The sport was revived three years ago with six scholarships and 23 on the roster. Nearly that many will go to this week's Western Athletic Conference Outdoor Championships, which begin tomorrow in Houston.

There are now 40 on the roster, with an NCAA-maximum 18 scholarships. A "junior varsity" feeder program is planned next season to help streamline talent development for Carmyn James and Andy McInnis, the program's two full-time coaches. For the first time, walk-ons will have to meet standards.

This season, six student-athletes have shattered 13 school records. The team has accounted for more than 300 personal bests — 40 on its last trip. Now, if it could just shed its eighth-place WAC habit, which is the hope this week.

"The focus with each athlete is to do the best you can and rise to the occasion that way — have your best performance of the season at the WAC Championships," says James, the head coach. "From a team point of view, the thinking is that with what we have this year, we can actually start moving up the results ladder. Collectively, we have a much more competitive bunch of athletes."

Freshmen Kelly Young (800, 400 hurdles) and Dana Buchanan (1,500), sophomore Novelle Murray (discus) and junior Tasha Monroe (long jump) give the Rainbow Wahine four NCAA West Regional qualifiers for the second year.

Young and Monroe probably have the best shot of catapulting into nationals with a top-five regional finish. Both initially caught the attention of James and McInnis with their fearlessness as much as their fast feet.

Monroe's presence here might be fate. She was happy at home in Canada, working while going to York University to pay for her education and the track habit she'd developed relatively late in life. Monroe was planning to take time off to save money for her final years when UH showed up with a better option.

Friends nearly scared her off when they told her it was an all-girls school. When Monroe discovered UH was just an all-girls team, she became the program's 11th Canadian — hardly a surprise with two Canadian coaches. Monroe's parents are from Trinidad, but met after settling in Ontario.

Since landing, she has run UH's first sub-12-second 100 meter since 1985 and learned to "sail" in the long jump. Her new take-off technique — she used to do a hitch kick after popping off the board — helps her get her feet out front.

"That alone could help her improve another foot," James says. "If she gets this on the right day, she could win the West Regional."

Monroe, as focused on the track as she is loquacious off it, had her longest jump a month ago — 19 feet, 9ý inches.

"I've gotten a lot more consistent here, but they were like, this is what you need to do if you want to go further," Monroe says. "It's the simplest thing in the world, a lot easier than the old in-air stuff I was doing, but I can't get it. I have to get it to be second nature."

She won't worry about it this week. "No one knows me, there's no expectations on me, and I know I've got next season," Monroe says. "I know I'll get it by then."

Still, she says she "always wants to win" and her performances this season back her up.

Young, the only Australian on the team, has the same tunnel vision to track success. She has sent Hawai'i's 800-meter marks down under. She broke a 21-year-old record — give or take a 16-year program sabbatical — when she ran a 2:07.47. She is ranked 11th nationally by Trackwire's Dandy Dozen, a virtual rating program.

The success on straightaways has helped her in hurdles, where coaches are encouraging her to run more fluidly, and ignore the 30-inch obstacles. Her 400 hurdle time of 1:01.18 is less than a second off the school record.

She hopes to have that record before she leaves Houston. At McInnis' insistence, Young has finally learned to "stop thinking."

"He's always told me I thought too much," Young says. "He says don't worry about the hurdles, you're thinking too much. I suppose I was."

Her goal coming here was to improve all her times. Now all that's left is to improve on the improvements. It's all about numbers.