It's been more than a month since their first competition of the season, but the 2019-20 indoor track and field season resumes this week for Eastern Washington University when the Eagles compete Friday and Saturday (Jan. 10-11) at the University of Idaho Vandal Open and Lauren McCluskey Multi at the Kibbie Dome in Moscow, Idaho.
 
The men's heptathlon competition gets the meet started on Friday at 10:40 a.m. Pacific time, with the women's pentathlon beginning at 12:15. The women's competition will conclude that day, with the final three events for the men starting on Saturday at 8:55 a.m.
 
The regular portion of the meet all takes place on Saturday, with field events beginning at 10 a.m. and running events starting at 11 a.m.
 
Besides EWU, most local colleges will also compete, but the meet will not be scored. Classes resumed at EWU on Monday (Jan. 6), and Eastern's coaching staff is excited to see them compete for the first time since Dec. 6-7 when the Eagles hosted the Candy Cane XII in Cheney.
 
"It is going to be a 'shake the cobwebs off' meet but I still expect some good marks," said Eastern women's head coach Marcia Mecklenburg. "It is good to have the athletes back from the holiday break.  This meet will be an opportunity to see how much training they were able to do while they were at home."
 
"As one of our recent graduates used to say, it's 'time to get after it,'" said men's head coach Stan Kerr. "We continue to embrace those words and are excited to fully open our indoor season at Idaho on Friday and Saturday.  Our strong contingency of heptathletes and pentathletes will get us rolling on Friday, with the rest of the team competing on Saturday."
 
On Jan. 6, the Big Sky Conference preseason poll of coaches was released, and the Eagle men were picked to finish fifth and the women were selected ninth. Northern Arizona was selected to win the men's title, while Sacramento State edged NAU for the nod on the women's side. The indoor championships take place Feb. 27-29 in Pocatello, Idaho.
 
Following this week's competition, Eastern will head to Seattle for the University of Washington Preview on Jan. 17-18.
 
 

A Look Back at the Candy Cane XII

 
Eastern athletes won 11 titles at the Candy Cane XII Indoor Track and Field Meet on Dec. 6-7 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.
 
Sophomore Rebecca Thareek followed up her victory 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.
 
Besides Thareek, other women's individual champions for Eastern included Samantha Boudreau in the shot put (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 fifth-fastest 600 time in school history, while third-place finisher Faith Kennedy had the seventh-fastest time.
 
Besides Bowden and Klobutcher, also winning men's titles at the Candy Cane were Caleb Johnson in the shot put (48-5 1/2), Liam Bracken in the 600 meters (1:24.65), Colton Kautz in the weight throw (55-9) and Bobby Say in both the triple jump (46-10) and long jump (22-9). 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, 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.
 
 

More on the 2019-20 EWU Track & Field Teams

 
A year ago, the Eastern men's team finished fourth indoors at the Big Sky Conference Championships and then went on to a sixth-place finish outdoors. The women finished ninth and seventh, respectively, and both teams are hoping to improve upon those performances this season. The indoor championships take place Feb. 27-29 in Pocatello, Idaho, and the outdoor meet May 13-16 in Ogden, Utah.
 
Eastern's men had several key competitors redshirt a year ago, and are ready to challenge the school's best-ever team performances. Indoors, the men finished third in 2012, and the Eagles were fourth outdoors in 2018, just one place from highs of third on four occasions.
 
Eight men's competitors return in 2018 who have previously earned All-Big Sky Conference honors with top-three finishes at conference championship meets. Among them are defending long jump and triple jump champion Keshun McGee, who went on to compete in both events at the NCAA Division I Outdoor Championships.
 
Bailey Aiello finished third in both pole vault competitions last year, and Joe Gauthier was third in the 60 meters at the 2019 indoor championships. Parker Bowden, who redshirted last season, was second in the 60-meter hurdles in 2018. Also that season, Aaron Pullin was third in the pole vault.
 
McGee won both the long jump and triple jump outdoors last season, and Bobby Say was third in the triple jump. In addition, Gauthier was third in the 100 and Killion McGinnis was third in the high jump. In 2018, Tim Beard was third in the hammer throw.
 
The women had their best-ever finishes in 2016 of third both indoors and outdoors, and return a trio of All-Big Sky performers. Included is Samantha Raines, who was second in the pole vault at last year's indoor championships.
 
Madison Doepker is a three-time all-league performer outdoors, finishing first in the javelin and third in the hammer last year, and third in the javelin in 2018. Raines is the defending champion in the pole vault outdoors, and teammate Katrina Terry was third.
 
