University of Arizona Athletics

Who's Competing: All four teams will field full teams at the meet. The Shootout will be scored as a combined team event with a trophy going to the team with the highest combined men's and women's team score. There will also be separate men's and women's team scores.

Wildcat Women's Watch: The Arizona women have several elite competitors on the team this season, led by quarter-miler Carolyn Jackson. The senior from Tucson, Ariz. will be a national title contender in both the indoor and outdoor 400m. Jackson is a four-time All-American and finished fifth in the 400m at the 1998 NCAA Outdoor Championships. Two sophomores will also pace the Wildcats this year, Tara Chaplin and Brianna Glenn. Glenn, from La Mirada, Calif., will contend for Pacific-10 Conference titles in the 100m, as well as long and triple jumps. Chaplin, from Montpelier, Vt., won the Pac-10 5,000m title last season, and competed in five NCAA Championship events as a freshman -- a first for a Wildcat. Chaplin continued her success this season, finishing fifth in the 5,000m at the NCAA Indoor Championships. Glenn set three school indoor records at the ASU-NAU dual meet in Flagstaff, provisionally qualifying for the NCAA meet with those marks as well. She ran 7.34 in the 60m, 24.05 in the 200m and long jumped 20-7 1/2. Glenn finished fifth in the 60m at the NCAA Championships and 10th in the long jump. She set a school 100m record of 11.49 at the Willie Williams Classic to open her outdoor season. Both Glenn and Chaplin won titles at the MPSF Championships, Glenn in the 55m and Chaplin in the 5,000m. At the Stanford Invitational, Chaplin ran 33:45.64 in the 10,000m, the No. 2 time in school history, No. 7 in Pac-10 history and an NCAA automatic qualifying time.

Men's Movings: Three All-Americans return to the Arizona team this season, senior Jeff Dutoit (pole vault) and juniors Esko Mikkola (javelin) and Patrick Nduwimana (800m). Dutoit finished third at the NCAA Indoors and tied for seventh at the Outdoors last season. He provisionally qualified for the NCAA Indoor meet with a clearance of 17-6 1/2 (5.35m) at the Feb. 12 Husker Invitational. He cleared a season-best mark at the NCAA Championships, 18-0 1/2, to finish eighth. Mikkola won the 1998 NCAA Championship and finished second last year in the javelin. He has been nursing a sprained ankle during March, but is slated to open his season at the Texas Relays, April 7-8. Nduwimana advanced to the semifinals of the 800m at the World Championships last summer after finishing second at the NCAA Outdoor meet. All three will contend for national titles this year. Nduwimana has made an almost full recovery from a foot/heel injury that kept him out of indoor competition. He will likely make his season debut at the April 1 Jim Click Shootout in the 800m.

Last Time Out: Seven Wildcat distance runners competed at the Stanford Invitational, March 25-26, and four finished with NCAA qualifying marks. Tara Chaplin was the second collegiate finisher in the women's 10,000m (33:45.64), earning an NCAA auto mark. Her time is No. 2 in UA history and No. 7 in Pac-10 history. Jeremy Lyon finished third in the 3,000m steeplechase, running a strong NCAA provisional time (8:47.91) in the process. Mike Cramer and Katrin Engelen ran NCAA provisional times in the men's and women's 10,000m, 29:46.16 and 34:37.65, respectively. Three Wildcat throwers competed at the UC-San Diego Open, each coming away with at least one PR. Richard Legarra threw 188-10 (57.56m) in the discus, a personal best, NCAA provisional mark and No. 6 all-time at Arizona. Mandy Shefman threw two outdoor personal bests, 47-5 1/4 (14.46m) in the shot and 159-6 (48.62m) in the discus. Her throws are No. 7 and No. 8 all time at UA, respectively. Jeremy Fulton threw a personal-best in the discus, 169-10 (51.76m), a Pac-10 qualifying mark.

Tara Terrific: Sophomore Tara Chaplin has continued her success from last season when she was a two-time All-American. She finished fifth in the 5,000m at the NCAA Indoor Championships. Her time of 16:03.21 is a career-best and the best time run by an Arizona athlete, other than Amy Skieresz. Her time is also No. 7 all-time in the Pacific-10 Conference. At the Stanford Invitational, Chaplin ran 33:45.64 in the 10,000m, an NCAA automatic qualifying time, No. 2 in school history and No. 7 in Pac-10 history. Last season, she finished 10th in the event (16:25.25), earning All-America honors. She also ran the 3,000m at the meet, finishing 12th (9:37.56). Chaplin continued her strong freshman campaign during the outdoor season, qualifying for the NCAA Outdoor meet in the 5,000m and 10,000m. She placed ninth in the 10,000m (34:52.96), again garnering All-America laurels, and was 15th in the 5,000m (17:01.03). Last season, Chaplin completed a first for a Wildcat freshman, competing in five NCAA Championship events. This year, she also finishing 33rd at the NCAA Cross Country Championships.

