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The North Texas women captured their first ever Sun Belt Outdoor Championship title

DENTON (5/11/03) -- North Texas set school history on Sunday by amassing a record point total and claiming its first-ever women's outdoor conference track championship by racing away with the 2003 Sun Belt Conference Outdoor Track and Field women's title at Fouts Field.

The Lady Eagles rolled up 179.66 total points to win their first league championship since 1986 when the women's program began league competition. The school's previous best finish in women's competition was last year's third place finish in the Sun Belt championships. Last year's 118.5 points were also the program's previous high mark.

For the third time in the last four years, North Texas head coach Rick Watkins was named the women's Sun Belt Coach of the Year. He previously won the honor twice in the men's division.

"It was an uanbelieveable weekend," said Watkins. "I don't know what else to say. Everybody was a part of this. A lot of people had their best effort in this meet and I think that's what it's all about. The girls fed off each other all weekend. They got stronger as the weekend went on. You can't every expect to dominate a meet like this, but they did."

The nearest competition in the women's bracket was second-place finisher Western Kentucky with 125 points. Third place Florida International ended with 104 points.

For the first time in school history, the Western Kentucky University men's track team has won the Sun Belt Conference Outdoor championship. Not to be outdone, the Lady Topper squad posted a school-record 125 points in the three-day meet to place second, the highest finish in WKU history.

The Hilltoppers trailed Middle Tennessee by four points with just two events remaining on Sunday, but Enda Grandfield won the 5,000 meter run in a time of 15:11.06, while David Altmaier and Daniel Roberts finished fourth and fifth, respectively, to give the Toppers a 15-point lead over the Blue Raiders.

MTSU was able to win the meet's final event, the 4x400 relay, but it was not enough as Western scored a school-record 171 points to take its first conference title.