Complete Results
Women's Pentathlon Results
Men's Heptathlon Results

Eastern Washington University athletes won eight titles on the second day of the Candy Cane XII Indoor Track and Field Meet on Saturday (Dec. 7) at Thorpe Fieldhouse in Cheney, Wash.
 
Senior Parker Bowden won the 55-meter hurdles with a time of 7.55, although it was .05 slower than the 7.50 time he had in the prelims the day prior which equaled his previous career best and ranks third in EWU history. Bowden, a 2015 graduate of Spokane's Central Valley High School, was second in the hurdles at the 2018 Big Sky Conference Indoor Championships.
 
A pair of freshmen had excellent debut performances in the pole vault, including winner Zach Klobutcher with a clearance of 15-9 3/4 to rank fifth in EWU history. Brayden Freitag, like Bowden a second-generation track athlete at Eastern, cleared 15-3 3/4 in his Eagle debut, with senior Bailey Aiello also clearing that mark.
 
"I was really pleased with the effort put forth by our team today and yesterday," said men's head coach Stan Kerr. "It is terrific to be a part of a great group of competitors."

Sophomore Rebecca Thareek followed up her victory Friday in the pentathlon with a winning triple jump effort of 38-6 1/4, which ranks sixth on EWU's all-time leaders list. A 2018 graduate of Auburn (Wash.) High School, her 3,410 points in the pentathlon one day earlier rank fourth all-time at Eastern.

"We had some impressive early season marks from both veterans and rookies," said Eastern head women's head coach Marcia Mecklenburg. "Overall I was pleased with the whole team. The Candy Cane is always a fun meet to start off the Indoor season. When we can get personal records early on, it bodes well for the end of the season."
 
Following the holiday break, Eastern will resume its indoor schedule at the University of Idaho on Jan. 10-11.
 
 
 

Other Women's Top Performers . . .

Besides Thareek, other individual champions for Eastern included Samantha Boudreau in the shot put (personal best of 44-3 1/4) and Sophie Bowles in the 600 (1:39.58). In an event which hasn't taken place very often at Thorpe Fieldhouse, Bowles had a career best and recorded the second-fastest 600 time in school history, while third-place finisher Faith Kennedy had the seventh-fastest time.
 
 

Other Men's Top Performers . . .

Besides Bowden and Klobutcher, also winning titles at the Candy Cane on Saturday were Caleb Johnson in the shot put (48-5 1/2), Bobby Say in the triple jump (46-10) and Liam Bracken in the 600 meters (1:24.65). Bracken recorded the third-fastest 600 time in school history, and third-place finisher Camden Phelps had the seventh-fastest at 1:26.42.
 
In the two-day men's heptathlon which concluded Saturday, senior Aaron Pullin finished second with 4,826 points, well below his personal record of 4,989 points set in 2016 to rank second in school history. After scoring 839 points in the 55-meter hurdles with a 7.98 time, he equaled the second-best pole vault in the competition of 13-9 1/4.
 
 

EWU Men's Finishers

Heptathlon
2. Pullin, Aaron – 4,826
8. Conley, Elijah – 4,056
9. Hammer, Elijah – 4,014
10. Lane, James – 3,607
 
Shot Put
1. Johnson, Caleb – 48-5 1/2
2. Peoples, Garrett – 48-0
3. Howard, Ben – 47-10
5. Chan, Tony – 47-7 1/4
6. Law, Jonathan – 45-2 1/4
 
Pole Vault
1. Zach, Klobutcher – 15-9 3/4
3. Aiello, Bailey - 15-3 3/4
4. Freitag, Braydon – 15-3 3/4
5. Lane, James – 14-4
 
Men Triple Jump
1. Say, Bobby – 46-10
                                 
55 Meter Hurdles
1. Bowden, Parker - 7.55
4. Pullin, Aaron – 8.05
 
55 Meter Dash
2. Mathews, Jonah - 6.49
3. Punsalen, Miguel – 6.63
4. Harrison, Cole – 6.78
 
600 Meter Run
1. Bracken, Liam – 1:24.65
3. Phelps, Camden – 1:26.42
4. Hannan, Grant – 1:27.83
5. Freeman, Jayce – 1:28.27
6. Vigesaa, Kody – 1:28.62
 
 
 

