On a day when the stars probably would have aligned for Annett Wichmann if the Western Athletic Conference Outdoor Track and Field Championships had run that late, the Hawai'i sophomore won the heptathlon at Cooke Field.

Wichmann's school-record 5,374 points yesterday put her far over the provisional NCAA standard. She should be the second Rainbow Wahine since the program's rebirth six years ago to qualify for nationals, in Sacramento next month.

Wichmann overtook Utah State senior Lacey Hulbert with a monstrous javelin throw and held a 26-point advantage going into the seventh and final event, the 800 meters. Hulbert needed to beat Wichmann by two seconds to duplicate the gold medal she won at WAC Indoors in February — when she beat Wichmann by two seconds.

This time, in a Manoa mist of mystical proportions, Wichmann never gave Hulbert a chance. She ran on Hulbert's shoulder for 700 meters, then blew by her on the final turn to win in 2:23.01.

"The rain helped," said Wichmann, acknowledging home track advantage. "It cools you down."

Wichmann fell to her knees and celebrated privately. Her parents, who traveled 7,500 miles from Germany to watch and provide home cooking the week of the meet, went wild on the side.

Then UH teammate Mallory Gilbert, fifth overall with two personal bests yesterday, hugged Wichmann. Hulbert came over to embrace the new champion.

"I knew I had to beat Annett by two seconds, but when she passed me I was like, 'You know what? Go for it' because I wouldn't be able to touch her," Hulbert said. "So I just watched her. Watching her ahead of me really made me happy for her because I knew she would cheer for me if she was in my spot."

UH coach Carmyn James was happier yet, with an 800 strategy that worked like a charm, like everything else on Wichmann's ideal day.

"It didn't matter how fast any of the other girls were because those two were so far ahead," James said. "The plan was just stay on Lacy's shoulder and let her do all the work because of the wind and everything, knowing Annett was used to heat and humidity and everything else.

"And knowing she is so competitive. Annett doesn't just go for time, she wants to win. And she needed a high score (for nationals). So the deal was to bust it coming off the curve and then she'd have the wind at her back."

Louisiana Tech basketball player Amber Metoyer was three seconds behind Wichmann and Hulbert just after that. Hulbert finished with 5,304 points, which also should easily send her to Sacramento. Metoyer took third overall, with 4,977 points — three off provisional standard. Gilbert was fifth with a personal-best 4,376.

There are no NCAA regionals for heptathlon. Heptathletes who score 5,500 points automatically advance to nationals. Those who reach 5,000 are provisional qualifiers. Last year, those who scored 5,200 advanced.

Logan Moore, a Utah State junior, won the decathlon with 6,713 points yesterday. Idaho's Ryan Lang was second with 6,456, followed by fellow senior teammate Marcus Luckstead with 6,341. Boise State senior Keron Francis led after three events Wednesday, but injured his hamstring and pulled out. Francis is ranked third nationally in javelin.

Wichmann and Gilbert set four school and personal records Wednesday, Gilbert barely brushing the bar off on a high jump that would have put her into NCAA Regionals. But Hulbert won three of four events, with Wichmann taking shot put. Hulbert grabbed the lead in the first 15 seconds by beating Wichmann in the 100-meter hurdles and scoring 925 points. Wichmann started yesterday 115 points back and fell back 69 more points after Hulbert won long jump.

But Wichmann let loose with a season-best throw of 141 feet, 3 inches in javelin. It was more than 27 feet farther than any of the other eight competitors and worth 726 points. Hulbert had a personal best by 16 feet (105-2), earning 516 points.

Wichmann was second to Hulbert at WAC Indoors. In her first year at UH, Wichmann shattered the school heptathlon record at the Northridge Multis with 4,940 points. Two weeks ago, she broke her own Day 1 total and was on NCAA pace before coming down with a virus that forced her to withdraw. That only made yesterday's performance sweeter.

"I knew I had one competition left to get the score, but that's quite a lot of pressure," she said. "I knew, under normal circumstances, I could do it. But you never know what could happen."

Individual events are today and tomorrow. Wichmann has Hawai'i's top mark in long jump (17-6), triple jump (38-4.25) and javelin (141-3). Teammates Patricia Gauthier (pole vault) and Meghan Weaver (shot put, discus, hammer) have already qualified for NCAA West Regionals, May 26 and 27 in Provo, Utah. Wichmann is the first UH athlete to advance to the NCAA Championship since Cheryl Smith in 2001.

Hawai'i, whose best WAC finish was sixth last year, finds itself in the rare position of leading going into the final two days. The Rainbow Wahine have 14 points, with USU second at nine. Women's favorite Louisiana Tech has six points.

Reach Ann Miller at amiller@honoluluadvertiser.com.