Candy Cane X Schedule

The Eastern Washington University track and field teams begin their 2017-18 indoor season this Friday and Saturday (Dec. 1-2) hosting the Candy Cane X at the Jim Thorpe Fieldhouse in Cheney, Wash.

"It will be exciting for the athletes to finally have a meet after practicing all fall," women's head coach Marcia Mecklenburg said. "It is something that I am sure they are looking forward to. It will be good to see what they can do in a meet situation. "

The Candy Cane will mainly be a two-day dual meet against the University of Montana, but also includes men's heptathlon and women's pentathlon competitors from other schools.

The men's heptathlon starts competition at noon Pacific Time on Friday, followed by the women's pentathlon starting at 12:30 p.m. The second day of the men's heptathlon starts at 9 a.m., with individual field events at 10 a.m. and individual running events at 12:30 p.m.

"Our guys have put in a very solid fall training period," men's head coach Stan Kerr said. "The combination of seasoned athletes who have competed indoors and our new team members experiencing their first collegiate and indoor competition make for a continuation of the memorable performances we've witnessed over the years."

"The Candy Cane is one of the most fun meets of the year," Mecklenburg said. "It isn't an all-day meet, it lasts about three to four hours on Friday and Saturday. It is just a fun indoor meet."

At last year's Candy Cane meet, EWU defeated Montana on the men's side with a score of 59 to 32. UM took the women's side of the competition with score of 68 to 55. The Eagles also claimed nine titles from the event.

Senior 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. She wasn't the only one to set a new school record, as sophomore Dawson Lack took first place in the 55-meter dash with a time of 6.24, to set a new EWU all-time indoor record. He surpassed the previous record set by Johnnie Williams (2000) by only .01 seconds.

Admission to the 10th annual Candy Cane Invitational is complimentary and open to the public.

More comments from head coach Marcia Mecklenburg . . .
On the overall team: "I think our strength right now is going to be the jumps. We have Tierra White in the high jump and Dominique Butler in the triple. In the throws, we redshirted a big group last year and they are coming back to compete. I think they have all improved and they should do well. We also have a good sprint group. We have some good freshmen so that is going to be a strong event for us this year. We are also returning Rebecca Tarbert who has been the Big Sky Champion. Tarbert, along with the new and returning athletes, is going to make the sprints a fun event to watch."  

More comments from head coach Stan Kerr . . .
On the 10th Candy Cane: "Our team motto, 'Let my dreams be bigger than my fears and my actions louder than my words' carries the significance of the meet as it has evolved over the years. Early on we felt this meet had great potential to develop into a special event to open the indoor track and field season for both teams.  The on-going EWU administrative support and, commitment to the meet by the University of Montana have since translated to numerous memorable performances."

On individuals: "Upperclassmen Scott Miller, Jeremy VanAssche and Keshun McGee, along with newcomers Joe Gauthier, Parker Bowden, Ryan Nilles, Reggie Hayden, Race Treat and Brock O'Neal, will provide us with a great glimpse of things to come for our squad this season."