BYU
TRACK: After a first-, third- and fifth-place finish in the men's decathlon and third- and fourth-place finishes in the women's heptathlon, BYU's track teams both lead at the 2004 MWC championships in Las Vegas.
BYU senior Curtis Pugsley posted two first- and two second-place performances for his highest point total in four years to capture his first MWC decathlon title. Pugsley led the field with 7,462 points, second-highest in MWC history.
Pugsley began the day in second but closed in on teammate Devin Scoresby after winning the 110-meter hurdles in 15.09. Pugsley finished second in the discus at 125-feet-9 and took the lead after the eighth event, tying New Mexico's Mark Johnson in the pole vault (15-9). Pugsley held his lead with a javelin toss of 181-11 and finished at 4:51.32 in the 1,500.
Johnson was second with 7,325, while Scoresby held on to finish third with a lifetime-best 7,244 points.
BYU senior Anna-Lee Walcott finished third with 5,130 points in the heptathlon. BYU's Liis Serendsen placed fourth with 5,074 points.
SOFTBALL: Four BYU players earned all-MWC honors. Ianeta Lei was named player of the year. The Oahu, Hawaii, native, is batting .355 with seven home runs, 34 RBIs, 32 runs scored, a slugging percentage of .630 and an on-base percentage of .452. Brooke Boyce, Debbie Dodds and Paige Paramore picked up all-conference honors. Boyce, from Rocklin, Calif., leads the pitching staff with a 1.74 ERA and has a 13-8 record. Dodds, from Twin Falls, Idaho, is third on the team in batting (.339).
BASEBALL: The tables were turned on BYU Thursday as San Diego State scored seven runs in the fifth inning on its way to an 11-8 win a day after the Cougars had an eight-run inning in their victory.
Led by Kyle Floquet's first home run of the year, a two-run shot, the Aztecs put together their seven-run inning on five hits and one error. The loss dropped BYU to 22-27 and 12-11 in the Mountain West Conference.
Utah State
TRACK: Freshman Carrie Bitton placed third in the heptathlon while junior Dayna Barrett was sixth at the Big West conference track championships.
MWC softball
BAD WEATHER: Heavy rain and snow delayed until today the start of the MWC softball tournament in Fort Collins, Colo. As a result, the tourney will be single elimination.
Utah
SOFTBALL: Utah landed four athletes on the all-MWC team—Glennis Donnelly, Devina Quintero, Melissa Stahnke and Lynsey Wall.
Donnelly, a senior, led the league with seven home runs in MWC play while ranking second with 20 RBIs. Quintero, a freshman, had a .344 average during MWC play, with five home runs and 19 RBI. Stahnke led the Utes at .371.
SLCC, Dixie
BASEBALL: The Salt Lake Community College Bruins won their first-round game 2-1 over College of Eastern Utah in the Region 18 junior college baseball tournament, then lost a semifinal game 8-4 to Dixie State.
SLCC drops into the losers bracket of the double-elimination tournament.