With the likes of record-breaking seniors Kaytlyn Coleman and Katie Mahoney leading the way, the Eastern Washington University track and field teams begin the postseason by competing in the Big Sky Conference Championships on Wednesday through Saturday (May 11-14) in Greeley, Colo.
 
Hosted by Northern Colorado University on its campus at Nottingham Field, the meet begins Wednesday and Thursday with the men's decathlon and women's heptathlon competitions. The main portion of the meet starts Friday (May 13) with field events slated to start at 9 a.m. Pacific time and running events starting at 1 p.m. Saturday's (May 14) start times are 9 a.m. Pacific time for field events and 11 a.m. for running events.
 
Both Coleman and Mahoney will be in action in finals on Friday in their specialties – Coleman in the women's hammer throw and Mahoney in the 3,000-meter steeplechase. Two other school record holders – men's sprinter Jeremy VanAssche and women's distance runner Sarah Reiter – will also be in pursuit of Big Sky titles.
 
In fact, Eastern's deep corp of women's distance runners should score big points for the Eagles. Mahoney, Reiter, Paula Gil-Echevarria and Catie Arrigoni have combined for seven All-Big Sky Conference honors (top three finish) in the last three years in a trio of distance events. In EWU's first 25 years as a member of the Big Sky Conference, Eastern had just five all-league performers in those same events (steeplechase, 5,000 and 10,000). Mahoney will also compete in the 800, Reiter will compete in Saturday's 5,000, Arrigoni will be in the steeplechase and Gil-Echevarria is entered in the steeplechase and Saturday's 1,500 final.
 
A year ago when Eastern hosted the meet at Roos Field, both the men's and women's teams placed fifth. Earlier this season at the Big Sky Indoor Championships, the women's team finished a best-ever third with a school-record point total of 79 1/2 points.
 
Eastern's all-time best finish outdoors for the women came in 2011 with a third-place finish, and in 2010 the Eagles set a school record with 102 points. The men have placed third on two occasions previously (2009 and 2012), and scored a record 88 points in 2012.
 
After the Big Sky Championships, some of Eastern's top athletes will compete at the NCAA Championships Preliminary Round May 26-28 in Lawrence, Kan.  Advancers from that meet compete in the NCAA Championships June 8-11 in Eugene, Ore.
 
 

Women's Top Entrants . . .

• Senior Kaytlyn Coleman has the league's top hammer throw this season of 200-7, a mark that broke the school record, ranks seventh in league history and is currently 21st in NCAA Division I. Coleman, who placed fifth in the BSC as a junior in the hammer, will also compete in Saturday's shot put competition and enters with the league's fourth-best mark (47-7 1/4). She has won a league-record total of five Big Sky Conference Athlete of the Week honors this season, to go along with three during the indoor campaign. She had a heart-breaking runner-up finish in the weight throw during the indoor championships when North Dakota's Molli Detloff, on her last throw of the day, tied Coleman, then won the title because a better next-best throw. Coleman is a 2011 graduate of Kennewick (Wash.) High School and was a six-time NAIA All-American at Lewis-Clark State College before transferring to Eastern.

 

• Senior Katie Mahoney has broken three school records during the outdoor season, and enters this year's championship with 31 career points scored. She has finishes of second, third, fourth (twice) fifth and sixth in her career, and is just 12 points from moving into third in school history for total points scored at the league championships. She finished third in the steeplechase in 2014 and second in 2013, and earlier this year recorded the ninth-fastest time in league history with a school-record 10:10.33 clocking. She is ranked 24th in NCAA Division, but right ahead of her is Weber State's Ellie Child with a 10:09.68 clocking this year to lead the league and rank 23rd nationally. Mahoney also broke school records in the 1,500 (4:22.92) and 800 (2:11.13) this season, and will run the 800 prelims in Greeley on Friday and hopefully the finals on Saturday. She has the sixth-best time in the league this season, but just 2.39 seconds separates the league's top six performances. Mahoney is a 2011 graduate of Richland (Wash.) High School.

