Feb. 24, 2001
Box Score
U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. - UNLV's Michele Davis ran to victories in the 60, 200 and 400 meters to lead the Rebels to a third-place team finish at the Mountain West Conference Indoor Track and Field Championships at Cadet Field House on Saturday.
Davis, who carries the top times from the prelims to the finals in all three events, was named the league's Most Outstanding Performer and claimed the meet's High Point Award after contributing 30 of the Rebels' 98 points.
"Michele had a perfect day," UNLV head coach Karen Dennis said.
Davis becomes the first athlete in MWC history to win three individual events. She won the 60 meters with an NCAA provisional qualifying mark of 7.44, broke her own conference record in the 200 in 23.59, and led a 1-2-3-5 Rebel finish in the 400 in 55.09.
While she would have a tough time earning a berth in the 60-meter field at the NCAA Championships, Davis' time in the 200 ranks seventh nationally, according to the most recent performance list produced by the NCAA. She finished fourth in the outdoor 200 last season.
Davis' performance, while impressive, was not enough alone to lead the Rebels from seventh place to third on the meet's final day. As a team, UNLV added 89 points to its score on Saturday.
"We battled back today," Dennis said. "We figured if everything went right, we could get about 80 points today, and we ended up with 89."
BYU won both the men's and women's competitions. The Cougars racked up 203 points on the women's side to win their second straight MWC title, while Colorado State scored 141 to keep UNLV from its second straight runner-up finish.
The Rebels, however, posted a lofty total despite being without two expected scorers: sophomores Erin Dangerfield and Chantel Yates.
A big chunk of that total came from UNLV's 400-meter crew. Following Davis in the 400 were Nickeisha Charles in second (56.70), Christine Spence in third (57.40) and Melanie Williams in fifth (57.84), adding eight, six and four points respectively.
Although the 28 points in the 400 were impressive, the Rebels tacked on another 10 when Williams, Tiffany Smith, Spence and Charles teamed together for a victory in the 4X400-meter relay.
"We sort of expected to do that," Dennis said of her 400-meter squad. "Michele was sick earlier in the week, and we felt like she could be best rested by racing in the 60 instead of the 4X400. We thought she had a shot to win the 60 and that we could still win the 4X400 without her."
Tianika Sharrieff, the Rebels' only other NCAA provisional qualifier besides Davis, just missed clearing 5-11.25 in the high jump and settled for second place at 5-09.75. Spence cleared 5-06.50 to claim sixth and give UNLV nine points in the event.
Aside from the relay, Smith also kicked in points in the triple jump, leaping a personal-best 38-01.5 to finish fifth. Belisa Suarez followed in sixth with a mark of 37-07.25.
Katie Barto chipped in with three points in the 3,000 meters, finishing sixth in 10:39.28, and Patrice Harvey, who finished seventh in the pentathlon on Thursday, also posted a sixth-place finish, scoring three in the 60-meter hurdles in 8.89.
"We ended up getting the most out of our team and that was the most important thing," Dennis said. "We knew (coming into today) we couldn't catch CSU and BYU, so we just concentrated on doing the best we could do, and tried to meet and exceed our expectations. I am satisfied."
Only the NCAA Championships remain on the indoor schedule, set for March 9-10 in Fayetteville, Ark. Davis will be among the field contending for the 200 title while Sharrieff will have to see if her best mark in the high jump of 5-10 will earn her a berth.
