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Show Text: Mike Coe k r J' f I YOU DID GOOD! Dana Willie and Camille Tueller exchange an emotional embrace after the Conference 800-meter race. (Signpost photo: Oscar Sosa) MADE IT! Terri Okelberry runs the 400-meter hurdles, keeping her eye on the finish line along the way. (Signpost photo: Scott Miller) ENDURANCE is the key to the 3000-meter run. Becky Wayment paces Michelle and Mari Green. Michelle eventually won the event. (Signpost photo: Scott Miller) A short while ago, Weber's women's track team ended its season with a second place showing in the MWAC championship meet. Though second place wasn't what head track coach Jim Blaisdell was aiming for, he commented that "you'd like to win, but if you can't win, second is the best place to be." Blaisdell also noted that the strong performance of the Boise State team went a long way towards keeping the Wildcats in second. Another problem was injuries to javelin thrower Niki Nye and long jumper-triple jumper Tina McCombs. Those injuries forced Blaisdell to redshirt both of them. In the MWAC meet, like most of the rest of the track season, the focus of attention was the performance of distance runner Michelle Green. At the meet, Green did one of the most difficult triples in all of running. She ran the 10,000, 5,000 and 3,000-meter races in just two days. She also won all three of them. In the first race, she won by almost two minutes; the second, by 20 seconds; and the third, she won by just over a second. Even though Green's win in the 10,000 meters came quite easily, her easiest win was that of being named the "athlete of the meet." But, the MWAC meet was just the culmination of what was a dominating year for Green. In events ranging from the 1500 meters to the 10,000, Green was a force to reckon with in any race. She holds the school record in the 10,000 (35:20.77) and her personal best in the 1500 (4:35.98), 3000 (9:47.53) and 5000 (17:03.80) aren't far from the school records. Though Green may have shown brightest, she wasn't the only star on the Weber squard. Both the new and the old had their day this year. The new were Weber's'fantastic freshman foursome of Stephanie Clements, Dana Willie, Terri Okelberry and Lucky Ikoh. During the indoor season, Clements broke Weber's indoor school record in the 500-meter run almost as often as she ran it. At the beginning of the season, the record was 1:17.2, but by the end of the season, Clements' record stood at 1:12.07. Clements also became the first female athlete to qualify for the NCAA indoor championships. Though she didn't set any indoor school records, Willie's indoor season was nearly as impressive as Clements. Willie didn't get the records, but she got the wins. It seemed that the only way for her to get records would be if she had to run that fast for a win. Finally, at the outdoor MWAC championships, Willie was pushed to the limit. She responded with yet another victory and also a school record in the 1500 meters (4:30.54). While both Clements and Willie enjoyed early success this year, Okelberry did not. It wasn't that she was good, it was just that her best events-the javelin, the 400 meter hurdles, and the heptathalon (the latter two she did not do until she came to Weber) weren't contested indoors. But during the outdoor season, no one could out do Okelberry. The victories came in waves. Okelberry broke the school record in the hephathon (4872) and the triple jump (37'3.5) and missed the record of 1:03.12 by just .02 of a second in the 400 hurdles. Another slow starter for the Wildcats was Ikoh. Ikoh, who is from Nigeria, came to Weber in early January. It took some time for her to get adjusted to the different culture and climate. But when she did, she proved to be in the same class as the other three freshmen. During the season, Ikoh claimed the school record in the 400 meters (55.23). Though the influx of youth was rolling along, some of the veterans on the team had a hard time getting started. One such person was senior Camille Tueller. During the early part of the season, Tueller had her problems, But by the end of the season, Tueller was her old self. She joined Green and Willie as conference champions. Tueller's title came in the 800-meter run (2:13.48). Earlier in the season, Tueller had rebroken her record in the 1500 with her clocking of 4:31.24 before Willie claimed the record. Other record-breaking performances were turned in by high jumper Paula Pettingill (5'10), shot putter Robin Taylor (41'6.5), and the 4x800 relay team of Tueller, Willie, Clements and Mari Green. , - |