Idaho Collegiate and Open will be Eastern’s last meets prior to the Big Sky Championships

The Eastern Washington University track and field team will have its last opportunity to earn Big Sky qualifying marks this weekend as it competes in the Idaho Collegiate Friday (Feb. 15) and Idaho Open Saturday (Feb. 16) at the Kibbie Dome in Moscow, Idaho.

“This is do-or-die time for us,” said head women’s coach Marcia Mecklenburg, “Hopefully the athletes who are on the bubble will move up and get qualified.”

With the Big Sky Championships on the horizon, the Eagles will look for more competitors to book their tickets to the meet, whether that is through hitting a conference standard or solidifying themselves among the top 14 on the conference lists.

“Both of our squads are about 95 percent set for the Championships,” said head men’s head coach Stan Kerr, “It would be terrific to notch a couple more people onto the Big Sky list.”

Eastern has a total of 23 conference qualifying marks on the season, with 16 for the men and seven for the women. There are also 20 men and 11 women who currently sit among the top 14 in their respective events in the Big Sky.

“At this point, I really feel like there are athletes in every event area that can still qualify,” said Mecklenburg, “They all have potential and they need to get it done this weekend.”

Competition at the Idaho Collegiate starts Friday at 9:30 a.m. The Idaho Open will begin at 8:30 a.m. Saturday. Those meets will conclude the regular season for the Eagles, as the BSC Indoor Championships will be held next week in Bozeman, Mont., on Feb. 22-23.

“The expectations are for us to have our peak performances at conference, “said Kerr, “This weekend will be another great tune up for that.”

Men’s Qualifiers/Records

Big Sky Championships – Feb. 22-23 – Bozeman, Mont.
NCAA Championships – Mar. 8-9 – Fayetteville, Ark.
School Records Broken: None
Total Big Sky Championships Qualifying Marks Attained: 16

Marlyn Anderson – Shot Put – 54-3 3/4 – Snohomish, Wash. (Snohomish HS ’09)
Zack Nielsen – Weight Throw – 59-9 – Renton, Wash. (Lindbergh HS ’09)
Jordan Arakawa – Weight Throw – 58-6 1/2 – Olympia, Wash. (Capital HS ’10)
Michael Okoro – 400 meters – 48.98 – Lakewood, Wash. (Clover Park HS ’10)
Michael Okoro – 200 meters – 21.96 – Lakewood, Wash. (Clover Park HS ’10)
Nick Stearns – Pole Vault – 15-5 – Pahrump, Nev. (Pahrump Valley HS ’11)
Cody Fishel – High Jump – 6-6 3/4 – Covington, Wash. (Kentwood HS ’09)
Thomas Kassa – High Jump – 6-6 3/4 – Anacortes, Wash. (Anacortes HS ’10)
Vince Hamilton – 5,000 meters – 14:24.52 – Spokane, Wash. (North Central HS ‘11/ Boise State)
Vince Hamilton – 3,000 meters – (Qualified in 5,000) – Spokane, Wash. (North Central HS ‘11/ Boise State)
Chris Schroll – 5,000 meters – 14:55.10 – Puyallup, Wash. (Emerald Ridge HS ‘10/ UNC-Pembroke)
Chris Schroll – 3,000 meters – (Qualified in 5,000) – Puyallup, Wash. (Emerald Ridge HS ‘10/ UNC-Pembroke)
Jon Buchanan – Shot Put – 53-6 1/2 – Yakima, Wash. (East Valley HS ’09)
Brad Michael – 400 meters – 48.53 – Vancouver, Wash. (Skyview HS ’11)
Jon Buchanan – Weight Throw – 56-1 1/4 – Yakima, Wash. (East Valley HS ’09)
Jake Clizbe – Long Jump – 22-9 3/4 – Kalama, Wash. (Kalama HS ’12)

