Maple Ridge`s James Clark won gold and bronze medals at the NCAA Division 1 Western Athletic Conference (WAC) Indoor Track and Field Championships last weekend in Nampa, Idaho. The University of Idaho athlete competed in the distance medley relay and 800-metre events, and helped his team achieve their first ever men`s overall WAC championship title.
Idaho scored 217.5 points, edging Utah State who finished with 212.5 points. Louisiana Tech comes in third after scoring 77 points. The win was Idaho’s first WAC men’s title in any sport and an impressive improvement from last season’s last place finish.
Clark and the Idaho Vandals men's distance medley relay team ended Utah State’s five-year run of WAC titles with a dramatic victory at the finish line. Utah State’s Chio Lopez reeled in Stephane Colle down the stretch, but Colle was able to retake the lead and earn the win with a final lunge at the line. Idaho ran a 9:56.87, while Utah State clocked in at 9:56.92. Louisiana Tech was felled by an injury and did not finish.
In the 800-metre, Clark finished with a time of 1:53.34, half a second behind teammate and first-place finisher Josh Dalton.