Kangaroos Head to Utah for WAC Outdoor Track and Field Championships

5/12/2015 1:19:00 PM | Track and Field

By: UMKC Athletics

(Kansas City, Mo.) – The UMKC track and field squads will head to Orem, Utah on the campus of Utah Valley for the WAC Outdoor Championships, this Wednesday through Saturday.

Wednesday's competition is scheduled to be the multi-event athletes, while Thursday will feature the final day of those events, plus the 10,000 meter run. Friday kicks off the first day of field events, while preliminaries in the track events will also take place. The only track final on Friday will be the steeplechase. Saturday will feature all the track finals, as well as the second day of the field event finals.

Women's Preview:
After an extremely tight and controversial indoor WAC meet that saw Grand Canyon edge out the 'Roos, UMKC's women look to be a strong contender for the title outdoors this week. If UMKC's performers compete in all events they are seeded in, they would be projected to score 194 points, a total that would have been good enough to win last year's outdoor title.

Sprints/Hurdles
UMKC looks to be very deep in the sprints, with four of the top five 100 meter dash competitors, paced by sophomore Kamaya Tucker (11.96) at No. 2. Michelle Momo, Traci Mills and Lynette Cottingham are behind her in succession. In the 200, the 'Roos are also strong, with Momo posting the third-best time in the WAC (24.61), while Tucker is fourth (24.67). Chantel Bethune is ranked in both the 200 and 400, posting the fourth-seeded time in the latter (55.70). Sophomore Mallory Short enters the weekend with the top seed time in the 100 hurdles at 14.03, while junior Sydia Darker is fourth at 14.29. The 4x400 relay also enters the championships with the top WAC time (3:45.03).

Distance
Junior Courtney Frerichs looks to lead the UMKC contingent in the distance races, both in the steeplechase and the 1,500 meter run. The Bowerman Trophy Watch List member has the fastest time in the nation in the steeple at 9:32.12, more than a 1:20 faster than the next best time in the WAC. She also has the top league time in the 1,500 as well (4:22.59). Sophomore Kelly Carpenter has the top time in the 10,000 meters at 35:50.28, while Sarah Fogarty is second in the WAC in the steeplechase (10:53.03).

Jumps
UMKC is very deep in the long jump and triple jump as well, with three jumpers in the top eight in the league in both events. Junior Briana Carter enters the weekend with the No. 2 triple jump at 39-8. She is joined by Cottingham and Momo in fifth and seventh, respectively. Mills has the No. 2 long jump (19-0), while Momo is third (18-11.75).

Throws
The 'Roos are paced by junior Dahlia Dyson, who is ranked in the shot, discus and hammer, while junior Kelsey Benoit is the No. 1 shot putter in the league at 45-5.75. Dyson is No. 2 in the shot at 44-1.5, while ranking second in the hammer (173-11) and fourth in the discus (144-7). Benoit and sophomore Yasmin Musaddiq are ranked fifth and sixth, respectively, in the hammer at 165-2 and 162-6.

Men's Preview:
UMKC finished fourth in the WAC outdoor meet last year with 109 points. If performances were to match seed times and everyone was to participate in all their seeded events this season, the 'Roos would be projected to finish with 143 points in 2015.

Sprints/Hurdles
Senior Daniel Prioleau leads the 'Roos in the sprints with the No. 3 time in the WAC in the 200 meter dash (21.56), while also posting the No. 4 time in the 100 meter dash (10.62). Also expected to score in those two events are juniors Brady Adams and Kenny Roach. In the 400 meter hurdles, juniors Zak Snow and Terrone Garner are ranked No. 2 and 3 in the WAC, while Joshua Schirmer is currently fifth in the 110 meter hurdles. UMKC's 4x100 relay time is third in the conference, while its 4x400 is currently fourth.

Distance
Sophomore Bryce Miller leads the UMKC distance contingent with the top-ranked time in the WAC in the 5,000 meter run (14:20.69), as well as the No. 2 steeplechase time at 8:56.12 (also ranked No. 54 in the nation). Senior Taylor Wardall is No. 2 in the 1,500 meter run, while Miller is sixth in that event coming in. The 'Roos will need to get good performances from Nathan Keown and Jason Fambrough in the distance races as well in order to rack up valuable team points. The 10,000 meter run is paced by senior Alex Nail for the 'Roos, who is third in the league entering the meet.

Jumps
The triple jump is by far the best jumping event for the 'Roos, paced by senior Josh Harden, who enters the weekend with the WAC's top mark (49-2.5). Senior Jason Martin is seeded fourth (47-1.5), while freshman Jeremy Harr is ranked sixth overall (46-1.5). Martin has the squad's top long jump, coming in seeded ninth at 22-1.5.

Throws
The Kangaroos are paced by junior Blake Hocking in the throwing events, as he enters the weekend with the WAC's top shot put mark at 59-7.5 (also No. 51 in the nation), and the No. 2 discus throw of 158-0. Senior Kris Leverette has the fourth-ranked toss in the hammer throw (175-1), while posting the No. 5 mark in the discus (152-1). Freshman Jacob Hockman is also fourth in the discus (152-5). The Javelin also sees a pair of UMKC freshmen in the mix, as Harpreet Dosanjh enters the weekend with the third-best throw (196-1), while Alex Yoxall is sixth (181-6).