Jamilee Jimenez, a Kaua‘i High School 2008 graduate, will be among the 20-member team heading to the Western Athletic Conference Championships. The University of Hawai‘i women’s track and field team will attempt to duplicate last year’s performance at the WAC
Jamilee Jimenez, a Kaua‘i High School 2008 graduate, will be among the 20-member team heading to the Western Athletic Conference Championships.
The University of Hawai‘i women’s track and field team will attempt to duplicate last year’s performance at the WAC Indoor Championships when it opens Thursday through Saturday at Jackson’s Track at the Idaho Sports Center in Nampa, Idaho.
Last season, the Rainbow Wahine came within one point of its first WAC Championship. The UH team set school records for medals with 10 (three gold, five silver, two bronze) and points at 121, leading in the team standings throughout the competition until being overtaken by Louisiana Tech in the final event.
Freshman Jimenez — entered in four events (60m, 200m, long jump, triple jump) — broke the 60-meter dash record during her heat on a 7.93 run at the season-opening Lumberjack Invitational.
Multi-sport athlete Annett Wichmann, repeating as pentathlon and high jump champion at last season’s event, will be looking to defend her pentathlon title for the third consecutive year, states a release from the UH athletic department.
Wichmann, the only athlete in the school’s history to compete in both the NCAA indoor and outdoor championships, set a new school record in the pentathlon with a total of 4,177 points to place fourth overall.
The Rainbow Wahine will be looking to Amber Kaufman to lead a repeat sweep in the high jump. Kaufman is a WAC outdoor gold medalist and school record holder in the event after attaining a leap of 5-11.5 at the Northern Arizona Invitational. That mark was tied for the seventh best jump in the country.
Overall, in the current WAC standings, 10 Rainbow Wahine are ranked in the top eight of their respective events.
Following the WAC championships, the Rainbow Wahine will host all-comer meets at the Clarence T.C. Ching Field.
Six Sunset Series events will start with the Rainbow Relays on March 21 and are open to the public.
For more information, contact uhtrack@hawaii.edu.
