Competing against its toughest competition to date, UA track and field men's and women's squads yielded mixed results this weekend in Boise, Idaho, competing in the Mountain

Pacific Conference Championships.

The unranked men's squad fell short in its bid for a conference championship but finished strong in third place, behind UCLA and No. 6 Stanford. The injury-riddled No. 18 women's squad dropped to sixth place overall.

Pac-10 rival and track and field powerhouse Stanford claimed the top spot among women's teams.

"We could have been second with a perfect meet," said head coach Fred Harvey of the men's squad.

Leading the men to that third place finish was Jeff Hunter. The El Cajon, Calif., native won the 60-meter hurdles and, in the process, qualified himself for the NCAA post-season championships. Hunter's first place time of 7.88 seconds made the sophomore the 12th UA athlete to qualify for the NCAA indoor championships this season.

The 74 points posted by the men this weekend would not have been possible without the help of the 4-by-400 meter relay squad. Led by Hunter, the foursome fended off UCLA en route to a 3:13.75 first place finish. After Hunter, Adrain Thomas and Daniel Olea completed their laps; junior Jevon Mason overcame a 25-30 yard deficit and overtook the Bruin's sprinter on the final leg capturing the victory for the Wildcats.

"He stayed patient and (was) running hard," said Harvey of Mason. "He just got after him."

Claiming a first-place victory for the UA men as well was pole vault specialist Kevin Opalka. The junior who already has a NCAA qualifying bid to his credit took first place with a leap of 17 feet, 2 inches.

For the women, pole vaulting remained one of their stronger events. With a season's best jump of 14 feet, 5 inches, Amy Linnen vaulted herself to number one in the NCAA this season.

The only other first place finish for the Wildcat women came in the 60-meter dash by Seynabou Ndiaye. The senior sprinter from Senegal tied her season's best at 7.49 seconds.

Harvey's squad was without several of its key women athletes in Boise. Distance runner Beth Hoge remained out due to injury, as did Sharifa Jones, Amber Steen (foot) and Angel Perkins (hamstring).

"(The result) was definitely disappointing in the sense that we have a better team than that," Harvey said. "I'm disappointed in the outcome but not disappointed in the kids. Everyone picked up the slack and put in the best efforts that they possibly could."