Sky High: Senior Jeff Dutoit cleared a season-best mark in the pole vault at the NCAA Indoor Championships, 18-0 1/2, to finish eighth and earn the third All-America honors of his career. He finished third at last year's indoor meet with a career-best clearance of 18-2 1/2, tying UA's indoor school record. He then finished tied for seventh at the NCAA Outdoor meet at 16-10 3/4 (5.15m), earning the second All-America honors of his career. He competed at the 1998 NCAA Outdoor Championships, but did not clear a height. This season, Dutoit cleared 17-8 1/2 (5.40m) in Flagstaff, Ariz. to provisionally qualify for the meet.

Brianna B-Good: Sophomore Brianna Glenn put together one of the most successful indoor seasons in recent years, setting school records in the 60m, 200m and long jump. She provisionally qualified for the NCAA Indoor Championships in all three events, with marks of 7.38caa, 24.25c and 20-7 1/4 (6.28m). She won the MPSF Indoor title in the 55m and was second in the 200m and third in both the long and triple jumps. At the NCAA meet, Glenn finished fifth in the 60m and 10th in the long jump, earning All-America honors in both events. She ran 7.31 in the preliminaries of the 60m, resetting her school indoor record. Glenn opened her outdoor season by setting a school 100m record. She won the event with a time of 11.49 at the Willie Williams Classic in a race Coach Fred Harvey said was not even a good one for her.

Action Jackson: Senior Carolyn Jackson has been one of the Wildcats' top performers at the national level the last three years. Last season, she earned 400m All-America recognition at the indoor and outdoor championships, finishing eighth at the indoor games and ninth at the outdoor meet. She also earned All-America honors at the 1998 NCAA Outdoor meet, finishing fifth. This season, she ran 53.76 to win the MPSF Championship and qualify for the indoor meet. Jackson ran a career-best 52.10 last May to earn an automatic qualifying mark for the 99 outdoor meet. The time is also No. 2 in school history. At the Pacific-10 Conference Championships, however, she severely injured her hamstring and did not advance past the prelims. She battled back, and competed at the NCAA meet, although it was thought impossible. She finished second in her heat, the first and slowest of the championships, and did not advance to the final, but still earned All-America recognition for having the ninth-fastest time. She finished 10th in the preliminaries at the NCAA Indoor Championships, but did not advance to the final. However, she did earn All-America honors.

Head of the Class: Junior Andrea Neary is not only the team's top pole vaulter, but she is one of the top students at the UA. She has a 4.0 grade point average in physiology and was named the 2000 Raytheon Woman Athlete of the Year for her dedication to the team and her schoolwork. At the March 17 Willie Williams Classic, Neary cleared an NCAA provisional qualifying mark of 12-7 1/2 (3.85m), which also set a school outdoor record. Neary qualified for the indoor meet in the pole vault for the second straight year. She finished 12th in the pole vault at the meet with a mark of 12-3 (3.75m). This season, she set an indoor school record, clearing 12-9 1/2 (3.90m) in Flagstaff, Ariz. to qualifying for the meet. At last year's competition, Neary finished 14th in the event, clearing 11-7 3/4. This season, she finished fourth at the MPSF Championships with a mark of 12-7 1/2 (3.85m). She provisionally qualified for last year's outdoor meet, but did not advance. She was hurt much of the outdoor season, but finished fourth in the pole vault at the Pac-10 Championships with an outdoor best of 11-11 3/4.

In the Books: Arizona athletes have made a dent on the school record book already this season. Brianna Glenn set four indoor records (55m, 60m, 200m and long jump), and opened her outdoor competition with a school record in the 100m, 11.49 at the Willie Williams Classic. Andrea Neary set the school indoor record in the pole vault, 12-9 1/2 (3.90m). She also set the school outdoor best in the event, 12-7 1/2 (3.85m).

