Lagat Helps Cougars Finish Third In Nation Arkansas Men, Texas Women Win Ncaa Indoor Track Titles
The Washington State University men’s track team tied for third place at the NCAA Division I Indoor Track and Field Championships Saturday in the RCA Dome.
WSU scored 26 points, tied with Clemson. Arkansas won the men’s title with 56 points and Stanford was second with 36.5 points. Idaho tied for 24th with eight points.
“We’re very pleased with our entire team at the championships. Even the people who didn’t score performed well,” WSU coach Rick Sloan said.
Sloan, in his 24th season with the WSU program, received the District 8 Coach of the Year award.
Texas won the women’s crown, followed by Louisiana State.
Saturday, WSU junior Bernard Lagat finished second in the men’s 3,000-meter race in a lifetime-best time of 7:46.45.
In the 5,000 meters, Colorado’s Adam Goucher smashed the meet record of 7:50.90 set by Washington State’s Josephat Kapkory in 1994. Goucher won his second consecutive title in 7:46.03, the fastest by an American this season.
In other competition, Idaho’s Chris Kwaramba placed second in the triple jump at 53-5-3/4 and WSU senior Hiliary Mawindi finished 11th at 51-1-3/4. Arkansas’ Robert Howard won at 54-1-1/4.
Meanwhile, Idaho’s 1600-meter relay team was disqualified, and Washington’s Ja Warren Hooker won the 55-meter dash in 6.13 seconds.
The lone WSU woman at the meet, Francesca Green, finished 15th in the long jump at 19-4-3/4.
The Arkansas men won their 14th title in 15 years and second in a row.
Texas took its fourth women’s crown since 1986, stopping LSU’s run of five in a row.
Arkansas used Howard’s triple-jump victory to help it continue its remarkable stretch of victories both indoors and outdoors, where the Razorbacks have won 11 consecutive titles.
Howard, competing with a painful right Achilles’ tendon, earned his second consecutive title on his final attempt.
, DataTimes