The UNLV cross country and track and field teams made their last season in the Western Athletic Conference a significant one, surprising the league with improved finishes in all three of the program?s phases. The cross country team improved from a 15th-place WAC finish in 1997 to seventh in ?98 while the indoor and outdoor track programs climbed into the upper echelon of the conference. It was the most successful year that head coach Karen Dennis and her staff had enjoyed since UNLV moved into the WAC in 1996.

The story began in the fall, when the Rebel cross country team, picked to finish 14th in a poll of the conference?s 16 coaches, shocked the league by finishing seventh at the WAC Championships. UNLV enlisted the aid of three transfer students to direct its turnaround, highlighted by Rebel senior Angie Fortner. After transferring from cross-state rival Nevada, Reno for her senior year, Fortner made UNLV history as its first runner to participate in the NCAA Cross Country Championships. As the Rebels? frontrunner, she enjoyed a storied season in which she won two races, finished second individually at the WAC Championships and finished in the top three in every regular-season event.

Fortner followed her impressive season with an encore performance at the NCAA West Regional Championships in Fresno, CA, by running a personal best 17:04 in the 5,000 meters and finishing sixth overall. That effort paved the way for her to compete at the NCAA Championships in Lawrence, KS, where she finished 136th of 255 individual racers.

She was not the only Rebel to defect from UNR. Senior Denise Danielson immediately made an impact on the Rebel lineup, finishing in the top 10 in both of UNLV?s first two races. Her ninth-place overall finish at the Jammin? Invitational propelled the squad to a fourth-place team finish.

The Rebels returned to Las Vegas following the Jammin? Invite for their only home race of the year. Three athletes posted top 10 finishes in the UNLV Invitational, including the senior duo and junior Sharlene Downing. UNLV captured second place in the team competition with a season-low score of 34.

The cross country schedule featured two top-flight Division I meets. At the Sundodger Invitational in Seattle, Wash., five different Rebels ran season-best times, including junior Stephanie Davidson and sophomore Katie Barto, who both broke the 20:00 mark for the first time.

Three weeks between meets allowed the Rebels plenty of training for the Oregon Invitational, in which they finished eighth of 14 teams. Junior Eulista Clemons ran a career-best time of 20:00.

After steady improvements over the course of the season, the Rebels stormed into the WAC Championships in Houston, Texas. Fortner ran a season-best 17:10 en route to a second-place overall finish and led the Rebels to a stunning seventh-place team finish. Five UNLV athletes clocked sub-20-minute times.

In their final team race of the year, UNLV finished 13th at the NCAA West Regional Championships in Fresno, CA, and posted the top finish of any WAC school. Fortner again broke her season best time and finished sixth overall, earning her the right to represent UNLV at the NCAA Championships.

The distance crew was allowed just a short rest over the winter holidays before the indoor season began. However, now it would be able to share the workload with the highly touted sprinters. The Rebels opened the indoor season at the Northern Arizona Invitational in Flagstaff, AZ

Alicia Tyson, Eulista Clemons and Jessica Marable all kicked off 1999 in strong fashion with victories. Tyson beat the field in the 200 meters by more than one second while Clemons took the 400 meters and Marable dominated the shot put.

Back-to-back meets in Reno further showcased the UNLV talent. Marable added another pair of shot put victories to her impressive resume. Standout freshman Michele Davis ran to a second-place finish in the 400 meters at the Wolf Pack Invitational and Angie Fortner tallied miles at each meet in less than 5:00.

In the final regular-season meet, Marable ran her string of victories in the shot put to four while Fortner broke a six-year-old school record in the 3,000 meters, finishing in 9:50.44.

The Rebels wrapped up training for the regular season and headed to the WAC Indoor Championships in Colorado Springs, Colo., where they looked to improve upon a seventh-place finish in 1998. Tyson got things started with a victory in the 200 meters and qualified for the NCAA Indoor Championships with a time of 23.91. Tyson also raced to a fifth-place finish in the 60 meters.

Davis followed Tyson?s lead with outstanding performances. She finished sixth in the 200 meters and fourth in the 400, scoring eight points for the Rebels and earning WAC Indoor Freshman of the Year honors.

Marable saw her winning streak in the shot put snapped by SMU?s Marika Tuliniemi, but still managed a season-best toss of more than 50 feet and a second-place finish. Junior Laren Parker surprised the field of long jumpers with a leap of 18-7 to score and Fortner finished fifth in the 3,000 meters.

Tyson and Marable?s performances landed them invitations to the NCAA Indoor Championships in Indianapolis, IN. While Tyson finished 17th in a competitive 200-meter race, Marable launched an indoor career-best and school-record throw of 50-9 ? to finish eighth and earn All-America honors.

After a valiant effort throughout the indoor season, there was little time to rest. UNLV went directly into outdoor competition, hosting the UNLV Invitational at Myron Partridge Stadium on April 3. Again, Tyson, Davis, Fortner and Marable headlined the Rebel squad?s performances and captured sixth place in the team competition. Marable broke her own school record in the shot put (outdoor) by seven inches.

Davis continued to shine as one of the nation?s top freshmen. Continually trimming her times, she broke a five-year-old meet record at the Cal-Nevada Championships in the 400 meters in 53.61 and moved into fifth place on UNLV?s all-time performers list. Fortner upset a talented group of runners to win the 1,500 meters with Downing and Davidson following in the top ten, and UNLV finished sixth against 21 schools in the California and Nevada area.

Traveling to the altitude of Fort Collins, Colo. for the WAC Outdoor Championships, the Rebels were looking for a significant improvement over their 10th place finish in 1998. The altitude did not have much effect on the sprinters, however. Tyson rolled to victories in the 100 and 200 meters, breaking former teammate Hydianne Harper?s 100-meter school record in the process. Davis followed Tyson in the 200, finishing second, and won the 400 meters outright. She established new school bests for UNLV freshmen in both events.

Marable finished second in the shot put, again edged by SMU?s Tuliniemi, and added a fourth place finish in the discus. Fortner added her usual complement of point by finishing fourth in the 1,500 and sixth in the 5,000 meters.

Sophomore Charlotte McGee pleasantly surprised the coaching staff with an eighth place finish in the pole vault, clearing a season-best 10-6 and scoring one team point. Clemons and Parker also figured in the team scoring, finishing sixth in the 800 meters and seventh in the triple jump, respectively.

Heather Steadham may have been the most valuable of the Rebel athletes, securing a lock on second place in the heptathlon with a strong performance in the final event. She finished the first day of competition in third place, behind Fresno State?s Mahea Enos. Steadham battled in Day 2 and took a 13-point lead over Enos heading into the final event. Steadham finished second the 800 meters in 2:23.57 to hold on for the second-place finish and cap the fourth-best heptathlon performance in school history.

The Rebels concluded the first day of the championships in eighth place. But, with the added points from their underclassmen, they were able to shoot past the competition and finish second overall, behind BYU. UNLV edged SMU by three points for its highest conference finish since winning the Big West crown in 1990.

Three Rebels, Tyson, Davis and Marable, were not quite finished, as all three qualified for the NCAA Championships. Tyson concluded her career respectably, finishing 19th overall in the 100 meters and 12th in the 200 meters. Davis capped an outstanding freshman season with a 10th-place overall finish in the 400 meters despite running more than a second slower than her best time. She had posted times during the season better than four eventual All-Americans.

Marable, however, did not let her opportunity slip away. She threw a personal best 52-2 ? in the shot put, breaking her own school record and sliding past Tuliniemi for an eighth-place overall finish. Marable will be the only returning All-American to the Rebel squad in 1999.