MSU Invite Meet Schedule

The Eagles will get a taste of track and altitude this week in Bozeman, Mont.

The Eastern Washington University track and field teams continue their 2015 indoor season by competing Friday (Feb. 5) at the Montana State Invitational at Brick Breeden Fieldhouse in Bozeman, Mont., the site of the upcoming Big Sky Conference Championships.

Eastern expects to take a full team to Bozeman for the competition at 4,821 feet above sea level. Action begins Friday at 3:30 p.m. with the men's weight throw, women's long jump, men's pole vault, and men's high jump. Running events start at 5:05 with the women's mile. The meet will consist of a series of dual meets involving Eastern, MSU, Montana and Sacramento State.

In three weeks, the Eagles will return for the league championships on Feb. 25-27. Currently, EWU has met qualifying standards a league-best 20 times for the meet. The Eastern women have the most qualifiers among women's programs with 14 standards met, and the men have six.

Last week, the Eagles had three new qualifiers at the University of Washington Invitational at the Dempsey Indoor Center. In the women's 5,000 meters, seniors Mayra Chavez (17:35.57), Berenice Penaloza (17:04.32), and junior Sarah Reiter (16:41.75) all met the Big Sky Conference Indoor Championships qualifying standard and improved their positions on Eastern's all-time best list. Reiter improved her No. 2 all-time best time by nearly six seconds (16:47.48), and is now less than six seconds behind the school record of 16:35.08 set by Kari McKay in 1992. Penaloza improved her previous ranking from fifth to third, and Chavez improved her previous ranking of ninth to fifth.
 

Links . . .

EWU Track and Field 
Big Sky Indoor Track and Field
NCAA Track and Field
TFRRS- Track & Field Results Reporting System
USTFCCCA- U.S. Track & Field & Cross Country Coaches Association

Men's Qualifiers/Records . . .

Big Sky Championships – Feb. 25-26 – Bozeman, Mont. NCAA Championships – Mar. 11-12 – Birmingham, Ala.

School Records Broken: None Total Big Sky Championships Qualifying Marks Attained: 6 60 Meters – 6.84 – Jeremy VanAssche

60 Meters – 6.97 – Jonah Mathews

***55 Meters – 6.49 – Jonah Mathews

Heptathlon – 4,965 points – Aaron Pullin

Pole Vault – 16-2 3/4 – Larry Still

Pole Vault – 15-9 – Nick Stearns

***The 60 takes place at the Big Sky Championships, but competitors may also qualify for that event by meeting qualifying standards in the 55 meters.

Women's Qualifiers/Records . . .

Big Sky Championships – Feb. 25-26 – Bozeman, Mont. NCAA Championships – Mar. 11-12 – Birmingham, Ala.

School Records Broken: 3 (Sarah Reiter – 3,000 – 9:39.19; Johanna Sherman – 600 – 1:39.64; Jozie Kimes – Pentathlon – 3,499). Total Big Sky Championships Qualifying Marks Attained: 14 ***55 Meters – 6.99 – Rebecca Tarbert

60 Meters – 7.63 – Rebecca Tarbert

3,000 Meters – 9:39.19 – Sarah Reiter

5,000 Meters – 16:41.75 – Sarah Reiter

5,000 Meters – 17:04.32 – Berenice Penaloza

5,000 Meters – 17:35.57 – Mayra Chavez

High Jump – 5-7 – Tierra White

Weight Throw – 62-8 1/2 - Kaytlyn Coleman

Weight Throw – 56-10 1/4 – Kelsie Forcier

Shot Put – 47-6 1/4 - Kaytlyn Coleman

Pole Vault – 12-6 1/4 – Anandae Clark

Pole Vault – 12-5 1/2 – Elizabeth Prouty

Pole Vault – 12-0 1/2 – Samantha Raines

Pentathlon – 3,499 points - Jozie Kimes

***The 60 takes place at the Big Sky Championships, but competitors may also qualify for that event by meeting qualifying standards in the 55 meters. Tarbert's time converts to 7.53 in the 60 meters.