 

• Junior Sarah Reiter will one of the favorites in the 5,000 on Saturday. She set a school record in the 5,000 this season (16:27.33) and although she won't be competing in the 10,000 in Greeley, her time of 33:46.71 was less than a second away from the school record of 33:46.1 set by Kari McKay in 1992. Reiter, who placed 46th at last fall's NCAA Cross Country Championships, was third in the 10k in 2014 and the runner-up last season. Idaho's Kinsey Gomez has recorded league-best times this season in the 5,000 (16:11.17) and 10,000 (33:23.50), with Reiter third. Reiter's 10K time ranks 19th nationally and eighth on the Big Sky's all-time leaders list.

 

• Junior Paula Gil-Echevarria and senior Catie Arrigoni have both recorded previous All-Big Sky performances, with Gil-Echevarria finishing third in the steeplechase last year and Arrigoni winning that event in 2014. Arrigoni also was the 5,000 runner-up in 2014. Gil-Echevarria heads to Greeley with the league's third-best steeplechase time (10:25.82) to rank 62nd nationally. Berenice Penaloza has also put together a solid senior season and has qualified for the league championships in both the 5K and 10K.

 

• Eastern could score lots of points in the pole vault, with Erin Clark, Macey Weitz, Anandae Clark and Elizabeth Prouty all ranking among the 12 competitors who have cleared 12-1 1/2 or better this season. Anandae Clark was the runner-up at the indoor championships in 2015.

 

• Other Eastern athletes ranked in the top eight in their respective events include Rebecca Tarbert (100, 11.97, 8th), Leanne Asper (400 hurdles, 1:02.11, 7th), Tierra White (high jump, 5-5, 7th), Dominique Butler (triple jump, 38-4, 4th), Samantha Lester (discus, 148-3, 6th), Samantha Baker (javelin, 144-8, 4th), Bridgette Underwood (javelin, 143-8, 5th), Kendra Hamm (heptathlon, 4,545, 7th) and Eastern's 4x100 relay team (46.73, sixth). Tarbert won the league's 60-meter title indoors this past winter, while White won the 2015 indoor title in the high jump.Butler was the runner-up in the triple jump indoors in 2016.

 
 
 

Men's Top Entrants . . .

• Sophomore Jeremy VanAssche recorded the fastest 100-meter time in school history (10.31) this season after winning the league's 60-meter title indoors. Although wind-aided, his mark is tops in the league and 28th in NCAA Division I this season, and his wind-aided time of 21.21 in the 200 is second in the league this season and fourth all-time in school history. He also runs the anchor leg on EWU's 4x100 relay team, whose 41.24 clocking this season ranks fourth in the league in 2016 and is the fifth-fastest in EWU history. When he ran his 10.31 time at the Oregon State High Performance meet on April 30, VanAssche finished as the top collegian in the 100 and was third overall to break his own record of 10.36 set as a freshman. He finished behind Ultimate Speed Athletics performers Arthur Delaney (10.11) and Joe Morris (10.14), but was two places ahead of Ryan Bailey (10.48), who competed in that event for the USA at the 2012 Olympics in London. VanAssche is a 2014 graduate of Eastmont High School in East Wenatchee, Wash.

 

• Freshman Larry Still was victorious indoors in his first league championship event, and will try to make it two-in-a-row in Greeley. He has a season-best vault of 16-6 3/4 this season to rank fifth in school history, and is just two inches from the top mark in the league this season by Idaho State's Steven Wacker. Indoors, Still had a school-record vault of 17-0 3/4 to earn Athlete of the Meet accolades at the Big Sky Championships.

 

• Senior Joey Payne, the 2013 Big Sky runner-up in the javelin, has the league's second-best mark with a throw of 219-3 this season. His mark ranks fifth all-time at Eastern, and he trails Montana's Jensen Lillquist by just over a foot (220-10).

 

• Sophomore Aaron Cunningham will compete for the league title in the shot put, with a season-best mark of 56-8 1/2 to rank second in the league behind Northern Arizona's Shawn Collins (58-2). Cunningham's mark ranks sixth in EWU history, and indoors he placed third at the league championships. Cunningham also ranks eighth in the league in the discus with a mark of 161-8, and will also compete in the hammer throw (162-1)

 

• Eastern's 4x100 relay team had a time of 41.24 seconds earlier this season to rank fourth in the conference and fifth all-time in school history. The squad expected to compete in Greeley includes Jonah Mathews, Jose Garcia, Chez Jackson and Jeremy VanAssche.

