FULL RESULTS

The Eastern Washington University indoor track and field team earned a pair of victories in the season-opening Candy Cane X at the Jim Thorpe Fieldhouse in Cheney, Wash., on Saturday (Dec. 2).

The men's team finished ahead of Big Sky Conference opponent Montana with a team score of 62-41, while the women defeated UM 54-52.

Men's Top Performers
The Eagles swept the running competitions, earning first in all the events. Junior Parker Bowden took first in the 55-meter hurdles with a time of 7.50, setting a new Candy Cane record. He surpassed the previous record set by EWU's Steven Warner of 7.61 from 2013. The time puts Bowden third all-time in school history.

 In the jumping competitions, sophomore Keshun McGee broke two Candy Cane records. The first was in the long jump where he won with a jump of 23-10 1/4. Dominque Bobo from Montana held the previous record with a 23-5 1/4 mark in 2015. McGee went on to earn first in the triple jump as well with a Candy Cane record of 49-9. Cameron Moore from EWU held the previous record 48-4 1/2 from 2008.

The men earned first in the 55-meter dash with freshman Joe Gauthier crossing the line in 6.39. Rounding out the victories in the running events was in the 600 meters where freshman Brock O'Neal finished first in 1:24.61, putting him in second all-time in school history.

Senior Larry Still earned first place in the pole vault with a 15-11 clearance. Junior Forrest Wallace took second in the high jump with a 6-6 3/4 jump behind Montana's Matt Quist, who had 7-0 1/2.

In the throwing events, sophomore Tim Beard took first place in the weight throw with 53-1. Senior Scott Miller took third place in the shot put with a throw of 48-8 3/4.

Freshman Race Treat also finished in second place in the heptathlon for the men, finishing with 4,352 points.

Women's Top Performers
In the running events, the women took two titles from the meet. Senior Leanne Asper earned a school record in the 600 with a finishing time of 1:35.70 and took second. Johanna Sherman had the previous record at 1:39.64. Senior Rebecca Tarbert took first place in the 55 in 7.07. Freshman Kaitlin Gibb also took first place in the 55 hurdles with a 8.29 time, putting her tied for third on the all-time list.

Senior Paris Flenoy took first place in the weight throw for the Eagles with a throw of 54-4. Sophomore Samantha Boudreau finished second in the shot put with a mark of 40-8 1/4.

Senior Tierra White finished second in the high jump with a 5-5 clearance. Senior Kendra Hamm also took second in the long jump with a 17-9 3/4 mark, senior Megan Murphy finished third in the triple jump with 36-0 3/4. In the pole vault, junior Elizabeth Prouty took first place with a personal best clearance of 12-10 3/4.

Team Scoring
Men: 1. Eastern (61), 2. Montana (42)

Women: 1. Eastern (54), 2. Montana (52)

Comments from head coach Marcia Mecklenburg
On the meet overall: "It was great to start the season with a win, especially over Montana. Winning the meet is a big boost for our crew."

On individuals: "I am really excited about the young athletes that we have. Kaitlin Gibb had a great win in the hurdles as a freshman. The weight throw group is pretty close as marks go and I was very pleased with that event, kudos to Paris for pulling out the win. The mark of the meet has to go to Elizabeth Prouty. She did a great job and big things will be coming from her. It was great to see Leanne Asper recover injuries and come back to break a school record. I also couldn't be more happy and pleased for Rebecca Tarbert with her fourth win in the Candy Cane. Hopefully it will only get better."

Comments from head coach Stan Kerr
On the meet and individuals: "I am really proud of the effort across the board. Our distance crew was coming off a long cross-country season, but Brock O'Neal ran a terrific 600. It was Parker Bowden's first time in an Eagle uniform and he was a hardworking individual in his event."

On Keshun: "Keshun McGee is just a steady guy in the indoor and outdoors. He has battled through some adversity and it was nice to see 2017-18 campaign start with two really strong performances. We know there is a load of talent in this conference and after this meet, it shows that we will be a force to be reckon with."

What's Next
EWU's 2017-18 indoor track and field season continues with the University of Idaho Open, set to begin on Friday, Jan. 12 in Moscow, Idaho.