Feb. 26, 2011
HOUSTON, Texas - The UCF women and the Houston men are the team champions after a busy two days of action at the 2011 Conference USA Indoor Track and Field Championships. The Knights ended the meet with 123.5 points while the Cougars finished with 172 to claim the team's fifth-straight indoor title.
Complete 2011 C-USA Indoor Track and Field Championships Results 
The Houston men have now won eight of the past nine C-USA Indoor Championships with head coach Leroy Burrell earning C-USA Indoor Coach of the Year accolades with each victory. Senior Wesley Bray took home the Men's Performance of the Meet honors with his dominant win in the heptathlon for the second year in a row.
The Men's High Point Scorer of the Meet honor went to UTEP junior Justice Chirchir. The Eldoret, Kenya, native posted a win in the opening day's 5000m run and earned runner-up honors in the 3000m and placed third in the mile. Fellow Miner Risper Kimaiyo took home the Women's High Point Scorer of the Meet title. The junior won the 5000m run and also placed second in the mile and third in the 3000m.
The UCF women followed their 2010 C-USA Outdoor Championship with the team's first indoor title since joining the league. Head coach Caryl Smith Gilbert was named the C-USA Women's Coach of the Year after guiding her team to the win.
In the final day of events, Southern Miss junior Ganna Demydova electrified the triple jump competition and crushed the meet record, posting a 13.88m (45-06.50'') mark. Her impressive performance, which also broke the Bill Yeoman Field House record, topped the NCAA automatic qualifying mark and ranks as the premier triple jump effort in the nation. Her record-setting jump was 2-10.75'' longer than her previous best this season. As a result, Demydova was voted the Women's Performance of the Meet.
The men's triple jump also saw a C-USA Championship record shatter as Houston senior Chris Carter put forth a 15.99m (52-05.50'') leap. Carter bettered the previous record by over six inches en route to grabbing his second title of the meet.
Houston's Bray earned his Men's Performance of the Meet award as he broke his own C-USA Indoor record in the heptathlon with his 5,671 point, two-day effort. His point total also topped the previous Bill Yeoman Field House record by 188 points. The senior bested the field in three of the seven events and placed within the top four in all other competitions. His efforts place him sixth in the NCAA this year.
East Carolina junior Dennis Aliotta successfully defended his 2010 shot put title with a 17.81m (58-05.25'') effort. He bested his nearest competitor by over a foot and topped his 2010 mark by nearly three feet. Also defending their title was SMU's Simone du Toit, who owned the women's competition with a 16.84m (55-03.00'') shot put throw. The junior also posted an impressive 6-08.25'' margin between herself and her nearest competition.
Taking the men's high jump honors was Drew Kanz-O'Shea of East Carolina. The sophomore logged a 2.11m (6-11.00'') jump to take the top spot over Southern Miss' Marcus Norwood.
Senior Ari Ince of Rice took the women's pole vault event for the second-consecutive year and wrote her name in the C-USA record books with her 4.10m (13-05.25'') effort. The performance broke the previous C-USA Championship record by one inch.
In the first running event of the day, Tulsa standout Chris O'Hare defended his title and took honors in the men's mile in 4:07.13. The sophomore kept with the pack for three-quarters of the race before creating a gap and distancing himself from the field and from teammate Justin Duncan who claimed second.
The Tulsa women kept the momentum alive as Paula Whiting took the women's mile in 4:50.91. Whiting, who finished fifth in last year's mile, was among the front runners for the entire race until taking off with 200 meters to go. The Golden Hurricane women picked up a total of 19 points in the event as Melanie Hughes and Sarah Macpherson finished fourth and fifth, respectively.
In a photo finish in the men's 60m hurdles, Memphis junior Robert Jackson took the title in 7.96. He leaned forward to earn the win over Houston's Thomas Lang, who took second in 7.97.
The UCF women showed their strength in the 60m hurdles as the Knights finish went 1-2-3-4 in the event. Junior Jackie Coward topped her meet record from 2009 with an 8.16 performance on the day. She was followed by teammates Karessa Farley, Mica Kimberly and Ashley Bolling, respectively, as the UCF squad earned 29 team points.
Houston junior Kevin Furlough posted the first running victory for the Cougars with a 47.58 showing in the 400m dash. The women's side saw another meet record fall with Aiesha Goggins crossing the line in 54.15. The freshman bettered the previous record, which stood for six years, by .28 seconds.
The men's 60m dash saw East Carolina's Austin Lewis take the win in 6.74. He finished just ahead of Houston's Errol Nolan (6.75), Southern Miss' Justin Simms (6.77) and Memphis' Taurean Nixon (6.77). In the women's race, UCF freshman Aurieyall Scott blazed to an NCAA-qualifying 7.24 win. The winning time places her in a tie for fourth in the NCAA.
