The Eastern Washington University indoor track and field team earned nine titles, two school records, and a men's team victory in the season opening Candy Cane IX at the Thorpe Fieldhouse in Cheney, Wash, on Saturday (Dec. 3).

The men's team finished ahead of Big Sky Conference opponent Montana with a team score of 59, while the women finished behind UM with a score of 39.

"Many thanks to Montana for their role in making the Candy Cane meet a very competitive and valuable experience for athletes from both teams," said men's head coach Stan Kerr.

Men's Top Performers
In the running events, freshman Dawson Lack took first place in the 55-meter dash with a time of 6.24, setting a new EWU all-time indoor record. He surpassed the previous record set by Johnnie Williams (2000) by only .01 seconds. Close behind Lack, was sophomore Jonah Mathews, taking second overall with a time of 6.34.

The Eagles swept the jumping competitions, earning first in all four events. In the high jump, sophomore Chez Jackson led the pack with a final mark of 6-08 3/4. Last year's Big Sky indoor and outdoor pole vault champion, Larry Still, started right where he left off with a first place finish in the event. He won with a final jump of 15-11. Freshman Keshun McGee was the leader in both the long jump and triple jump, with leaps of 23-02 1/2 and 49-07, respectively. His mark in the triple jump was good for a new meet record.

In the throwing events, senior Scottie Miller won the shot put title with a mark of 51-07 3/4, while junior Aaron Cunningham led the weight throw competition with a toss of 56-11 1/2.

Women's Top Performers
Junior Rebecca Tarbert highlighted the women's events by setting a new indoor program record in the 55-meter dash with a time of 6.78. Her first-place time was .17 seconds better than the previous record set back in 1995 by Joyce Rainwater.

In the pole vault, Eastern finished with the event's top-five performances. Senior Erin Clark was that groups leading athlete, finishing first with a vault of 12-10 1/4. Junior Paris Flenoy finished second in both the shot put and weight throw, with tosses of 44-04 and 52-10 1/4, respectively.

Team Scoring
Men: 1. Eastern (59), 2. Montana (32)

Women: 1. Montana (68), 2. Eastern (39)

Comments from Men's Head Coach Stan Kerr
"I am very excited that we were able to open up the indoor season with solid contributions from the whole team. Our freshman, however, may have stolen the moment today with Keshun McGee and Dawson Lack. Both set meet records in their respective events. This is a good team with a bright future."

Comments from Women's Head Coach Marcia Mecklenburg
"The women had some great individual performances highlighted by Rebecca Tarbert's win in the 55-meter dash and Erin Clark's win in the pole vault. Those were both personal-record performances, and is a great way to start the season.  It would have been nice to have the dual meet score a little closer, but Montana is a solid team that is in the hunt for the conference title. I think by the end of February we will gain on them."

What's Next
EWU's 2016-17 indoor track and field season continues with the University of Idaho Open, set to begin on Friday, Jan. 13 in Moscow, Idaho.