 

• Eastern athletes who rank in the top eight in the league also include Steaven Zachman (steeplechase, 9:20.67, 5th), Logan Stahl (800, 1:52.94, 8th) and the school's 4x400 relay squad (3:18.94, 8th).

 
 

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

On Prospects for Top Three Finish: "We are shooting for top three again. I don't know how realistic it is to win, but never say never. Everybody is going to be at the top of their game. We have strength in events that are sometimes tricky to compete and score in. Those areas have to perform in order for us to make a realistic run for the title."
 
On Coming Off Third-Place Finish Indoors: "We were pretty good and had a lot of depth, and it's the same heading into the outdoor championship. Our distance crew is really coming on strong and have a lot of depth. If we can get our other athletes to compete at the level they are at right now, we should do pretty good."

On Katie Mahoney and Kaytlyn Coleman: "They've had dream seasons – I couldn't ask for a better way for them to go out as seniors. Katie has been doing well meet after meet and performing at the top of her game -- she's been awesome. Kaytlyn has had the same kind of season, and improved in every meet for a quite a while. They are competing at a high level and it will be fun to see what they can do. We'll see what happens."
 
 

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

On Team Expectation: "We don't have the depth we would like to have because of some key injuries that are going to keep us out of some events. But fifth would be a great placing – the strength of our individual performances will come down to getting on the podium (top three finish) to score a lot of points. To compete for the title you also have so score a lot of points in lower positions through depth. We really push doing the best we can with our top competitors, and hopefully advance them on to the regionals and to Eugene the NCAA Championships."
 
On Title Hopes of Joey Payne, Jeremy VanAssche and Aaron Cunningham: "We have a high set of expectations for a number of individuals. Joey has led the conference in the javelin for the last several weeks, but Montana's thrower (Jensen Lillquist) passed him on Friday, so that will be one of the marquee events in Greeley watching those two go at it. It will be interesting to see what Jeremy is going to do at a little bit of altitude in Greeley. He has aspirations of getting to the NCAA Championships in Eugene and perhaps qualifying for the Olympic Trials with a time of 10.28 or faster. That's definitely on our goal list for this week. Aaron has been steady all season, and is in the upper crust in the conference in all the throws. He competed indoors this year in Bozeman, so he's ready to really start shining and taking our throwing group forward. Joey Payne is a senior captain, but Aaron is one of the foundations of our talented, young throwers group. We're looking forward to seeing Aaron have an all-conference-caliber performance in Greeley."
 
On Freshman Sensation Larry Still in the Pole Vault: "I think he surprised the conference -- and us -- to win the indoor championship and become the athlete of the meet. He's on a good roll right now as well, but he has his work cut out for him in a very competitive field. Pole vault is a quirky enough event that you can go in as the favorite and win it, or you can go in ranked eighth and win it. Larry loves to compete and he brings a lot of energy to that event. That's a fun thing to see."
 
On 4x100 Relay: "The 4x100 relay is a great position to get on the podium as a top-three finisher. Relays are a love-hate affair. You love them, but they can twist you in a heartbeat. They are excited and confident, and I'm excited to watch them run in a great competitive race."
 
On Altitude and Distance Runners: "Greeley is at 4,600 feet, so it has impact on the distance races and tactically things change a little bit. But that's nothing new for this conference – cross country and the indoor championships were both at elevation. So our team is not going to be surprised – they know what to expect. Logan Stahl is ready to run great in the 800, and can put together an all-conference performance. He just has to follow coach Chris Shane's race plan and put together great races. We have a couple of unknowns – Isaac Kitzan is going to run the 10k and is just doing that one event, so maybe he can go in a score for us. We are rebuilding our men's distance group and coach Shane is doing a great job with them."
 
 
 

Men's Big Sky Entries/Records . . . 

