Men’s and women’s teams each sit seventh after first day of competition

The Eastern Washington University track and field team kicked off the Big Sky Indoor Championships in Bozeman, Mont., Friday (Feb. 22) with a number of strong performances across the board. Both of Eastern’s teams sit seventh with the women having 18.5 points and the men having 12.

“I actually had thought we would be a little higher in the standings,” said head women’s coach Marcia Mecklenburg, “Tomorrow we’ll step out and try to hang with the competition.”

In the women’s weight throw, Emma Murillo finished third with a personal-best toss of 58-8 1/2, earning all-conference honors. Vania Tauvela was fourth with a throw of 56-8 3/4. Murillo’s mark tied her with Tauvela for third all-time in school history.

“I’m really proud of those two because they competed well and didn’t let the competition get to them,” said Mecklenburg.

Senior Marlyn Anderson capped off his final indoor season with an all-conference performance, finishing third with a personal best of 56-11 1/4. That mark moves him up to fifth all-time at Eastern, now ranking right below his father, Bruce Anderson, who had an indoor best of 57-0 3/4 that ranks fourth.

Jon Buchanan placed seventh with a personal-best throw of 55-2 3/4, now ranking him 10^th all-time in school history.

“Both Marlyn and Jon capped off the season with excellent marks,” said head men’s coach Stan Kerr, “It will set them both up for a great outdoor season.”

Brad Michael qualified for finals in both the 400 and 200, running times of 48.51 and 21.76, respectively. He will enter the finals ranked third in the 200 and fifth in the 400.

“Brad will be competitive going into both of those finals,” said Kerr, “He feels it’s his time to make a mark in this conference.”

Freshman David Thor qualified for finals in the 800 meters, running a personal-best time of 1:53.76 to rank sixth going into finals.

“David hit a lifetime personal record and we’re very excited for him,” said Kerr, “He’s doing a great job especially for his first championship experience.”

Eastern had two scorers in the women’s long jump, with Alyssa Neal placing sixth (18-5 3/4) and Brianna Okoro placing seventh with a season best of 18-5. 

“Alyssa and Brianna pulled it off and put it together at the right time,” said Mecklenburg, “That’s what we expect from our athletes at this meet.”

Vince Hamilton ran a time of 15:15.11 in the 5,000 meters, placing eighth and scoring a point for the Eagles.

Other scorers on the day include Cody Fishel (sixth in high jump), Robin Taylor (tied-sixth in pole vault) and Anandae Clark (tied-sixth in pole vault). Keisa Monterola, the defending champion in the pole vault, entered the competition with the bar at 12-9, but was unable to clear it.

“We stick together through thick and thin,” said Kerr, “That’s the nature of our sport. We’re looking forward to getting back out there tomorrow and definitely improve on our overall ranking.”

The BSC Championships will resume Saturday (Feb. 23) at 11 a.m.