Another meet record was broken in the men's 800m as Tulsa's O'Hare claimed his second title of the day and posted a 1:51.06 effort. Houston's Doug Kelley was 1.22 seconds behind O'Hare as he took second. SMU freshman Lovisa Lindh took the women's medal in 2:11.26 for her first individual victory of the meet. In last night's events, Lindh served as the third leg in the distance medley relay, helping the Mustangs to take the event by a considerable margin. She was also named the Women's Freshman of the Meet.
Houston's Furlough found his second win of the day as he ran a 21.47 in the 200m dash. The junior picked up both his 400m and 200m dash victories in just over an hour's time. In the women's 200m, Dominique Booker helped the UCF squad to increase its lead with her 23.89 win. The freshman entered the meet with the second-fastest time in the Conference.
Taking a break from the sprints, the men's 3000m title went to Tulsa's Tom Marshall in 8:16.24. The junior was able to hold on for the victory despite a ferocious comeback effort by UTEP's Chirchir. Placing sixth in the run was Tulsa freshman Dennis Hodapp, who was named the Men's Freshman of the Meet. He also earned a third-place finish in the 5000m run during the first day of events.
The women's honor went to another member of the Golden Hurricane team as Whiting picked up her second title of the day, cruising to a 9:31.00 victory, less than one second off the meet record time.
In the men's grand finale of the C-USA Indoor Championships, the UTEP relay team of Suji Adeniyan, Leon Dillihunt, Jacob Garcia and Anderson Mutegi claimed the men's 4x400m relay in a time of 3:18.22. The team ran a steady race, holding the lead for nearly the entire event and crossing the line 1.21 seconds ahead of second-place Tulsa.
The women's 4x400m relay race closed out the Championships with the UCF squad earning the win. Champelle Brown, Coward, Sandy Jean and Afia Charles came together to post the winning time of 3:43.19, less than one second off the meet-record time.
The complete men's team standings with point totals are as follows: Houston (172), Tulsa (107), Memphis (89.5), East Carolina (86), UTEP (82), Rice (76.5) and Southern Miss (44).
The complete women's team standings with point totals are as follows: UCF (123.5), Tulsa (76), UTEP (72), SMU (69), East Carolina (65), Southern Miss (57), Houston (51), Rice (33), Memphis (31), Tulane (31), UAB (28) and Marshall (26.5)
A complete list of Championship awards and day two winners is below.
2011 Conference USA Indoor Track & Field Championship Awards
Women's Indoor Track & Field Coach of the Year - Caryl Smith Gilbert, UCF
Men's Indoor Track & Field Coach of the Year - Leroy Burrell, Houston
Women's High Point Scorer of the Meet - Risper Kimaiyo, UTEP
Men's High Point Scorer of the Meet - Justice Chirchir, UTEP
Women's Performance of the Meet - Ganna Demydova, Southern Miss
Men's Performance of the Meet - Wesley Bray, Houston
Women's Freshman of the Meet - Lovisa Lindh, SMU
Men's Freshman of the Meet - Dennis Hodapp, Tulsa
2011 Conference USA Indoor Track & Field Champions (Day Two)
Wesley Bray - Houston - Heptathlon - 5,671 pts.^$
Dennis Aliotta - East Carolina - Men's Shot Put - 17.81m (58--05.25'')
Simone du Toit - SMU - Women's Shot Put - 16.84
Drew Kanz-O'Shea - East Carolina - Men's High Jump - 2.11m (6-11.00'')
Ari Ince - Rice - Women's Pole Vault - 4.10m (13-05.25'')^
Chris Carter - Houston - Men's Triple Jump - 15.99m (52-05.50'')^
Ganna Demydova - Southern Miss - Women's Triple Jump - 13.88m (45-06.50'')^$*
Chris O'Hare - Tulsa - Men's Mile - 4:07.13
Paula Whiting - Tulsa - Women's Mile - 4:50.91
Robert Jackson - Memphis - Men's 60m Hurdles - 7.96
Jackie Coward - UCF - Women's 60m Hurdles - 8.16^
Kevin Furlough - Houston - Men's 400m - 47.58
Aiesha Goggins - East Carolina - Women's 400 m - 54.15^
Austin Lewis - East Carolina - Men's 60m - 6.74
Aurieyall Scott - UCF - Women's 60m - 7.24*
Chris O'Hare - Tulsa - Men's 800m - 1:51.06^
Lovisa Lindh - SMU - Women's 800m - 2:11.26
Kevin Furlough - Houston - Men's 200m - 21.47
Dominique Booker - UCF - Women's 200m - 23.89
Tom Marshall - Tulsa - Men's 3000m - 8:16.24
Paula Whiting - Tulsa - Women's 3000m - 9:31.00
UTEP (S. Adeniyan, L. Dillihunt, J. Garcia, A. Mutegi) - Men's 4x400m Relay - 3:18.22
UCF (C. Brown, J. Coward, S. Jean, A. Charles) - Women's 4x400m Relay - 3:43.19
^ C-USA Indoor Championship record
$ Bill Yeoman Fieldhouse record
* NCAA Automatic Qualifier