Women’s Qualifiers/Records

Big Sky Championships – Feb. 22-23 – Bozeman, Mont.
NCAA Championships – Mar. 8-9 – Fayetteville, Ark.
School Records Broken: None
Total Big Sky Championships Qualifying Marks Attained: Seven (New: Two: Penaloza 5K, 3K)

Keisa Monterola – Pole Vault – 12-9 1/2 – Caracus, Venezuela (Licro Caracas HS ‘06/ Clackamas CC)
Anandae Clark – Pole Vault – 12-6 1/4 – Nine Mile Falls, Wash. (Lakeside HS ’12)
Robin Taylor – Pole Vault – 12-9 1/2 – Blaine, Wash. (Blaine HS ’10)
Vania Tauvela – Weight Throw – 58-8 1/2– Orting, Wash. (Orting HS ’09)
Elise Jepsen – High Jump – 5-5 – Kennewick, Wash. (Kamiakin HS ’09)
Berenice Penaloza – 5,000 meters – 17:52.41 – Yakima, Wash. (Eisenhower HS ’11)
Berenice Penaloza – 3,000 meters – (Qualified in 5,000) – Yakima, Wash. (Eisenhower HS ’11)

RETURNING ALL-BIG SKY ATHLETES

The following Eagle athletes have earned All-Big Sky Conference honors (top three finish) in previous Big Sky Conference track and field championships (indoors and outdoors):

Jonathan Buchanan – (2011 Indoors: 3rd in shot put)
Brad Michael – (2012 Outdoors: 3rd in 400; 2012 Indoors: 2nd in 400, 3rd in 200)
Zack Nielsen – (2012 Indoors: 3rd in weight throw)
Michael Okoro (2011 Outdoors: Champion in 200)
Phillip Puccino – (2012 Indoors: 3rd in triple jump)
Nick Stearns – (2012 Indoors: 3rd in pole vault)
Brad Wall – (2012 Indoors: 3rd in 400; 2011 Outdoors: Champion in 400; 2011 Indoors: Champion in 400; 2010 Outdoors: Champion in 400)
Steven Warner (2012 Outdoors: 3rd in 110 hurdles; 2012 Indoors: Champion in 60 hurdles)
4x400 Relay (2011 Outdoors: 3rd/Michael Okoro, Kramer Green, Collin Green, Brad Wall; 2012 Indoors: Champion/Collin Green, Michael Okoro, Brad Michael, Brad Wall)
4x100 Relay (2011 Outdoors: 2nd/Alex Flores, Michael Okoro, Kurt Williams, Brad Wall)

Michelle Coombs – (2012 Outdoors: 2nd in Javelin; 2009 Outdoors: Champion in Javelin)
Keisa Monterola  - (2012 Outdoors: Champion in pole vault; 2012 Indoors: Champion in pole vault)
Olivia Midles – (2011 Outdoors: 2nd in hammer throw)
Brianna Okoro - (2011 Outdoors: 3rd in long jump; 2010 Outdoors: Champion in 200, 3rd in 100, 3rd in long jump)
Robin Taylor – (2012 Outdoors: 2nd in pole vault)
Elise Jepsen – (2012 Outdoors: 3rd in high jump)
4x400 Relay – (2012 Indoors: 2nd/Whitney Leavitt, Nicole Nida, Angelica Rodriguez, Chelsea Lawhead)

SEASON NOTES

Big Sky Conference Preseason Polls
Voting is calculated with each team receiving 11 points for a first place vote, 10 points for a second place vote, etc. Coaches are allowed to vote for their respective teams. Below are the final results with the number of first place votes in parenthesis.