Last Week's Top Performances . . .

* The men's distance medley relay ran a time of 10:19.15, which ranks them seventh all-time. The team consisted of Steaven Zachman, Austin Upmeyer, Logan Stahl and Stephen Bottoms.

* Senior Katie Mahoney ran the mile in 4:52.35, coming just a half-second from her own school record of 4:51.85 set a year ago.

* Junior Paige Hammock ran a time of 9.36 in the 60-meter hurdles, ranking her tenth on Eastern's all-time best list.

* The women's distance medley relay placed sixth overall with a time of 12:00.03, which ranks them third on the all-time best list. The team included Paula Gil-Echevarria, Johanna Sherman, Katie Mahoney and Sarah Reiter. The school record is 11:15.50 set a year ago on a team which included Gil-Echevarria and Mahoney.

* Dominique Butler had a distance of 37-5 3/4 in the triple jump, ranking her ninth on EWU's all-time best list.

* Elizabeth Prouty had a pole vault of 12-0 1/2 to place 10th, but vaulted 12-5 1/2 earlier this season to rank eighth in school history.

* Leanne Asper ran an 800-meter time of 2:17.26, ranking her ninth on EWU's all-time best list.

Season Notes . . . .

*The USTFCCA NCAA Division I week two rankings were announced on Feb. 1 and the EWU women's team was ranked 11th in the west region. Other Big Sky Conference women's teams that achieved top 15 Division I rankings in the Mountain Region were Weber State (ninth), Northern Arizona (tenth), Northern Colorado (11th), and Montana State (15th). EWU's men's team did not rank in the top 15 this week. In the initial rankings announced on Jan. 25, the EWU women were sixth and the men were 15th.

* In the individual USTFCCA rankings announced Feb. 1, the Eagles had seven top ten rankings in the West Region. Those athletes included Jeremy VanAssche (tied for eighth in 60-meters), the men's distance medley relay which included Steaven Zachman, Austin Upmeyer, Logan Stahl, and Stephen Bottoms (ranked seventh), Sarah Reiter (seventh in 5,000-meters), the women's distance medley relay which included Paula Gil-Echevarria, Johanna Sherman, Katie Mahoney, and Sarah Reiter (ranked fifth), Jozie Kimes (eighth in pentathlon), Kelsie Forcier (sixth in weight throw), and Kaytlyn Coleman (fourth in weight throw). Coleman is also ranked 33rd in the nation in the weight throw by USTFCCA and here season-best mark of 62-8 1/2 is the 43rd-best in NCAA Division I.

Comments from Head Men's Coach Stan Kerr . . . .

"We'd like to thank Montana State Coach Dale Kennedy (a graduate of Eastern) for putting together the inaugural meeting of these four Big Sky programs at an indoor meet. This meet in Bozeman on Friday will carry significant value as it is the first of just two remaining meets before the Big Sky indoor championships at the end of this month. Our team has been making great strides in preparation for the indoor championships. Going head-to-head with the other three Big Sky schools will be a first rate test of our readiness to perform at a championship level."

"Several weeks ago we we're discussing the mix of new and veteran athletes and the development/maturity both individually and as a team. I feel, based on the Big Sky performance lists, that we have truly been seeing and experiencing the quality and depth of this team in terms of growth and readiness for competitions of this caliber."

Comments from Head Women's Coach Marcia Mecklenburg . . .

"The Montana State Invite will give our athletes an opportunity to compete in the venue where the Indoor Championships will be held. Anytime we have a chance to experience the track, runway, pits, and rings In a competitive environment we go into the championship meet better prepared on what to a expect. I am excited with how our athletes are competing and performing to this point. This meet provides one more opportunity to qualify and improve."

