UNLV women’s track and field excels at conference indoor championships
Yvonne Wade has turned around the UNLV women’s track and field program since she took over 10 years ago, but the indoor season hasn’t been too kind to her.
Wade challenged the Rebels to crack the top three in the Mountain West Indoor Championships this year, something the program had not done since the 2000 season.
“One thing we haven’t done yet since I’ve been here is get into that top three in our conference,” Wade said on Wednesday. “That’s our goal. That’s the next step we want to take.”
The Rebels delivered with a second-place finish at the three-day indoor conference championships last week in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Wade got her wish, and it came with the Mountain West Coach of the Year award.
“I am so extremely proud of this group of young women,” Wade said. “They fought hard and kept their focus on getting this team in position to do something big. The energy was intense all the way to the end, and I’m so excited for what’s to come.”
UNLV finished with 99 points, a mere 3.5 points behind Colorado State for first.
The Rebels also had two conference champions with Ayana Gales winning the long jump and Taylor Pegram taking the 60-meter hurdles.
Gales took the Mountain West title with a personal-best jump of 20 feet, 3 inches. The senior also took second in the triple jump with a mark of 40-6.
Pegram took her crown with a program-best time of 8.23 seconds. Amari Norris, who attended Silverado High School, took fourth in the same event at 8.51 seconds.
Kaysee Pilgrim finished second in the high jump (5-10.75) and Mandy Chitwood, a Canyon Springs High School graduate, placed third in the 800 (2:07.48).
The Rebels’ 4×400 relay of Drea Austin (Foothill HS), Nylia Hudspeth, Najia Hudspeth and Micayla Coquia (Legacy HS) took second with a season-best time of 3:42.52.
Wade hopes the momentum carries into the NCAA Indoor Champions from March 11 to 13 and the outdoor season, which opens with the UNLV Invitational on March 16.
“The outdoor is our niche, that’s where we excel,” Wade said. “I’m happy with where program is now. We’re recruiting some talented athletes, and many are from the Las Vegas area.”
MEN’S SWIMMING & DIVING — Tom Paco-Pedroni took home four championships at the Western Athletic Conference Championships last week in Houston.
Paco-Pedroni finished first in the 100-yard freestyle with a time of 42.85 seconds. He also won the 200 freestyle at 1:34.32.
The UNLV senior from France teamed up with Or Sabatier, Kasey Foley and Forrest Beesley to capture the 400 freestyle relay title with a mark of 2:52.53.
Paco-Pedroni, Sabatier, Foley and Dylan Tarazona claimed the 200 freestyle relay at 1:17.55.
UNLV finished fourth as a team and Foley picked up the 50 freestyle title at 19.48 seconds.
Contact Gilbert Manzano at gmanzano@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0492. Follow @gmanzano24 on Twitter.