Men's Poll 

Team, Points
Northern Arizona, 119 – nine first-place votes
Montana State, 97 – two first-place votes
Sacramento State, 93
Weber State, 88
Eastern Washington, 78
Southern Utah, 65
Idaho State, 64
Montana, 53
North Dakota, 25
Northern Colorado, 24
Portland State, 20

Women's Poll 

Team, Points
Weber State, 114 – five first-place votes
Sacramento State, 113 – six first-place votes
Northern Arizona, 85
Portland State, 75
Southern Utah, 72
Montana, 65
Montana State, 65
Idaho State, 55
Eastern Washington, 39
North Dakota, 22
Northern Colorado, 21

TOP SEASON PERFORMANCES

Michael Okoro- Sprints - Lakewood, Wash. (Clover Park HS ’10)
Okoro won the 400 meters at the UW Indoor Preview, clocking a time of 48.98 to qualify for the Big Sky Championships. He grabbed his second qualifying mark of the season at the Montana State Open, placing first in the 200 meters with a time of 21.89.

Marlyn Anderson – Throws – Snohomish, Wash. (Snohomish HS ’09)
Anderson has steadily improved in the shot put at each meet, going from a throw of 53-7 1/2 at the UW Invitational,  to getting off a toss of 54-3 1/4 at the Vandal Indoor, to reaching yet another personal-best at the Husky Classic with a throw of 55-2. That mark put Anderson into the record books, now ranking him 10th all-time at Eastern.

Zack Nielsen – Throws – Renton, Wash. (Lindbergh HS ’09)
Nielsen had a personal-best toss of 59-9 in the weight throw at the Vandal Collegiate, moving him up the all-time list at Eastern from seventh to fifth. Last season, he placed third at the BSC Championships with a throw of 59-7.

Jordan Arakawa – Throws – Olympia, Wash. (Capital HS ’10)
Arakawa hit the qualifying standard in the weight throw at the Candy Cane Invite, getting off a throw of 55-11 3/4. He improved on that mark at the UW Invitational with a toss of 58-6 1/2.

Jon Buchanan – Throws – Yakima, Wash. (East Valley HS ’09)
Buchanan reached a Big Sky qualifying mark in the shot put at the UW Invitational, hitting a mark of 53-0. He improved on that mark at the Vandal Indoor with a throw of 53-6 1/2. He also qualified in a second event, the weight throw, getting off a toss of 56-1 1/4 in Idaho. He was third in the shot put at the 2011 BSC Indoor Championships.

Cody Fishel – Jumps – Covington, Wash. (Kentwood HS ’09)
Fishel qualified for the Championships in the high jump, clearing the bar at 6-6 3/4 in a winning effort at the Montana State Open. He also won the event at the Vandal Indoor, equaling his season-best mark.

Nick Stearns – Pole Vault – Pahrump, Nev. (Pahrump Valley HS ’11)
Stearns qualified for the Big Sky Championships in the pole vault, clearing a height of 15-5 at the Montana State Open. He cleared the third-best height in school history last year (15-11) in his third-place effort at the BSC Indoor Championships last season.

Vince Hamilton – Distance – Spokane, Wash. (North Central HS ‘10/ Boise State)
In qualifying for the 5,000 meters, Hamilton ran the fourth-fastest time in school history at the UW Invitational, crossing the line at 14:24.52. That time ranks Hamilton 77th in the nation and additionally qualified him for the 3,000 meters at the Big Sky Championships.

Chris Schroll – Distance – Puyallup, Wash. (Emerald Ridge HS ‘10/ UNC-Pembroke)
Schroll ran a time of 14:55.10 in the 5,000 meters at the UW Invitational, qualifying him for the Championships and earning him the 10th spot all-time at Eastern. That also qualifies him for the 3,000 meters at the conference meet.

Brad Michael – Sprints – Vancouver, Wash. (Skyview HS ’11)
Michael qualified for the Championships in the 400 meters at the Vandal Indoor, taking second with a time of 48.53. He was second at the 2012 BSC Championships, setting a new school record of 46.97 as a freshman.

Jake Clizbe – Jumps – Kalama, Wash. (Kalama HS ’12)
Clizbe hit a qualifying mark in the long jump, taking first at the Vandal Collegiate with a jump of 22-9 3/4.