 

Eastern Men's Athletes Ranked in Top 10 in the Big Sky Conference

 
60 Meter Dash
2. Jonah Mathews – 6.96 (converted from 55 meters time of 6.47)
10. Miguel Punsalan – 7.11 (converted from 55 meters time of 6.61)
 
60 Meter Hurdles
1. Parker Bowden - 8.08 (converted from 55 time of 7.50 - #3 in EWU history)
5. Aaron Pullin - 8.50 (converted from 55 time of 7.89
8. James Lane – 9.14 (converted from 55 meters time of 8.49)
9. Elijah Conley – 9.28 (converted from 55 meters time of 8.62)
10. Elijah Hammer – 10.30 (converted from 55 meters time of 9.56)
 
High Jump
4. Killion McGinnis – 6-4 3/4
8. Elijah Hammer – 6-0 3/4
9. Aaron Pullin – 6-0 3/4
 
Long Jump
1. Bobby Say – 22-9
6. Parker Bowden – 21-10 3/4
 
Triple Jump
1. Bobby Say – 46-10
 
Shot Put
6. Caleb Johnson – 48-5 1/2
7. Garrett Peoples – 48-0
8. Benjamin Howard – 47-10
9. Tony Chan – 47-7 1/4
 
Weight Throw
3. Colton Kautz – 55-9
4. Garrett Peoples – 55-1 1/2
6. Tony Chan – 49-9
9. Caleb Johnson – 45-11 3/4
                                 
Pole Vault
3. Zach Klobutcher – 15-9 3/4
4. Bailey Aiello - 15-3 3/4
4. Brayden Freitag – 15-3 3/4
9. James Lane – 14-4
 
Heptathlon
1. Aaron Pullin – 4,826
2. Elijah Conley – 4,056
3. Elijah Hammer – 4,014
4. James Lane – 3,607
 
 
 

Eastern Women's Athletes Ranked in Top 10 in the Big Sky Conference

 
60 Meter Dash
6. Samantha Raines – 7.87 (converted from 55 time of 7.30)
6. Katie Petsch – 7.87 (converted from 55 time of 7.30)
 
60 Meter Hurdles
1. Nyenuchi Okemgbo – 8.89 (converted from 55 time of 8.26 - #3 in EWU history)
7. Madelyn Knight – 9.29 (converted from 55 meters time of 8.63)
8. Marieke Visscher – 9.34 (converted from 55 meters time of 8.68
9. Ami Njadoe – 9.37 (converted from 55 meters time of 8.71
 
High Jump
3. Rebecca Thareek – 5-5
 
Long Jump
1. Madelyn Knight – 18-4 1/2
2. Rebecca Thareek – 17-10 3/4
 
Triple Jump
2. Rebecca Thareek – 38-6 1/4 (#6 in EWU history)
3. Aulane Mpouli – 37-1
6. Nyenuchi Okemgbo – 36-2 3/4
7. Rosalie Folger‑Vent – 36-0 1/4
 
Shot Put
5. Samantha Boudreau – 44-3 1/4
6. Hadassah Ward – 42-8
8. Aulane Mpouli – 40-10 1/2
 
Weight Throw
1. Vernice Keyes – 57-10 1/4 (#9 in EWU history)
2. Madison Doepker – 56-1 1/4
4. Samantha Boudreau – 52-4
5. Hadassah Ward – 52-1 1/4
6. Kaitlyn Paller – 52-1
7. Justean Landis – 51-11 3/4
 
Pole Vault
1. Samantha Raines – 12-10 1/4
2. Savannah Schultz – 12-4 1/2
3. Rosalie Folger-Vent – 11-10 1/2
7. Hally Ruff – 11-4 1/2
 
Indoor Pentathlon
1. Rebecca Thareek – 3,410 (#4 in EWU History)
2. Madelyn Knight – 3,173 (#10 in EWU History)
3. Maggie Nelson – 3,066
 

 

More Comments from Women's Head Coach Marcia Mecklenburg

 
On This Week's Meet: "Our multi event athletes will have another chance to compete in a pentathlon, and there aren't a lot of meets that host multi event competitions so that will be a plus for us.  This will also be the first meet the distance runners will be competing in since cross country season, so it will be good to see where they are."
 
 
 

More Comments from Head Coach Stan Kerr

 
On Vandal Open & Lauren McCluskey Multi: "Idaho does a good job of hosting meets, as our team will start to post performances that will be considered for the Big Sky Indoor Track and Field Championships coming at the end of February. I feel good about the balance our team will bring to the meet.

 
On Athletes to Watch at Idaho: "Our distance crew, led by Isaac Barville and Carter Ledwith, will get their first chance to compete since the end of cross country season. Keshun McGee will make his first indoor appearance since competing at the outdoor national championships last spring.  Keshun has a talented support crew of jumpers with All-Big Sky jumpers Bobby Say (triple jump), Killion McGinnis (high jump) and Bailey Aiello (pole vault) also competing.  Freshmen Zach Klobutcher and Brayden Freitag had terrific performances in the pole vault at the Candy Cane meet last month.  They'll show why our vault program continues to be the best in the Big Sky.  In the heptathlon, Grant Shurtliff and Aaron Pullin look to put up big marks as they are two of the leaders in the Big Sky Conference.  In the throws, Garrett Peoples and Colton Kautz will continue shine as our top throwers.  They too, have a solid supporting cast of returning throwers including Ben Howard and Tony Chan.  On the track, Parker Bowden (hurdles) and Jonah Mathews (sprints) will be looking to confirm their positions as potential conference champions in their respective events.  Parker and Jonah are enjoying a powerful supporting group as well including Liam Bracken, who won the 600 meters at the Candy Cane, and Camden Phelps, who pushed Liam throughout that race."
 
