Cougar women fare well at nationals

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    By David Rasmussen

    SACRAMENTO, Calif. -The 2006 season drew to a close for the Cougar women”s track team on Saturday (June 10, 2006) at the NCAA Championship meet in Sacramento.

    Auburn took home the title at the event, which brings together some of the top track and field talent in the world.

    “This event is as close as you can get [in quality] to the Olympic trials,” said Cougar head coach Craig Poole. “Our people competed very well.”

    With only four athletes competing, BYU capitalized on every opportunity, with one Cougar claiming All-American status. Freshman Amy Fowler received the nod with her seventh place finish in the 3,000-meter steeplechase, providing the Cougars” only points in the meet.

    “She ran a smart race, she never lost contact,” Poole said. “She followed the race plan that coach Shane gave her right to a tee.”

    Fowler ran with the lead pack for the majority of the race and maintained her effort over the last few laps to post a lifetime best finish of 10 minutes, 8.12 seconds.

    “I was hoping to stay up with that top group as long as I could, so they could pull me to a faster time,” Fowler said. “It was pretty crowded, and my hurdle form probably suffered a little bit from that. But I gave it all I had, so I”m happy.”

    Fowler was not alone in the event, as senior Rena Chesser returned to defend her third place finish in the steeplechase from a year ago. Chesser was unable to duplicate the feat, however, as she finished in 12th place with a time of 10 minutes, 19.47 seconds.

    The steeplechasers were the lone Cougar athletes to compete in the finals of their respective events. Pole vaulter Mandy Lonsway concluded her career at BYU with a vault of 12 feet, 9.5 inches, good enough for a No. 22 finish.

    Mountain West Conference champion Michelle Lindsay competed in the 800 meter run, and posted a personal best time of 2 minutes, 7.06 seconds in the event. The sophomore fared well in her first appearance at the national meet, as she was just 0.46 seconds from advancing to the semi-final round.

    Senior Chelsea Smith-McKell was notably absent in the 10,000 meters after her championship in the event at the Mountain West Conference meet. Due to an infraction of team rules, McKell was left at home.

    “All I can tell you on that is that she was in opposition to our championship preparation policy, and as a result, she”s not here,” Poole said.

    With the season in the record books, the Cougars can now turn their gaze to a promising future.

    “The team was very, very young,” Poole said. “Next year we”ll have people back that were injured or red-shirting. They”ll be more mature and better prepared in what they have to do. Looking ahead, I would say that next year”s team will be a far stronger team than we had this year. The future is bright.”

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