Big Sky Championships – May 11-14 – Greeley, Colo.
NCAA Championships Preliminary Round May – May 26-28 -- Lawrence, Kan.
NCAA Championships – June 8-11 – Eugene, Ore.
School Records Broken: 1 (Jeremy VanAssche – 100 – 10.31  - previous record 10.36 set by VanAssche in 2015)
Total Big Sky Championship Qualifying Marks Attained: 11
 
Athletes Competing Friday . . .
(finals) 3,000 Steeplechase – 9:20.67 - #Steaven Zachman
(finals) 3,000 Steeplechase – 9:27.55 - #Aaron Brenton
(finals) 3,000 Steeplechase – 9:42.71 - #Zeb Klemke
(prelims) 400 Meters – 48.87 – Austin Upmeyer
(prelims) 400 Meters – 49-92 – #Nick Anthony
(prelims) 100 Meters – 10.31 – Jeremy VanAssche
(prelims) 100 Meters – 10.74 – Jonah Mathews
(prelims) 100 Meters – 10.92 – #Chez Jackson
(prelims) 800 Meters – 1:52.94 – Logan Stahl
(prelims) 200 Meters – 21.21 – Jeremy VanAssche
(prelims) 200 Meters – 21.67 – Austin Upmeyer
(prelims) 200 Meters – 21.73 – #Jonah Mathews
(prelims) 400 Hurdles – 56.43 – #Austin Upmeyer
(finals) 10,000 Meters – 31:21.80 - #Isaac Kitzan
(finals) Javelin – 219-3 – Joey Payne
(finals) Javelin – 194-0 – Joey Day
(finals) Shot Put – 56-8 1/2 – Aaron Cunningham
(finals) Shot Put – 50-10 3/4– #Aaron Obert
(finals) Pole Vault – 16-6 3/4 – Larry Still

Athletes Competing Saturday (plus advancers from Friday prelims) . . .
(finals) – 4x100 Relay – 41.24 – Jonah Mathews, Jose Garcia, Chez Jackson, Jeremy VanAssche
(finals) 5,000 – 14:55.71 - #Aaron Brenton
(finals) – 4x400 Relay – 3:18.94 – Nick Anthony, Austin Upmeyer, Chez Jackson, Logan Stahl
(finals) Discus – 161-8 – Aaron Cunningham
(finals) High Jump – 6-5 1/2 – #Chez Jackson
(finals) High Jump – 6-2 3/4 – #Forrest Wallace

#did not meet qualifying standard but is entered with one of the top 20 marks in the league or with one of the team's two wildcards
 
 
 

Women's Big Sky Entries/Records . . . 

Big Sky Championships – May 11-14 – Greeley, Colo.
NCAA Championships Preliminary Round May – May 26-28 -- Lawrence, Kan.
NCAA Championships – June 8-11 – Eugene, Ore.
School Records Broken: 5 (Katie Mahoney – 800 – 2:11.13  - previous record 2:11.41 set by Katie Ellison in 2014; Katie Mahoney – Steeplechase – 10:10.33  - previous record 10:14.99 set by Catie Arrigoni in 2014; Katie Mahoney – 1,500 meters – 4:22.92 – previous record 4:24.05 set by Mahoney in 2014; Kaytlyn Coleman -- Hammer – 200-7 – previous record 199-8 set by Nicole Luckenbach in 2010; Sarah Reiter – 5,000 meters – 16:27.33 – previous record 16:33.6 set by Mattie Bridgmon in 2008).
Total Big Sky Championship Qualifying Marks Attained: 21

Athletes Competing Wednesday/Thursday . . .
Heptathlon – 4,545 points – Kendra Hamm
Heptathlon – 4,167 points – #Jozie Kimes
 
Athletes Competing Friday . . .
(finals) 3,000 Steeplechase – 10:10.33 – Katie Mahoney
(finals) 3,000 Steeplechase – 10:25.82 – Paula Gil-Echevarria
(finals) 3,000 Steeplechase – 11:07.56 – #Catie Arrigoni
(prelims) 100 Meters – 11.97 – Rebecca Tarbert
(prelims) 800 Meters – 2:11.13 – Katie Mahoney
(prelims) 400 Hurdles – 1:02.11 – #Leanne Asper
(prelims) 400 Hurdles – 1:04.10 -- #Paige Hammock
(prelims) 200 Meters – 24.77 – #Rebecca Tarbert
(prelims) 200 Meters – 25.02 – #Erika Lombardo
(finals) 10,000 Meters – 35:38.54 – Berenice Penaloza
(finals) 10,000 Meters – 39:24.76 – #Kari Scharnhorst
(finals) Hammer Throw – 200-7 – Kaytlyn Coleman
(finals) Hammer Throw – 171-6 - #Samantha Lester
(finals) Hammer – 173-7 - #D'onna Robinson
(finals) High Jump – 5-5 - #Tierra White
(finals) High Jump – 5-3 3/4 - #Kaitlyn Grunst
(finals) High Jump – 5-1 3/4 - #Jozie Kimes
(finals) Discus -- 148-3 -- Samantha Lester
(finals) Discus – 138-7 - #D'onna Robinson
(finals) Long Jump – 18-0 1/4 – #Kendra Hamm

