May 3, 2008

LARAMIE, Wyo. -

Complete Championship Results in PDF Format

As the First Annual Front Range Invitational presented by Qdoba Mexican Grill came to a close Saturday, May 3rd, the Air Force Academy Men and the Colorado State Women walked away with the team championships. The University of Wyoming men placed third overall while the women took second at the Louis S. Madrid Sports Complex.

The weather held up as 15 total records were broken and six Wyoming athletes qualified for the NCAA Regional Meet. Among the six was Kate Burton in the hammer throw, Shaylee Babbitt in the 100-meter hurdles, Vashone West in the 100-meter dash, Jeremiah James in the long jump, John Alderson in the triple jump and Alan John in the hammer throw.

Shaylee Babbitt won the 100-meter hurdles and qualified for the NCAA regional meet.

For Burton, it was an exceptional day, as she set the new record in Wyoming history with her toss of 209' 8". Her throw qualified her for the Olympic Trials and ranks second in Mountain West Conference history, along with being the seventh best toss in the nation this year.

The Cowgirls had another member qualify for the Regional meet in Shaylee Babbitt who ran her personal best time of 13.61 which is good for fourth best all-time.

"Kate (Burton) is no fluke, she is the real deal," said head coach Don Yentes. Both Burton and Babbitt walked away with some individual hardware as they both were awarded with the outstanding performances in the track and field events respectively. "Shaylee (Babbitt) had a great meet today and I am really proud of her achievements all year long."

For the Cowboys, senior Vashone West set his personal best time during his 100-meter Regional Qualifying race as he ran a 10.38.

Kekoa Chavez won the 400-meter hurdles with a time of 53.43.

He also ran the fifth best time in UW history in the 200-meter dash with his fourth place finish and time of 21.29. Along with West, freshman Jeremiah James qualified in the long jump with his leap of 24' 1". Fellow jumper, John Alderson took first place and set his season best in the triple jump with his flight of 49' 4 1/2". Finally, Alan John who qualified last weekend in the hammer throw, increased his personal best as he threw the hammer 190'.

"We really had some kids perform better than expected, and I couldn't be more pleased with the way they competed down to the last event," said Yentes. "We had a lot of people put in a lot of time in order for these kids to compete today, and I am very thankful with everyone, from the administration to the facilities crew, and to all the volunteers that gave their time."

The Mountain West Conference Championships are up next for the Pokes as they will travel to Fort Worth, Texas, May 14th through May 17th. The NCAA Midwest Regional meet is held in Lincoln, Neb., May 30th and 31st.