May 13, 2004

Results

LAS VEGAS - UNLV's Christine Spence fell just short of claiming her first Mountain West Conference title, as San Diego State's Janine Polischuk claimed the heptathlon in the closest margin in conference history after the second day of competition Thursday at the 2004 Mountain West Conference Outdoor Track and Field Championships, hosted by UNLV at Myron Partridge Stadium/Sheila Tarr Smith Field.

Spence was the first day leader after first place finishes in three of the first four events. Polischuk, a freshman, was fourth place after the first four events, but won the day's first event, the long jump, with a mark of 18 feet, eight inches. BYU senior Anna-Lee Walcott, the defending champion, knocked Spence out of first place after the sixth event by winning the javelin with a throw of 124 feet. Spence fell to third, with Polischuk moving into second with a throw of 116 feet, three inches, third best in the javelin. In the final event of the heptathlon, Spence jumped out to a large lead in the 800-meter dash, before falling to third as the race entered the final turn. With a final burst of speed in the last 20 yards, Spence came back to win the race with a time of 2:15.94 over Colorado State's Tanya Cure and Polischuk. Polischuk, who finished third in the 800 with time of 2:16.35, was well ahead of Walcott's time of 2:26.58, which gave her the 2004 MWC heptathlon title. She finished with a career-best 5,210 points, just 16 points ahead of Spence (5,194), a junior who competed in the event for the first time in her career. Walcott finished in third with 5,130 points.

Also from UNLV, junior Teri Trautwein placed 12th with 4,113 points, which included a seventh place mark in the javelin with a throw of 105 feet, 10 inches.

BYU's Liis Serendsen placed fourth with 5,074 points, and the three-four finish gave BYU the early team lead with 11 points. San Diego State is one point back with 10 points, while host UNLV is third with eight points. Also on the scoreboard is Colorado State in fourth (seven points), Wyoming in fifth (two points), and New Mexico in sixth (one point). Air Force and Utah competed but did not score in the event.

The meet continues Friday with qualifying heats in eight field events and four running events.

2004 Mountain West Conference Championships Myron Partridge Stadium/Shelia Tarr Smith Field Las Vegas

Team Scores - 1. BYU (11), 2. San Diego State (10), 3. UNLV (8), 4. Colorado State (7), 5. Wyoming (2), 6. New Mexico (1).

UNLV Heptathlon Results - 2. Christine Spence (UNLV), 5,194* pts, 12. Teri Trautwein (UNLV), 4,113 pts.
LONG JUMP - 6. Christine Spence (17-05.50), 15. Teri Trautwein (15-03.25).JAVELIN - 7. Teri Trautwein (105-10), 12. Christine Spence (74-10).800 METER RUN - 1. Christine Spence (2:15.94), 11. Teri Trautwein (2:30.62).
* = NCAA provisional qualifying mark