May 30, 2003 Athletics Story
16 Aggie Track
Athletes Head To First NCAA Regional Meet
12 men and four women to
represent USU in 18 events at meet in Palo Alto Friday and Saturday
 Utah
State's track and field teams will send 12 men to compete in
13 events and four women to compete in five events at the first
NCAA West Regional track and field meet in Palo Alto, Calif.
on Friday and Saturday, May 30-31.
This is the first season of regional meets, and the top five
finishers in each event at each of the four regionals are guaranteed
a spot at the NCAA Championships in June. In addition, approximately
nine other individuals in each event will be selected to the
NCAA meet based on a combination of factors, which include their
regional finish as well as their position on the descending
order list accumulated during the season.
"The regionals are exciting for track and field,"
said Aggie head coach Gregg Gensel. "I think it is going
to be very exciting for the athletes and fans. This is going
to be a good learning experience for everyone."
Two Aggies will compete in multiple events in Josh Sides and
Kelli Burton. Sides will compete in the men's hammer and shot
put, where he has the region's ninth and 10th best throws respectively.
Burton, will compete in the women's shot put and discus. She
owns the region's sixth best shot put and 16th best discus throw.
Burton, a freshman from Davis High School in Kaysville, Utah,
has the nation's 19th-longest shot put mark, which is also the
second-longest shot put among freshmen, at 16.00 meters.
"She is a gem of a person to coach," Gensel said
of Burton. "When you tell her what she needs to do, she
does it and more on her own. She is the first person to practice
and she wants to be better. She takes losing hard, but she takes
practice hard.
"If there is anybody that is a big time performer in big
meets, it is her," Gensel said of the former national high
school standout.
Justin Wickard, who qualified in three events, will compete
only in the 110-meter hurdles with the fifth best time (13.91)
in the region. He will not race the 400-meter hurdles or compete
in the long jump after qualifying in those events as well.
"We want him to focus on the 110-meter hurdles because
he has the best chance to score at nationals in that event,"
Gensel said. "He has done what we have asked him to do
this year and now it is his time."
Neil Warr enters the regional meet with the second best javelin
throw in the region. His mark of 72.03 meters is also the ninth
best mark in the country. Ryan Bruhn owns the region's fifth
best hammer thrown (62.37).
The 16 USU competitors will be looking to qualify for the NCAA
Championships slated for Sacramento, Calif., June 11-14. Utah
State's men won the Big West Conference team title in their
last meet, while the Aggie women placed fifth.
Aggies who claimed Big West individual titles included Ryan
Bruhn (hammer), Nick Seedall (400 hurdles), Steve Prescott (10,000),
Josh Sides (shot put), and Neil Warr (javelin).
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