Familiar faces lead track


By J. Ryan Casey
Arizona Daily Wildcat
Monday, March 28, 2005

The usual stars shined brightly for the Arizona track teams during Saturday's Jim Click Shootout, as eight athletes won a combined 10 individual events.

In addition, the Wildcats added or improved upon 18 more NCAA West Regional qualifying marks.

"It was an exceptional meet in all areas, especially the throws and the sprints," Arizona head coach Fred Harvey said.

For the second-straight week, the throwers continued to lead their team, posting 11 of the 18 total qualifiers with rival UCLA in attendance.

"That's very impressive, because UCLA has always been the perennial power in the country in the throws," Harvey said. "With them coming to town, we really geared up for this particular competition."

Junior Sean Shields led the men's throwers, placing first in both the shot put and the discus - 64-6 1/2 and 190-10, respectively. Both marks qualify Shields for the May 27-28 NCAA West Regional Championships in Eugene, Ore.

Sitting in second place after two throws to UCLA's Jeremy Silverman, Shields got some motivation from coach John Frazier.

"You're not going to let Silverman beat you, are you?" Frazier asked Shields just prior to his final throw.

"Don't worry about it, coach," Shields responded. "I won't let you down here."

Shields delivered on his next throw, launching the shot put past 64 feet.

Teammate Adam Kuehl, a sophomore, finished second to Shields in the discus, qualifying for the Regional Championships as well with a throw of 190-6.

Kuehl's 58-7 1/4 toss in the shot put earned him his second qualifier of the day.

"It was really a neat thing," Harvey said of the duo. "You're talking about a group of the best throwers in the entire country."

Shields and Kuehl have the No. 1 and No. 2 discus throws in the country after Saturday's event.

"That's really a positive thing, not just for our team, but in terms of recruitment as well," Harvey said.

The women's throwing quintuple of Kelli Burton, Megan Howard, Ilona Rutjes, Amber Varner and Sara Vigil combined for seven regional qualifiers.

The junior Burton placed second in the hammer throw (183-11), third in the shot put (50-4 3/4) and third in the discus (162-10). All three marks send her to Eugene.

The discus seemed to be the strong event for the Wildcats Saturday, as Rutjes, a senior, won the event with her regional-qualifying throw of 170-7.

Varner, a sophomore, was fifth (157-1).

In the shot put, Howard's toss sailed 52-2 1/2.

Meanwhile, the Wildcats' long distance runners, pole-vaulters and hurdlers contributed as well.

Junior Robert Cheseret qualified for the Regional Championships by winning the 800-meter run in 1:50.28, even though he was using the event to train.

"We only had him down in the 800, because (assistant coach James) Li wanted him to work on some lower distance speed development," Harvey said.

The Wildcat men dominated the pole vault, finishing first and having two athletes tie for third.

Senior Chris Chappell took the event with a mark of 17-6 1/2.

Freshman Andrew Rademacher and senior Kevin Opalka were third (16-6 3/4).

Senior hurdler Sharifa Jones did her part as well, winning the women's 100 hurdles in 13.51 seconds.

Sophomore hurdler Dan Cook placed fifth in the 110 hurdles in 14.28 seconds.

The Wildcats hit a variety of different events this week, including the Rafer Johnson/Jackie Joyner-Kersee Invitational hosted by UCLA Friday and Saturday.