Boise State triple jumper Ryan Grinnell set a national best today in Nampa at the Blue and Orange Classic to pace the Broncos.  Grinnell recorded an NCAA automatic qualifying mark of 53-feet, 4.5 inches and achieved the third best mark in Boise State history.

Grinnell’s jump represents the Olympic qualifying standard in the event in his second meet since transferring from Montana.  Grinnell, who earned an NCAA provisional qualifying leap of 7’6” in the high jump last week, also achieved a provisional standard today in the long jump with a distance of 25-1.

Simon Wardhaugh and Jarrod Stevens went 1-2 in the weight throw, with Wardhaugh claiming a provisional mark of 20.85 meters and Stevens finishing with a mark of 18.68.  Savvas Diakonikolas finished second in the long jump today with another provisional mark of 25-5.25.  Diakonikolas’s jump was also the second best in Bronco indoor history, behind only Eugene Greene’s jump of 25-10.75 in 1990.  Diakonikolas was also second in the triple to Grinnell with a provisional mark of 50-11 while Zacharias Arnos was third for a 1-2-3 Bronco finish. 

Eleni Kafourou improved upon her provisional mark of last week in the triple jump in winning the event this afternoon with a mark of 42-3.5, more than four feet better than her nearest competitor.  Kafourou also finished fourth in the long jump to three Pac-10 opponents.

Brian Pierre captured first place in his first collegiate race, the men’s 3000-meter run, with a time of 8:39.93.  Freshman Kevin Higgs and senior Cody Eaton tied for second in the mile with times of 4:16.5.  Senior Nick Cunningham was third in the 200 with a 21.88 while Marlon Douglas tied for fourth in the 60-meter dash with a 7.01.

Paige Olivetti and Nataucha Lowry went one-two in the 400 meters for another Bronco highlight.  Olivetti completed the distance in 57.03 with Lowry finishing in 57.56.  Megan Olivetti and Lowry finished fourth and fifth, respectively, in the 200, behind only three sprinters from the Pac-10.  Megan also recorded a tie for third in the 60-meter hurdles in 8.79.  Junior star Kayleen McDowell was within a second of Arizona’s Christine Rodgers to finish a strong second in the 800 with a time of 2:16.58.   

The NCAA National Indoor Championships will be held Mar. 14-15, at Fayetteville, Ark.

The Broncos continue the indoor season with the United Heritage Classic Feb. 1-2, at the Idaho Sports Center in Nampa.