Meet Notes

The University of Hawai'i women's track and field team will open the outdoor season by competing in the Trojan Invitational, Saturday, March 20 at Locker Stadium. USC is the host of the event which features more than 700 athletes from 31 schools with the Rainbow Wahine sending a contingent of 20 athletes.

 

The meet is the first of seven mainland competitions for the Rainbow Wahine during the outdoor season in preparation for the Western Athletic Conference Championships in Ruston, La., in May.

 

What: USC Trojan Invitational

When: Saturday, March 20

Where: Locker Stadium; Los Angeles, Calif.

Who: More than 700 athletes from 31 teams

 

UH Participants at the Trojan Invitational: Thalia Amanakis (200m, 400m, 100mH), Madara Apine (TJ), Samantha Balentine (200m, HJ), Anika Borden (WT), Lauren Cutler (JT), Cecelia Durocher (PV, LJ), Brittany Feiteira (100m, 200m), Jessica Forrester (3000m), Karen Guravska (PV, JT), Ashlee Jimenez (400m), TeRina Keenan (SP, Discus), Emma MacCorquodale (WT), Mariana Monasi (800m, 1500m), Careena Onosai (SP, Discus), Mallory Ramsey (PV), Sarah Rutsch (LJ), Sarah Saddleton (HJ), Tava Tedesco (3000m), Sam Whitehall (800m), Natalija Waldhuber (100mH, LJ)

 

Outdoor Season Begins: UH's outdoor season kicks off this week with the USC Trojan Invitational. UH will also make stops to the Stanford Invitational (March 26-27), Sun Angel Classic in Tempe, Ariz. (April 9-10), the Twilight Meet, Mt. SAC Relays, and Beach Invitational (April 14-17) in southern California, and Tom Tellez Invitational in Houston, Texas (May 8). Hawai'i will also host several all-comer Sunset Series meet at the Clarence T.C. Ching Field.

 

Kaufman Wins Silver At NCAA Indoors: High jumper Amber Kaufman just missed out winning the gold medal at the NCAA Indoor Championships. The junior settled for silver after Arizona's Elizabeth Patterson cleared 6-2.75 (1.90m) on her final attempt and won with a clearance of 6-4 (1.93m). Kaufman cleared her first six heights, beginning at 5-8.75 (1.75m), on her first attempts, while Patterson struggled with misses at four of those heights. After Arizona's Brigetta Barrett and Nebraska's Epley Bullock were eliminated at 6-1.25 (1.87m), Patterson and Kaufman were the final two competitors at 6-2.75. Kaufman easily cleared that height but Patterson missed on her first two attempts. With the championship on the line, Patterson cleared the bar on her final attempt and used that momentum to surpass 6-4 on her first try. Kaufman missed on all three attempts giving Patterson the title. For Kaufman, the silver is her second medal in as many national championships. At the 2009 NCAA Outdoor Championships also in Fayetteville, Ark., the two-sport All-American finished third while Patterson was runner-up to Texas' Destinee Hooker.

 

UH Finishes No. 28: With Amber Kaufman's second place finish in the high jump and eight team points that went with it, the Rainbow Wahine concluded the NCAA Indoor Championships tied for 28th place. UH beat out notable track programs Texas, UCLA, Alabama, Washington, Washington State, Stanford, Texas Tech, Arizona State and California, and was the highest rated WAC school.

 

Recapping the 2010 WAC Indoor Championship: The Rainbow Wahine placed fifth and scored 61.5 points at the 2010 WAC Indoor Championships in Nampa, Idaho. UH high jumper Amber Kaufman defended her title with a jump of 6-0 (1.83m). Sarah Saddleton (5-8/1.73m) finished runner-up for the second straight year while freshman Sam Balentine, who placed fourth in the pentathlon, was sixth at 5-5.75 (1.67m). Newcomer Madara Apine, a Florida transfer, captured the silver medal in the triple jump (39-11.25/12.17m). In the weight throw, Anika Borden (52-8.25/16.06m) and Emma MacCorquodale (52-6.5/16.01m) finished fourth and fifth, respectively.

 

Athlete of the Year Candidate: High jumper Amber Kaufman was recently selected as one of 10 athletes to the official watch list for The Bowerman, a recently-debuted trophy which is awarded to the top male and female collegiate athlete in the sport of track and field. The three finalists will be named on June 15.

 

WAC Honors For Kaufman & Saddleton: Amber Kaufman was named the WAC's Field Athlete of the Week, twice this season, after performances at the UW Indoor Preview and Lobo Challenge. For Kaufman, she has been honored by the WAC five time in her career, including three times in 2009. Sophomore high jumper Sarah Saddleton was named the WAC's Field Athlete of the Week after her NCAA provisional performance at the UW Indoor Open. Saddleton cleared 5-10 (1.78m) to win the competition.

 

High Standards: Transfers Madara Apine and Karen Guravska come to the Rainbow Wahine track program with high expectations. Apine, a Florida transfer who helped the Gators capture the Southeastern Conference championship last season, is a triple jump specialist. In her first competition at the Sunset Opener, she broke the school record with a mark of 39-7.25 (12.07m). Guravska competed at Cerritos College the past two seasons and will focus on the pole vault and javelin for UH, two events in which she earned All-America status last year. Both Apine (Ikskile) and Guravska (Riga) are natives of Latvia.

 

All Are Welcome: Each year, the Rainbow Wahine traditionally hosts all-comer meets at the Clarence T.C. Ching Field. This season is no different as the team will host five Sunset Series meets in addition to the newly created Mini Meets. Are meets are open to the public and if interested contact uhtrack@hawaii.edu.

 

Two-Sport Star: Amber Kaufman was also a starter on the nationally ranked women's volleyball team and earned honorable mention All-America honors in 2009. In track and field, Kaufman placed sixth at the 2009 NCAA Indoor Championships and won the WAC indoor title that same year. During the outdoor season she ranked second with a mark of 6-4 (1.93m) and captured the bronze medal at the NCAA Championships. In 2008, the San Jose, Calif., native placed fifth at the NCAA Outdoor Championships and earned a spot to the U.S. Olympic Trials, where she qualified to the main draw. She holds the school indoor and outdoor records. She also qualified for her second NCAA Regional last season.

 

Newest Inductee: Former UH track and field athlete the late Terry Albritton was one of four new inductees into the UH Sports Circle of Honor. Albritton broke the world record in the shot put (71 feet, 8 1/2 inches) at an all-comers meet at Cooke Field while a junior at UH in 1976. Later that year, he won the NCAA title. Albritton enrolled in Stanford in 1973 on a football scholarship and also competed in track, where he was second in the shot put in the Pac-8 in 1974. He transferred to Hawai'i in 1975 and was the NCAA runner-up that year.When UH dropped the men's track and field program after his world record breaking season, he transferred back to Stanford, where he won the 1977 NCAA shot put title. Following his competitive career, Albritton served as strength coach at UH from 1979-85, and is regarded as a pioneer in plyometrics and other fast-twitch muscle training techniques.