April 7, 2001
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The Western Kentucky University men's and women's track and field teams finished fourth at the Cardinal Challenge Saturday afternoon at brand-new Burford Stadium on the University of Louisville campus. The Hilltoppers tallied 111 points in the meet, while the Lady Toppers rang up 104 points --?Louisville claimed both the men's and women's team titles at the four-team meet.
The WKU men's squad was strongest in the distance events, posting seven top-five finishes in the competition. Senior Andrew Bosak (St. Catherine's, Ontario, Canada) highlighted a 1-3 finish for the Hilltoppers in the 3,000-meter steeplechase, winning in 9:53.83, the best time by a WKU athlete in the event this season. Freshman Terry Goertz (Sernia, Ontario, Canada) clocked a time of 10:10.03 to place third in the race.
Freshman Enda Grandfield (Kerry, Ireland) recorded the Hilltoppers' other individual title, using a strong closing kick to win the 5,000-meter run in a time of 15:34.85. Freshman David Altmeier (Somerset, Ky.) was fifth in the event, crossing the line in 16:01.85. Altmeier now owns two of the top 10 times in the Sun Belt Conference this year.
Other top-five runners for the Western men included: senior Peter Kimaru (Nairobi, Kenya), who was third in the 1,500-meter run (4:04.64), freshman Matthew McClure (Louisville, Ky.), who placed third in the 400-meter intermediate hurdles (:57.5), and sophomore Nick Washum (Morganfield, Ky.), who turned in a fourth-place showing in the 800-meter run (2:01.2).
WKU also logged a pair of top-five showings in the field events. Freshman Matt Moore (Madisonville, Ky.) wound up fourth in the high jump at 5-10.75, while freshman Matt Baker (Tell City, Ind.) was fifth in the javelin with a toss of 113-1.
The Lady Toppers were sparked by a balance of solid performances in both track and field events. Sophomore Olga Cronin (Cork, Ireland) captured the only individual title for the Western women, picking up the gold in the 3,000-meter steeplechase with a time of 10:59.89. The Lady Toppers also went 2-3 in the 5,000-meter run, as junior Terri Hennessy (Cork, Ireland) cleared the line in 19:01.05, just ahead of her teammate, senior Chaye Mathfield (Kwazula-Natal, South Africa), who completed the circuit in 19:05.26.
The only other Lady Topper to finish in the top five on the track was junior Janette Pike (Vine Grove, Ky.), who came across in fourth place in the 800-meter run with a time of 2:25.27.
A pair of Western juniors led the way in the field events, as Holly Wilder (London, Ky.) and Keisha Hamilton (Brampton, Ontario, Canada) each claimed two top-five finishes. Wilder was one of three athletes to clear 5-4.25 in the high jump, but she wound up third after having the most missed jumps earlier in the event. Nevertheless, she did record a season-best height in the event. Wilder also turned in a fifth-place performance in the long jump with a leap of 14-0.25, just behind Hamilton, who was fourth in the long jump (15-1.5). Hamilton also finished third in the triple jump at 34-8.5.
Both Western track teams will be back in action next weekend with a pair of meets. A split WKU squad will travel to Knoxville, Tenn., for the Sea Ray Relays, which will be run April 12-14. The remainder of the Hilltopper and Lady Topper teams will head to Tallahassee, Fla., for a quadrangular meet on April 14 on the campus of Florida State University.
