The Eastern Washington University indoor track and field team began the 2017 year right where it left off, taking home both a men's and women's team victory and 12 individual titles at the Vandal Invitational in Moscow, Idaho, on Friday (Jan. 13).

The Eastern men's team finished ahead of Big Sky Conference opponent Idaho with a score of 70, while the women's team edged out UI by two points with a score of 68.

"It was exciting to get back into a meet competition after the long Christmas break," said women's head coach Marcia Mecklenburg. "We had some good performances for this early in the season. Hopefully we will keep building from here and surprise some people at Big Sky Championships. It is always exciting to start the new year with a team win."

Men's Top Performers
"Today's meet showed we are picking up from where we left off before the holiday break," said men's head coach Stan Kerr. "The balanced team win feels good.  Not only was each event area contributing, but the terrific mix of underclassmen and upperclassmen underscored a very good future for our program."

The running events were headlined by four first-place performances in the 60, 200, and mile, and 3,000. In the 60-meter event EWU finished with the top-three performances, led by sophomore Jonah Mathews who recorded a time of 6.97. In the 200-meter sophomore Chez Jackson ran a 22.62 to take first. In the distance events, senior Isaac Kitzan took the mile title with a time of 4:21.81, and freshman Colton Johnsen won the 3,000 with a time of 9:00.06.

In the high jump, Jackson won his second title of the meet with a winning mark of 6-4 3/4. Junior Aaron Cunningham won by a sizeable margin in the shot put with a throw of 55-8 1/4. Junior Shawn Buck placed first in the weight throw with a mark of 52-8 3/4, while Cunningham was close behind him with a toss of 52-7 1/2. Sophomore Aaron Pullin placed second in pole vault event with a jump of 14-3 1/4. Outdoing his mark in the long jump at the Candy Cane was freshman Keshun McGee, as he placed second with a jump of 23-3 1/2.

Women's Top Performers
In the women's mile run, the Eagles finished with the top three performers, as freshman Kaili Keefe led the pack with a time of 5:0628. The top-five spots in the 3,000-meter race also belonged solely to Eastern with Kari Hamilton finishing in 10:36.49 for first place. Her time was good for a new personal best. Senior Paige Hammock was the EWU victor in the 60-meter hurdles with a time of 9.58.

The women's field events were highlighted by first-place performances in the pole vault and shot put. Sophomore Elizabeth Prouty was the top contender for the Eagles with a mark of 11-11 1/4. Freshman Samantha Boudreau won her first collegiate title with a throw of 40-11 1/2, finishing directly ahead of two other Eagles.

Team Scoring
Men: 1. Eastern (70), 2. Idaho (46)

Women: 1. Eastern (68), 2. Idaho (66)

Comments from Men's Head Coach Stan Kerr
"On the individual level, sophomore Tyler Dante set a personal record of 48-1 3/4 by 3' in the weight throw.  His performance highlighted a solid day in the throws for us."

"Isaac Kitzen's and Colton Johnson's performances in their respective distance events provided a terrific spark for the team."

"Jonah Mathews and Jose Garcia going one and two in the 60 was special, as they both have overcome injuries that sidelined them much of last year."

"Keshun McGee and Trenton Osborn were solid for us in the long jump going two and three, and posting respectable early season marks. Overall, the team is standing on solid ground and I'm excited about what we are doing this year."

Comments from Women's Head Coach Marcia Mecklenburg
"It was great to see two youngsters, sophomore Elizabeth Prouty in the pole vault and freshman Samantha Boudreau in the shot, win their events."

What's Next
The Eastern Washington indoor track and field season continues on Friday (Jan. 20) at the two-day Boise State Invitational in Boise, Idaho.