Rewind: Arizona opened its home schedule March 17-18 with a successful effort at the Willie Williams Classic. The team recorded four NCAA provisional qualifying marks, 30 Pacific-10 Conference qualifying marks and set two school records. Brianna Glenn set a school best in the 100m, winning the event in 11.49, and Andrea Neary set a school record in the pole vault with a clearance of 12-7 1/2 (3.85m). Nicole Thomas ran an NCAA provisional qualifying time of 59.00 in the 400m low hurdles. Keith Varga competed in the 400m hurdles for the first time in his career and ran 51.76, the No. 10 time in school history... Some members of the men's and women's teams opened their outdoor seasons March 4 at the Bill Sawyer Invitational in Tempe, Ariz. Junior Ola Larsen had the best performance of the meet, throwing an NCAA provisional qualifying mark of 235-5 (71.72m) to win the javelin. His toss is also a career-best and No. 3 in school history. Senior Mandy Shefman won the women's shot put with a toss of 47-5 (14.45m), a career best and No. 7 all-time at UA. Two other Arizona athletes won events at the meet, graduate student Chris Schaefer in the 800m, 1:53.39, and senior Jeremy Lyon in the 1,500m, 3:52.36... Some members of the men's and women's teams opened their outdoor seasons March 4 at the Bill Sawyer Invitational in Tempe, Ariz. Junior Ola Larsen had the best performance of the meet, throwing an NCAA provisional qualifying mark of 235-5 (71.72m) to win the javelin. His toss is also a career-best and No. 3 in school history. Senior Mandy Shefman won the women's shot put with a toss of 47-5 (14.45m), a career best and No. 7 all-time at UA. Two other Arizona athletes won events at the meet, graduate student Chris Schaefer in the 800m, 1:53.39, and senior Jeremy Lyon in the 1,500m, 3:52.36.

Under the Roof: Arizona had a very successful trip to the MPSF Championships in Reno, Nev. The men finished second and the women were third at the meet. Three Wildcat individuals won titles, and the men's distance medley relay team picked one up, as well. Tara Chaplin won the 5,000m in 16:51.56, Carolyn Jackson tied for first in the 400m in 53.76 and Brianna Glenn won the 55m in 6.84, a new school indoor record. Glenn also finished second in the 200m and was third in the long and triple jumps. Mike Kenyon and Matt Lea finished 2-3 in the men's 400m, while Keith Varga was second in the men's 55m high hurdles... The men's and women's teams had their first scoring meets of the season with full teams competing and finished with considerable success. The women beat ASU, 80-79, and NAU, 79-69. The men beat NAU, 95-78, but lost to ASU, 79-74. Sophomore Brianna Glenn set three indoor school records -- 60m (7.34), 200m (24.05) and long jump (20-7 1/2) -- and picked up NCAA Indoor provisional qualifying marks in the process. Junior Andrea Neary won the pole vault, breaking her own school indoor record in the process at 12-9 1/2. Senior Carolyn Jackson provisionally qualified in the 400m (53.97), while senior Jeff Dutoit improved his provisionally pole vault mark with a clearance of 17-8 1/2... The Wildcats picked up four NCAA provisional qualifying marks during the competitive weekend of Feb 11-12 at the Husker Invitational in Lincoln, Neb. and the Cannon IV Classic in Indianapolis. Junior Andrea Neary broke her own indoor school pole vault record, clearing 12-7 1/2 (3.85m) and finished second at the Husker meet. Senior Jeff Dutoit also picked up a qualifying mark in the pole vault, clearing 17-6 1/2 (5.35m). Sophomore Brianna Glenn provisionally qualified in the 60 meters, finishing second at the Husker meet in 7.43. Sophomore Tara Chaplin provisionally qualified in the 5,000 meters at the Cannon IV Classic with a time of 16:35.18. Although she did not qualify for the NCAA meet, senior Nicole Thomas set an indoor school 60m high hurdles record in 8.57... Arizona opened its season at the Silver State Games Jan. 29 in Reno, Nev. Junior Andrea Neary had the lone NCAA qualifying mark, setting an indoor school record in the process, with a clearance of 12-6 (3.81m)... Senior Micheil Jones won the men's 3,000m in 8:33.58 (8:23.57aa).