Returning Men's 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):

Nick Stearns – (2014 Outdoors: 2nd in pole vault; 2013 Outdoors: 2nd in pole vault; 2012 Indoors: 3rd in pole vault) Joey Payne – (2013 Outdoors: 2nd in javelin)

Returning Women's 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):

Katie Mahoney – (2014 Outdoors: 3rd in steeplechase; 2013 Outdoors: 2nd in 3,000 steeplechase) Catie Arrigoni – (2014 Outdoors: Champion in steeplechase, 2nd in 5,000; 2015 Cross Country: 9th) Sarah Reiter – (2015 Outdoors: 2nd in 10,000; 2014 Outdoors: 3rd in 10,000; 2015 Cross Country: 8th & 46th at NCAA Championships; 2014 Cross Country: Champion) Courtney Bray – (2015 Indoors: 3rd in pole vault; 2014 Outdoors: Champion in pole vault) Anandae Clark – (2015 Indoors: 2nd in pole vault) Kaytlyn Coleman – (2015 Indoors: 3rd in weight throw) Paula Gil Echevarria – (2015 Outdoors: 3rd in 3,000 steeplechase)

Distance Medley Relay – (2015 Indoors: 3rd/Paula Gil-Echevarria, Janessa Day, Katie Mahoney, Katie Lynch)

4x100 Relay – (2015 Outdoors: 3rd/Paige Hammock, Erika Lombardo, Brookd Monson, Rebecca Tarbert)

Tierra White – (2015 Indoors: Champion in high jump)

Top Season Performances . . .

* At the UW Preview (Jan. 16), junior Sarah Reiter demolished the previous 23-year-old 3,000 meter record set by Kari McKay in 1992 (9:44.98) with a time of 9:39.19 to place 15th overall at the meet.

* Also at the UW Preview, sophomore Johanna Sherman broke a program record in the 600 meters that was set by current teammate Katie Mahoney at the Candy Cane VII earlier in December with a time of 1:39.64. The previous record set by Mahoney was 1:39.83.

* After a first-place finish in the weight throw at the UW Preview on Jan. 16, senior Kaytlyn Coleman was awarded Big Sky Field Athlete of the Week for the week of Jan. 19. Coleman recorded a seasonal-best toss of 62-8 1/2 inches (19.11m) to win the weight throw. The Lewis-Clark State College transfer was third in the weight throw at last year's Big Sky Championships. Her personal best of 64-8 3/4 in 2015 ranks eighth all-time in Big Sky indoor history and second in school history behind the record of 65-9 held by Nicole Luckenbach (2010).

*Senior Jozie Kimes won the pentathlon with 3,499 points, and set two new records in the process, to highlight the first day of the Eastern Washington University track and field team's Candy Cane VIII on Dec. 4 in the Jim Thorpe Fieldhouse. Surpassing her previous personal best of 3,359, Kimes broke the previous school record of 3,360 set by Christie Kight in 2002. Kight also held the previous Thorpe Fieldhouse record with the same mark.

* Rebecca Tarbert, a sophomore from East Wenatchee, Wash., ran away with a victory in the 55-meter dash at EWU's Candy Cane VIII Invitational on Dec. 5 with a time of 6.99 seconds and was awarded Big Sky Conference Athlete of the Week accolades. Her time moved her to seventh all-time in Big Sky history and third on EWU's all-time best list. Tarbert recorded the two fastest times on the day in the event, also clocking 7.04 in the preliminaries. At last year's Big Sky Conference Indoor Championships, Tarbert competed in the 60-meter dash (7.63) and 200-meter dash (25.24) but did not place in either event.

* Andrew Pullin, a freshman from Centralia, Wash., earned Big Sky Conference Athlete of the Week honors following his first collegiate competition at the Candy Cane VIII on Jan. 4-5. He put together a score of 4,965 points to win the heptathlon and moving up to No. 2 all-time at Eastern with the performance. The school record is 5,222 poitns set by Kersee Lind in 2012.