EWU Women's Finishers

Women Shot Put
1. Boudreau, Samantha – 44-3 1/4
2. Ward, Hadassah – 42-8
4. Mpouli, Aulane – 40-10 1/2
5. Paller, Kaitlyn – 39-5 3/4
6. Leeking, Hailey – 39-5
7. Nelson, Margaret – 39 2 1/4
8. Stovall, Carissa – 37-6
9. Dibisceglie, Chloe – 35-10 3/4
 
Women High Jump
3. Oates, Alyssa – 5-1
4. Thareek, Rebecca – 5-1
6. Nelson, Margaret – 4-9
6. Folger‑Vent, Rosalie – 4-9
10. Knight, Madelyn – 4-9
 
Triple Jump
1. Thareek, Rebecca – 38-6 1/4 (#6 in EWU history)
2. Mpouli, Aulane – 37-1
3. Okemgbo, Nyenuchi – 36-2 3/4
4. Folger‑Vent, Rosalie – 36-0 1/4
 
55 Meter Hurdles
2. Okemgbo, Nyenuchi – 8.31
3. Visscher, Marieke – 8.68
4. Njadoe, Ami – 8.71
5. Hoffman, Alyssa – 8.80
7. Hempstead, Felicity – 9.73
 
55 Meter Dash
2. Raines, Samantha – 7.30
3. Petsch, Katie – 7.30
5. Tellis, Brittany – 7.57
6. Visscher, Marieke – 7.75
7. Herrera, Ashley – 7.80
8. Rowe, Abby – 7.98
 
600 Meter Run
1. Bowles, Sophie – 1:39.58
3. Kennedy, Faith – 1:44.09
4. Njadoe, Ami – 1:46.38
5. Hatton, Magan – 1:47.81
 
4x400 Meter Relay
2. Eastern "A" (Knight, Madelyn; Mpouli, Aulane; Nelson, Margaret; Oates, Alyssa)
 

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

On Opening Meet: "In our 12th year of hosting the The Candy Cane Meet, we've come to expect strong early-season performances. This year did not disappoint.  Our throwers, jumpers and sprint/hurdle crews jumped at the chance to compete and did so in record setting ways.  It felt great to see our team compete in the welcoming Christmas atmosphere of the Thorpe Fieldhouse."

On Individual Performances: "Veterans like Parker Bowden and Garrett Peoples, newcomers Zach Klobutcher and Brayden Freitag, and solid returners like Bobby Say and Killion McGinnis showed that we're poised for a great indoor season."
 

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

On Performance Overall: "We had strong quality performances in our depth events, the pole vault and weight throw. It well be fun to see what those athletes can do in those events as the season progresses."

On Thareek's Performances: "Rebecca Thareek had an amazing meet with great performances in both the pentathlon and triple jump.  And on top of that her high jump is starting to look pretty good, too."

On PRs for Boudreau: "Samantha Boudreau is on a mission. It is her final year and to start out the season with personal bests in both the shot and weight throw says a lot. Her Candy Cane win in the shot was the first in her career. I was super excited to see that for her."

On Okemgbo: "I liked what I saw with freshman Nyenuchi Okemgbo in the 55 hurdles. She had an impressive early season time and is going to be a great hurdler for us down the road."

On Bowles: "It was good to see Sophie Bowles win the 600. It is a different race for the 400 runners but she ran a smart race and handled it well."

 

Remaining 2019-20 EWU Indoor Track & Field Schedule

Fri/Sat - Jan. 10-11, 2020 - Lauren McCluskey Open - Moscow, Idaho
Fri/Sat - Jan. 17-18, 2020 - Univ. of Washington Preview - Seattle, Wash.
Thursday - Jan. 23, 2020 - Idaho Open - Moscow, Idaho
Fri/Sat - Jan. 31-Feb. 1, 2020 - UW Invitational (plus multi events) - Seattle, Wash.
Friday - Feb. 7, 2020 - Idaho Division I Challenge - Moscow, Idaho
Saturday - Feb. 15, 2020 - Bronco Challenge - Boise, Idaho
Thur/Fri/Sat - Feb. 27-29, 2020 - Big Sky Track & Field Indoor Championships - Pocatello, Idaho
Fri/Sat - March 13-14, 2020 - NCAA Division I Indoor Championships - Albuquerque, N.M.