April 14, 2008

Honolulu, HI (UWIRE) -- As the sun set over the Stan Sheriff Center dome Saturday afternoon, the No. 37 University of Hawai'i women's outdoor track and field team ended the third Sunset meet of the season and broke several personal bests in the process.

"For everybody this was kind of a tune up before this big road trip that we have," said head coach Carmyn James.

The team is preparing for four meets this week on the Mainland, as well as the Western Athletic Conference championships.

Based on the two outdoor meets in which the Rainbow Wahine have competed this season, the team is currently ranked 37 out of 293 teams and is leading the WAC teams.

This ranking was only reiterated today, with senior Patricia Gauthier scoring her personal best in the pole vault competition when she cleared the bar by four meters.

Meanwhile, sophomore Amber Kaufman ended the high jump competition with 1.8 meters, which is a NCAA regionals qualifying height. She is currently ranked No. 1 in the WAC for high jumps.

The team is looking forward to the next couple of days to recover from injuries to several players, including junior Thalia Amanakis, who is on the sidelines due to aquiles tendonitis caused by competing in several competitions that took a toll on her body, James said.

Amanakis holds the record in WAC for the 100- and 400-meter hurdles and is expected to recover for the upcoming meets.

"Our focus is keeping them sharp and keeping them healthy," James said.

But the Wahine are making efforts to make up for the injured members, with some members competing in events that they wouldn't normally in order to gain a few extra points.

The team is looking for redemption in the WAC outdoor championships this year after falling from first place in the indoor competition by a single point. Earlier this yeat the team lost to Louisiana Tech, who is currently ranked 107th in the nation.

Ava Cavaco, Meghan Weaver and Annett Wichmann put their effort to the field and won the hammer, the shot put and the long jump, respectively.

The team broke 13 school records this year and has six girls qualifying to compete in the NCAA regionals. James is looking to have a few more girls qualify in the upcoming week and believes that the team has potential to take the WAC championship.

"In the past we were around sixth or seventh in the WAC and so for us to go from that to almost winning an indoor is great. This could be the first chance that we could end up winning the whole thing outdoor so everyone is really excited," James said.

The team will go to Azusa, Calif. to compete in the Mt. San Antonio College (Mt. SAC) multi-event April 16-17 before heading to Walnut, Calif. to compete in the Mt. SAC relays April 18-20.

(C) 2008 Ka Leo O Hawaii via UWIRE