SOFTBALL: Inclement weather led to the cancellation of the Utah State softball team's regular-season finale with Fresno State. The Aggies will end the season with a 10-37 overall record and a 3-17 Western Athletic Conference mark.

The rain also canceled senior day for three Aggie seniors. Utah State will say goodbye to pitcher Lindsey Benson, second baseman Jeanine Hernandez and first baseman Aubrie Stroman. Benson ends her Utah State career third all-time in the Aggie record books in strikeouts with 412. Stroman started every game this season, while Hernandez endured injuries much of the season.

Fresno State ends the regular season with a 33-18 overall and 15-5 in WAC action, continuing pressure on first-place Nevada for contention for the WAC regular-season title and the number one seed for next week's WAC Tournament.

With the two losses Friday, Utah State was eliminated from advancing to the WAC Tournament which will be held in Fresno State May 6-9. This is the first time since USU joined the WAC that not all team's made the WAC Tournament. This season, only the top seven teams advanced to the WAC Tournament.

TRACK & FIELD: At Columbus, junior Steve Strickland improved on his school record time and ran the fourth-fastest time in the NCAA this season in the 3,000m steeplechase Friday night at the Ohio State Jesse Owens Track Classic.

Stickland, a native of Orem (Mountain View HS), clocked an 8:42.71, finishing second behind Aaron Melhorn of Malone University with a winning time of 8:39.74.

"The reason that Steve wanted to go out there was to get in a fast race and his 8:42.71 is a pretty darn fast time,!u!201d veteran USU head coach Gregg Gensel said. !u!201cHe has been a man on mission this season to run as fast as he can in the steeplechase, and he's done it so far"

The 8:42.71 by Strickland is the fourth-fastest in the NCAA, behind Corey Thorne of Louisville with an 8:39.19. It also is an NCAA regional time, as well as improving on his school record time of 8:49.53, which he previously set on April 5 at the Oregon Invitational. Strickland's time also improves on his top mark in the Western Athletic Conference this season. The number two spot is 9:05.75 by Idaho's Kinsey Dinnel.

Strickland will pursue the WAC record of 8:21.48, held by Jim Svenoy of UTEP in 1995, when Strickland and Utah State host the WAC Outdoor Track and Field Championships on May 13-16 at USU's Ralph Maughan Track Stadium.

Southern Utah

SOFTBALL: Southern Utah softball claimed both ends of a Saturday Summit League double-header at UMKC--taking the first match 4-1, and the second game pitcher's duel 1-0 in Kansas City.