Women’s 4x400 Relay (Whitney Leavitt, Martha Sanford, Leiran Cornish and Angelica Rodriguez)
The 4x400 relay ran a time of 3:50.12 at the Montana State Open, ranking them second all-time in school history. That time also currently puts them fourth on the conference list.

Vania Tauvela – Throws – Orting, Wash. (Orting HS ’09)
Tauvela moved up the record books in the weight throw, getting off a throw of 58-8 1/2 at the UW Invitational to rank third all-time at Eastern. She hit the qualifying mark a few weeks earlier at the UW Indoor Preview.

Keisa Monterola – Pole Vault – Caracas, Venezuela (Licro-Caracas HS ’06/Clackamas CC)
The returning Big Sky Champion in the pole vault both indoors and outdoors last year hit the qualifying mark, clearing 12-9 1/2 at the Candy Cane Invite. She improved on that mark at the UW Husky Classic, getting over the bar at 12-10 1/4 to take sole possession of the top spot on the conference list and rank 55th in the nation. The Venezuelan national record holder broke both of Eastern’s school records last season and was an NCAA All-American indoors.

Robin Taylor – Pole Vault – Blaine, Wash. (Blaine HS ’10)
Taylor cleared an indoor personal-best height of 12-9 1/2 in the pole vault at the at the Vandal Indoor, moving her up to third all-time in school history. That mark puts Taylor in a tie for the No. 2 spot in the conference with Idaho State’s Caitlin Maulin. It also puts Taylor in a tie for the 67th best mark in the nation.

Anandae Clark – Pole Vault – Nine Mile Falls, Wash. (Lakeside HS ’12)
Clark had a jump of 12-6 1/4 in the pole vault at the UW Indoor Preview to place first overall at the meet. That mark ranks Clark sixth all-time at Eastern and also currently puts her in a tie for 96th in the nation.

Elise Jepsen – Jumps – Kennewick, Wash. (Kamiakin HS ’09)
Jepsen hit the qualifying standard in the high jump with a mark of 5-5 at the Montana State Open. She was third at the 2012 BSC Outdoor Championships in that event.

Katie Mahoney – Distance – Richland, Wash. (Richland HS ’11)
Mahoney has cemented herself among the top ten all-time at Eastern in three different distance events during the 2013 indoor season. She ran 10:17.46 in the 3,000 meters at the UW Indoor Preview to move up to sixth all-time in school history. At the UW Invitational, she ran a time of 5:01.48 in the mile, solidifying her No. 4 all-time spot and inching her closer to No. 3 all-time (5:01.34). Mahoney grabbed the tenth spot all-time in the 800 meters, crossing the line in 2:18.38 at the Vandal Indoor.

Alyssa Neal – Jumps – Salem, Ore. (North Salem HS ’12)
Neal had a triple jump of 37-1 1/4 at the Vandal Collegiate, moving her into the ninth top-ten list all-time at Eastern and just missing the Big Sky qualifying mark of 37-8 3/4.

Berenice Penaloza – Distance – Yakima, Wash. (Eisenhower HS ’11)
Penaloza qualified for the Big Sky Championships in the 5,000 meters, running a time of 17:52.41 at the UW Husky Classic. That time also qualified Penaloza for the 3,000 and moved her up a spot in the record books, now ranking fourth all-time in school history.

Emma Murillo – Throws- Kennewick, Wash. (Southridge HS ’10)
Murillo has been inching towards the conference qualifying mark in the weight throw during the 2013 indoor season while also moving up the record books. She had a personal-best toss of 53-6 1/4, moving her into the No. 8 spot all-time at Eastern and just coming short of the conference standard of 53-9.

LINKS

EWU Track and Field - http://goeags.com/sports/c-track/index
Big Sky Indoor Track and Field - http://www.bigskyconf.com/index.aspx?path=itf&
NCAA Track and Field - http://www.ncaa.com
Big Sky Direct Athletics Performance List - http://www.directathletics.com/leagues/track/63.html