Charlotte Takes Crown From Cougars
2/24/2001 12:00:00 AM | Men's Track and Field
HOUSTON -- For the first time since the inception of Conference USA five years ago, the league will crown a new indoor champion. The University of North Carolina at Charlotte held off a furious last-day challenge from the four-time conference champion, Houston Cougars, to nail down its first Conference USA Indoor Track and Field championship, which concluded today in the Bill Yeoman Fieldhouse on the campus of the University of Houston.
Charlotte finally finished off the Cougars with an impressive performance in the 3,000 meters-the second to last event of the day. The 49ers placed second, fourth and eighth, while the Cougars came within two seconds of one point in the eighth-place slot. The Cougars last hope for its fifth straight title came to an end in the 4x400-meter relay, finishing second to Memphis, while Charlotte took third. The 49ers edged out the Cougars in points, 148-143.
Charlotte head coach David Hall was unanimously selected as Conference USA Coach of the Year for leading the 49ers to the upset of the Cougars. His distance runner extraordinaire, Kenneth Svendsen, took the Athlete of the Year award after winning the 5,000 meters, finishing second in the mile (4:13.35) and the 3,000 meters (8:25.46) and anchoring the distance medley squad that finished fourth.
Houston freshman Juan Cardenas took home the C-USA Freshman of the Year award-the second straight year a Cougar has been so honored (Robert Foster in 2000). Cardenas kept the Cougars' last ditch effort alive with his impressive first-place finish in the 800 meters.
The Cougars had individual championships from Greg Christie in the 60-meter hurdles, Foster in the 200 meters, Jeff Mueller in the high jump and Andrew Martin in the pole vault. As a matter of fact, it was the Cougars' effort in the pole vault that shot them temporarily past the 49ers late in the event. Not only did Martin capture the pole vault, the Cougars grabbed 28 points in the event, as Bill Collins placed second, Alex Cantu took third and Alex Herrmann grabbed fifth.
Memphis' Larry Crawford staked his claim as the league's fastest runner, capturing the 60 meters in a time of 6.73. Memphis also grabbed both the distance medley and mile relay titles, and Stefan Matschiner was the individual champion in the 5,000 meters, enabling the Tigers to take third behind Houston.
2001 Conference USA Men's Indoor Track and Field
Championship Results
Hosted by Houston
Final Results-Team Standings
Place School Score1. Charlotte 1482. Houston 1433. Memphis 1274. DePaul 705. Marquette 666. Tulane 62Event Champion Time/Distance60M Dash Larry Crawford, Memphis 6.7360M Hurdles Greg Christie, Houston 7.96200M Dash Robert Foster, Houston 21.35400M Dash Adam Evans, Charlotte 48.69800M Dash Juan Cardenas, Houston 1:55.05Mile Run Matt Plano, DePaul 4:13.303000M Run Stefan Matschiner, Memphis 8:25.465000M Run Kenneth Svendsen, Charlotte 14:31.464X400M Relay Memphis 3:17.26Distance Medley Relay Memphis 10:12.02High Jump Jeff Mueller, Houston 2.17m/7-1.50Long Jump Will Montgomery, Charlotte 7.50m/24-7.25Triple Jump Carl White, Tulane 15.61m/51-2.75Shot Put Frank Guzman, DePaul 17.67m/57-11.7535-lb. Weight Throw Matt Rausch, Charlotte 18.54m/60-10Pole Vault Andrew Martin, Houston 4.75m/15-7Coach of the Year-David Hall, CharlotteAthlete of the Year-Kenneth Svendsen, CharlotteFreshman of the Year-Juan Cardenas, Houston