1999 In Review: The Arizona men took only six competitors to the NCAA Championships at Bronco Stadium/Ed Jacoby Track in Boise, Idaho, but the team scored 20 points and finished 14th. Four of the men at the competition earned All-America honors and two came away with second place finishes. The women, who only had three athletes at the event, finished in a tie for 66th with one point, but all three athletes came home as All-Americans. Freshman Maureen Griffin was the first Wildcat to compete at the meet, and she finished eighth in a rain-slicked hammer throw. Griffin fouled on her first throw, but came through on her third toss, throwing the hammer 190-11 (58.20m). She advanced to the finals of the event, but did not improve on any of her final three throws. Later on the first day, senior Abdi Abdirahman finished sixth in the men's 10,000m. Abdirahman entered the event with the nation's top time, but a slow pace allowed three Stanford runners to kick to the title. Abdirahman finished in 29:34.03, far short of his best time of the season. On the second day of the meet, two other Arizona female athletes earned All-America honors. Running for the first time since a serious hamstring injury at the Pac-10 Championships that originally was thought to keep her out of the NCAA meet, junior Carolyn Jackson finished second in her heat of the 400m in 53.83. However, her time was the ninth fastest time in the heats and only eight advanced to the finals. Competing in her first NCAA Outdoor Championships event, freshman Tara Chaplin earned All-America honors by finishing ninth in the women's 10,000m. Chaplin stayed with the lead pack for the first 12 laps, but began to fall back, finishing in 34:52.96. The third day of the meet was the busiest for the Wildcats with six athletes in competition. Junior Patrick Nduwimana was slowed by a strong wind in his face on the backstretch, but still finished second in 1:47.22 in the 800m. Nduwimana took the lead at the final turn and built it to three meters before he was passed in the final 15 by Missouri's Derek Peterson. Sophomore Esko Mikkola finished second in the men's javelin competition with a throw of 252-0 (76.81m). Mikkola's throw, which was into a strong headwind, was topped only by UTEP's Mahti Nahri. Sophomore Ola Larsen finished ninth in the event with a throw of 226-0 (68.90m). Junior Jeff Dutoit cleared his opening height of 16-10 3/4 (5.15m) in the pole vault, which was enough to put him in a tie for seventh place. A number of vaulters, including Dutoit, were affected by a crosswind in the event. Abdirahman concluded his collegiate career with a ninth place finish in the 5,000m, in 14:14.15. In the race, he earned the eighth All-American honors of his career. Junior Micheil Jones finished 20th in the same race in 15:09.70. Chaplin was the final competitor for the Wildcats on the last day of the competition, finishing 15th in the women's 5,000m in 17:01.03. The Wildcats had a very promising showing at the Pac-10 Championships in Tempe, Ariz., May 21-22. The men finished a surprising fourth. The women, plagued by injuries, finished sixth. Esko Mikkola defended his javelin title, while Ola Larsen finished second in the event. Abdi Abdirahman also defended his 5,000m title. Patrick Nduwimana won his first career Pac-10 title, winning the 800m in 1:46.43. Tara Chaplin and Maureen Griffin also won the first Pac-10 titles of their promising careers, taking the 5,000m and hammer throw competitions, respectively. Brooke Murphy, who walked on the program a year ago, captured a surprising win in the 10,000m. Carolyn Jackson did not compete in the finals of the 400m after pulling up 150 meters into the preliminaries with a hamstring injury.

The Coaches: In his 33rd year as head coach at the University of Arizona, director of track and field and cross country Dave Murray is the dean of Wildcat coaches. Murray, a 1965 graduate of Arizona and former Wildcat athlete, has coached 131 All-Americans in both track and field and cross country throughout his career. He has also coached 21 NCAA Champions, 18 in track and field and three in cross country. Aside from the day-to-day planning and direction of the program, Murray focuses on coaching the Arizona distance runners. Associate head coach Fred Harvey (13th year, Cal Poly-SLO, 82) coaches the Wildcat sprinters, hurdlers and relay teams. Harvey has coached several athletes who accomplished much at the national and world levels, including 1999 World Championship competitors Michelle Johnson (6th - 400m hurdles) and Patrick Nduwimana (semis - 800m). Associate head coach Mike Maynard (13th year, Azusa Pacific, 86) coaches the Wildcat throwers. He has also coached many national and world elite throwers and has coached in international decathlon competitions. Assistant coach Tom Hays (3rd year, Kansas, 89) directs the Arizona pole vaulters and jumpers, and assistant coach Dawn Mortensen (3rd year, Arizona, 96) works with the sprinters and hurdlers.

Murray's Musings: "The Jim Click (Shootout) is always one of our highlight meets of the season. It is going to be on television again this year, which makes it that much more attractive for us. All four teams that are going to be competing in the meet (Arizona, Cal, Colorado, Minnesota) all have very good track programs over the years, so the competition itself should be excellent. We are at relatively full strength this week. We expect to have Patrick (Nduwimana) run his first 800m of the year. We are not going to open Esko (Mikkola) up until the Texas Relays. We still have three very good javelin throwers at this meet. Last week, we had a very good experience at the Stanford Invitational. We had one automatic qualifier and three provisionals. Katrin (Engelen)'s time in the 10,000m was the big surprise of the day. She has been running very well of late, but that was a big PR for her. Her time (34:37.65) has been good enough to get in the past few years, and I think it has a good chance this year. Jeremy (Lyon) also ran a very strong provisional time in the steeplechase. The throwers went out to San Diego and came away with some good marks, as well."