Athletes Competing Saturday (plus advancers from Friday prelims) . . .
(finals) 4x100 Relay – 46.73 - Paige Hammock, Erika Lombardo, Kendra Hamm, Rebecca Tarbert
(finals) 1500 Meters – 4:33.88 – #Paula Gil-Echevarria
(finals) 5,000 Meters – 16:27.33 – Sarah Reiter
(finals) 5,000 Meters – 17:12.49 – Berenice Penaloza
(finals) 4x400 Relay – 3:54.83 – Erika Lombardo, Paige Hammock, Leanne Asper, Rebecca Tarbert
(finals) Triple Jump – 38-4 – Dominique Butler
(finals) Triple Jump – 37-1 3/4 – #Jenna Schlosser
(finals) Javelin – 144-8 - Samantha Baker
(finals) Javelin – 143-8 – Bridgette Underwood 
(finals) Shot Put – 47-7 1/4 - Kaytlyn Coleman
(finals) Shot Put – 45-3 – #Paris Flenoy
(finals) Shot Put – 44-2 – #Morgan Romey
(finals) Shot Put – 42-1 1/4 - #D'onna Robinson
(finals) Pole Vault – 12-3 1/2 - Erin Clark
(finals) Pole Vault - 12-3 1/2 - Macey Weitz
(finals) Pole Vault - 12-3 1/2 - Anandae Clark
(finals) Pole Vault - 12-1 1/2 - Elizabeth Prouty
(finals) Pole Vault - 11-9 3/4 - #Samantha Raines

#did not meet qualifying standard but is entered with one of the top 20 marks in the league or with one of the team's two wildcards
 
 

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):
 
Aaron Cunningham – (2015 Indoors: 3rd in shot put)
Joey Payne - (2013 Outdoors: 2nd in javelin)
***Nick Stearns - (2016 Indoors: 3rd in pole vault; 2014 Outdoors: 2nd in pole vault; 2013 Outdoors: 2nd in pole vault; 2012 Indoors: 3rd in pole vault)
Larry Still – (2016 Indoors: Champion in pole vault)
Jeremy VanAssche – (2016 Indoors: Champion in 60 meters)
 
 

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):
 
Catie Arrigoni - (2014 Outdoors: Champion in steeplechase, 2nd in 5,000; 2015 Cross Country: 9th)
***Courtney Bray - (2015 Indoors: 3rd in pole vault; 2014 Outdoors: Champion in pole vault)
Dominique Butler – (2016 Indoors: 2nd in triple jump)
Anandae Clark - (2015 Indoors: 2nd in pole vault)
Kaytlyn Coleman - (2016 Indoors: 2nd in weight throw; 2015 Indoors: 3rd in weight throw)
Paula Gil-Echevarria - (2015 Outdoors: 3rd in 3,000 steeplechase)
Katie Mahoney - (2016 Indoors: 3rd in mile; 2014 Outdoors: 3rd in steeplechase; 2013 Outdoors: 2nd in 3,000 steeplechase)
Sarah Reiter - (2016 Indoors: 3rd in 5,000 meters, 2nd in 3,000 meters; 2015 Outdoors: 2nd in 10,000; 2014 Outdoors: 3rd in 10,000; 2015 Cross Country: 8^th at Big Sky Championships & 46th at NCAA Championships; 2014 Cross Country: Champion)
Rebecca Tarbert – (2016 Indoors: Champion in 60 meters)
Tierra White - (2015 Indoors: Champion in high jump)
4x100 Relay - (2015 Outdoors: 3rd/Paige Hammock, Erika Lombardo, Brooke Monson, Rebecca Tarbert)
Distance Medley Relay - (2016 Indoors: Champion/Paula Gil-Echevarria, Brooke Monson, Leanne Asper, Katie Mahoney; 2015 Indoors: 3rd/Paula Gil-Echevarria, Janessa Day, Katie Mahoney, Katie Lynch)
 
***Redshirting 2016 season.