On Multi-Events: "Adding to our firepower this year is Grant Shurtliff, who will be contending for the conference title in the heptathlon indoors and decathlon outdoors. Grant will have great accompaniments in the multis with Aaron Pullin and Quintin Porterfield. All three of those guys will double-back in individual events, which adds significantly to our team depth."
 
On Sprints & Hurdles: "I'm excited about the depth of our 400-meter crew. Liam Bracken, Camden Phelps, Grant Hannan, Jayce Freeman and Kody Vigesaa give us one of the strongest groups of quarter-milers we've had in years. Great summer and fall training regimens are going to translate to high-level performances for Parker Bowden in the hurdles and Joe Gauthier and Dawson Lack in the short dashes. They are a hard-working and very driven group of competitors in practice every day. Cole Harrison and Miguel Punsalan are right on the heels of these guys and will be pushing them in every competition."
 
On Jumps & Pole Vault: "Keshun McGee and Bobby Say give us one of the best 1-2 punches in the jumps in the Big Sky Conference. Both have big goals and will be a joy to watch compete all year. We've added to our pole vault depth with the addition of two talented freshmen, Zach Klobutcher and Brayden Freitag. Before Zach and Brayden are done with their careers, they'll score a ton of points."
 
On Throws: "Our throwers are still a pretty young group but picked up a lot of experience last year and are ready to have a breakthrough season. Garrett Peoples and Colton Kautz are set to compete at a much higher level all year."
 
On Distance Runners: "Leading our youthful distance crew will be Isaac Barville. Isaac will face stellar competition in the 1500 meters indoors, but is poised to have his best season ever. Carter Ledwith also faces a rugged distance force in racing against our Big Sky competitors. He's coming off a PR in the 10K he posted late in the XC season and will enter the indoor season ready to race."
 
 

2019-20 EWU Indoor Track & Field Schedule

 
Fri/Sat - Dec. 6-7, 2019 - EWU Candy Cane XII - Cheney, Wash. – No Team Scoring
Fri/Sat - Jan. 10-11, 2020 – Vandal Open and Lauren McCluskey Multi - Moscow, Idaho – No Team Scoring
Fri/Sat - Jan. 17-18, 2020 - Univ. of Washington Indoor 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 Team Challenge - Moscow, Idaho
Fri/Sat - Feb. 14-15, 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.
 
 
 

Returning NCAA Championships Participants

 
Keshun McGee – (2019 Outdoors: 18th in Triple Jump/51-9, No Place in Long Jump/No Mark)

 
 

Returning Men's All-Big Sky Athletes

 
(Top 3 finish at the Big Sky Championships)
 
Bailey Aiello – (2019 Outdoors: 3rd in pole vault/15-9 3/4; 2019 Indoors: 3rd in the pole vault/15-4 1/4)

Tim Beard – (2018 Outdoors: 3rd in hammer/190-4)
 
Parker Bowden – (2018 Indoors: 2nd in 60-meter hurdles/8.00)

Joe Gauthier – (2019 Outdoors: 3rd in 100/10.54; 2019 Indoors: 3rd in the 60-meters/6.83) 

Keshun McGee – (2019 Indoors: 1st in long jump/25-4 1/2, 1st in triple jump/50-11; 2019 Indoors: 1st in long jump/25-6, 1st in triple jump/51-5; 2018 Outdoors: 1st in long jump/24-10 1/2, 2nd in triple jump 51-6 1/4; 2017 Indoors: 1st in long jump/25-0, 2nd in triple jump/51-1)
 
Killion McGinnis – (2019 Outdoors: 3rd in high jump/6-8 1/4)
 
Aaron Pullin – (2018 Indoors: 3rd in pole vault/15-8 1/2)
 
Bobby Say – (2019 Indoors: 3rd in triple jump/48-3 1/2)
 
 

Returning Women's All-Big Sky Athletes

 
(Top 3 finish at the Big Sky Championships)
 
Madison Doepker – (2019 Outdoors: 1st in javelin/154-8; 3rd in hammer/193-2; 2018 Outdoors: 3rd in the javelin/147-11)

Samantha Raines – (2019 Outdoors: 1st in pole vault/13-4 1/2; 2019 Indoors: 2nd in the pole vault/13-2 1/2)
 
Katrina Terry – (2019 Outdoors: 3rd in pole vault/12-6 3/4)