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Show aii.il, 2009 Track and field opens well at home By CONNOR JONES sports senior writer USU track and field opened their indoor season strong last Saturday in the first meet of the season one USU athlete captured an automatic spot in the NCAA indoor championships while another reached the NCAA provisional mark. Sonia Grabowska, sophomore pole vaulter out of Warsaw, Poland, cleared the bar set at 13-9.50 (4.20m) crushing Utah State's previous indoor record of 13.025 (3.97m). This mark qualifies Grabowska not only for the NCAA championships being held at Texas A&M's $51 million McFerrin Athletic Center but also for the European Under-23 Track and Field Championships. This jump places her tied for second-best mark by a Polish pole vaulter and 15th best in the world this season. Grabowska was named WAC field and America First Credit Unions Student Athlete of the Week "I still can't believe it, I didn't expect to make it today," said Grabowska Friday. "I'm just so glad to get it in our first meet and now I can still focus and prepare for the indoor championship meet and NCAA's. I was a little bit tired from all of our hard training, but I was pumped up having a bunch of friends yelling for me. It was nice to do it in a home meet. I wanted to do well." The Wilson Motor Invitational was Grabowska's only chance to impress a home crowd, she and the rest of the track team spend the rest of the season on the road, beginning this Friday and Saturday on Boise States indoor wood track. Another Aggie hoping to book his ticket for College Station is Clint Silcock from Salmon, Idaho. The sophomore made the NCAA provisional mark for the high jump with 7-0.50. Put into perspective clearing 7-0.50 means Silcock ran towards, jumped over and cleared without touching a stick set as tall as Shaquille O'Neal. Dylan Nielson, junior transfer from Riverside Community College, had a personal best in the men's 60meter hurtles winning the event by crossing the line in 8.10 seconds. Freshman Bryce Hall, from Davis High School, started his career in collegiate track off right. Hall finished first in the men's shot put by throwing the 16 pound ball over 55 feet. Hall also won his first competition participating in the weight throw by tossing the 35-pound weight an impressive 53 feet. USU women came away on top in eight events, including the 4x400 relay, shot put, high jump, 60-meter hurtles, and 400-meter dash. The Aggie men also finished the invitational with eight first place spots including the 400-meter dash, 1mile run, 800-meter run and weight throw. USU'S CLINT SILCOK CLEARS A BAR set just -c. h.j@aggiemail. usu. eduover seven feet Saturday. CAMERON PETERSON photo GAME 18: USU 79, BOISE STATE 65 Wesley's big game keeps the Aggies rolling right along By TIM sports editor After getting off to a sluggish start in their previous home games, the USU men's basketball team had no such trouble against Boise State (12-5) Saturday night. The Aggies (17-1) jumped on the Broncos early and pulled away late to remain unbeaten at home in front of the first sellout crowd of the season, 79-65. For the second straight game USU's leading scorer Gary Wilkinson was held in check, but the Aggies other post presence, Tai Wesley, made up for it in a big way. Wesley finished with 26 points, one shy of matching his career high, on 9-of-12 shooting to lead all scorers. "We came out tonight and we were excited and ready," said USU head coach Stew Morrill. "It's nice that we can win a basketball game without Gary having a great night, that should be reassuring to all of our players that we can do that." Junior sharpshooter Jared Quayle got things started for the Aggies as he nailed a 3-pointer just 35 seconds in. Tyler Nevvbold joined in the action as well, knocking down his first couple shots as the Ags jumped out to an early 12-3 lead. However, the Broncos, 12-4 on the season coming into the matchup and coming off their first loss in over a month, would fight back. Junior guard Anthony Thomas drained a 3-pointer with 11:15 to play in the first half, knotting the game at 17. Minutes later, the Broncos would take their first lead of the game when sophomore forward Paul Noonan joined in the long-range barrage putting Boise State up 24-22. Thomas, who was relentlessly hounded by Aggie fans throughout the game due to remarks he made after the Broncos upset USU in last years WAC tournament, would struggle the rest of the game and finish well below his season average. He finished with five points and two turnovers on 1of-6 shooting. Shortly after the Broncos took the lead, the Aggies responded and again jumped out in front. Quayle and Wesley each completed a 3-point-play the old fashioned way, and the Ags went on a 10-0 run to push the lead back to nine. Boise State worked to clos* the gap before halftime, but a crazy series of events in the final seconds sent the Aggies into the locker room leading by double digits, 43-33. With the Broncos holding for the last shot, freshman guard Jaxon Myaer was. USU FORWARD TAI WESLEY, 42, celebrates after draining a half court shot at the end of the first half of the Aggies game against Boise State, Wesley finished with 26 points, eight rebounds and five steals. TYLER LARSON photo [I See WESLEY, page 12 Touc/zBase l\ ^Standings Men's Basketball Utah State Nevada Boise State NMSU STSU Idaho La. Tech Hawaii Fresno St. 5-0 17-1 4-1 11-7 3-2 12-5 3-2 9-9 2-3 8-8 2-3 8-10 2-3 8-10 1-4 9-8 0-4 7-11 Top 25 1. Wake Forest (25) 16-0 769 2. Duke (6) 164 747 3. Connecticut 164 688 4. Pittsburgh 16-1 679 5. Oklahoma 174 649 6. North Carolina 16-2 643 7. Michigan State 15-2 566 8. Syracuse 17-2 520 9. Clemson 164 472 10. Marquette 16-2 469 11. UCLA 14-3 443 12. Louisville 13-3 377 13. Xavier 15-2 360 14. Georgetown 12-4 349 15. Texas 13-4 344 16. Arizona State 15-3 337 17. Butler 16-1 332 18. Purdue 14-4 193 19. Notre Dame 12-5 180 20. Minnesota 16-2 154 21. Villanova 14-3 152 22. Saint Mary's 174 134 23. Baylor 14-3 82 24. Illinois 15-3 72 24. Memphis 14-3 72 Others receiving votes: California 65, Florida 52, Gonzaga 35, U t a h S t a t e 3 1 , Ohio State 22, Brigham Young 22, Dayton 16, . Missouri 13, Kentucky 12, Davidson 9, Kansas 3, West Virginia 3, Washington 2, Miami (FL) 2, Florida State 2, Arkansas 2, Michigan 1. Grabowska breaks record BY USU ATHLETICS Sophomore pole vaulter Sonia Grabowska was named the Western Athletic Conference women's field athlete of the week as well as the America First Credit Union Utah State Student-Athlete Of The Week for the period ending on Sunday, Jan. 17. The WAC award is selected by the conference office, while the USU accolade is voted on by a statewide media panel. Saturday at the USUhosted Wilson Motor Invitational, Grabowska cleared the bar at 13-9.50 (4.20m), an NCAA automatic qualifying mark, as well as smashing the previous Utah State and Nelson Fieldhouse record of 13-0.25 (3.97m) by Kathryn Duhadway in 2006. The 13-9.50 currently ties her for the top mark in the NCAA this season with Katie Stripling of Arkansas. A native of Warsaw, Poland (VIIILoWtadystawIVHS), Grabowska also qualifies for the European Under-23 Track & Field Championships, as well as tying for the secondbest mark by a Polish pole vaulter and her mark is now tied for the 15th-best in the world this season. These are Grabowskas first WAC and USU weekly awards. Grabowska earned first-team all-WAC accolades last year after placing third at the WAC Outdoor Track & Field Championships, after earning second-team all-WAC honors with a fifth-place finish at the WAC Indoor Championships. The USU men's and women's teams will return to action on Saturday, Jan. 24. |