in Weber State history and is the best time in the Big Sky this season. He will compete in the finals of the steeplechase Friday at 8:10 p.m. Mountain time.
Also competing Wednesday was senior Brad Osguthorpe in the 800 meters. The Park City, Utah native finished 26th in the first round of the event with a time of 1:51.05 and did not advance to the semifinals. Osguthorpe was making his first ever trip to the NCAA Championships.
Weber State senior Jaime Stubbs will compete in the semifinals of the 1500 meters Thursday at 7:25 p.m. Mountain time in Sacramento.
