"There is a night-and-day difference," said senior pole vaulter Patricia Gauthier. "Because of what happened at WAC Indoors we want it so bad. There is a complete transformation on the team. Right after WAC Indoors girls were like, 'What event can I do? Even if it's just one point, put me in that.'

"Before it was a lot more me-centered: I want to do the best at my one event, don't distract me. But now it's about team and that's really cool because in track and field you rarely get that."

After its first years were spent desperately trying to stay out of the basement, Hawai'i — buoyed by the remarkable 27-point performance of Mallory Gilbert — led this year's WAC Indoors until the last event. It was heartbreaking and illuminating. Suddenly a squad of 40 disparate personalities had discovered a single heartbeat, and a united mission to make jaws drop.

"That one point was more motivation than letdown," said All-American pentathlete Annett Wichmann, a junior from Germany. "The team is all connected for the first time. ... I've never had track and field as a team sport before, from all the years I've competed."

Added high jumper/Rainbow Wahine middle blocker Amber Kaufman: "It feels like just as much of a team as volleyball if not more because everyone is not competing for positions and they are rooting for each other."

Gauthier, who has already qualified for NCAA Regionals along with nine teammates, might enter triple jump this week. Vaulter Samantha Whitehall and runner/long jumper Candace Rosenthal are giving high jump a try. Two-time defending WAC high jump champion Emily Sheppard is in the heptathlon. Kaufman could add javelin to a collegiate athletic career that already includes volleyball starter and NCAA regional high jumper.

Wichmann has won the past two WAC heptathlons and also ranks third in the WAC in high jump, long jump and javelin. She believes the javelin motion is similar to spiking and when Kaufman's first throw came out of her hand, Wichmann was blown away. "Her talent is insane," the German said.

"I was so impressed that so many people came up after they saw Mallory, inspired by her performance," coach Carmyn James said. "The cool thing was so many people came up and said, 'Hey, I can do other events too.' Sure they're secondary events, but it might help us pick up an extra point or two. I like the enthusiasm, but I'm concerned we don't spread ourselves too thin."

The 'Bows are a WAC-best 58th among the 294 Division I teams in the last rankings and have eight athletes among the top 30. They might not be favored this week, particularly with hurdler/runner Thalia Amanakis injured and Gilbert, the WAC Indoor MVP, out of eligibility. But they absolutely have a shot at what eluded them in March, and the drive.

Now James is trying to help them deal with having a target on their backs for the first time, and walking the fine line between going all out and trying so hard you twist yourself in a knot.

"Individually, they each need to focus on the process and not the outcome," she said. "Or, as I emphasized at our team banquet a couple of weeks ago, they need to focus on the passion and not the points.

"It really was an amazing unity (at WAC Indoors), which seldom happens in track and field. To be able to have that was pretty exciting. Now we have to try and recreate that passion, and the passion leads to points."

Hawai'i set 23 personal bests at its last WAC championship, and gave the rest of the conference an awful lot to think about. Before, the 'Bows' impact came solely in individual events. Along with Wichmann, Sheppard is going for a third straight WAC championship, in high jump. Meghan Weaver, ranked second in WAC discus, is headed to her fourth straight regional and Gauthier her third; she and Jessica Custance became the first UH vaulters to clear four meters (13-plus feet) this season.

Now 22 Rainbow Wahine are ranked among the WAC's top eight in their events, which is how deep points go, and 24 school records have been set — seven by Amanakis. UH has never finished better than sixth at WAC Outdoors, but that is irrelevant for this team, which found itself cheering for each other in the pits and stands at WAC Indoors. They know what is possible now, and have been waiting 2 1/2 months to grab it.

"I was devastated to lose by one point," Weaver said. "That was hard. I cried. It has stayed with me until now. It's hard to think that if I had just thrown 10 centimeters more we would have had another point. If a person would have jumped one centimeter more we would have had a point. I'm just gunning for No. 1 because there's no more points I can get after that."