Meet Information & Schedule
 
Featuring four competitors with the top marks in the league this season, the Eastern Washington University track and field teams head to Pocatello, Idaho, this week for the Big Sky Conference Championships which take place on Feb. 27-29.
 
Action at Holt Arena in Pocatello will begin Thursday, Feb. 27 with the men's heptathlon getting underway at 10 a.m. Pacific time, followed by the women's pentathlon at 10:15 a.m. The conclusion of the men's heptathlon begins on Friday, Feb. 28 (9 a.m.).
 
The regular portion of the Big Sky Indoor Championships begins Friday, Feb. 28 with finals in six field events starting at 12:30 p.m. Pacific time, with running events starting at 3:30 p.m. Most of Friday's running events will be preliminaries, but the finals of the 5,000 meters and distance medley relays will take place that day.
 
The final six field events take place Saturday, Feb. 29, starting at 9 a.m., with the running events beginning at 11:30 a.m. The meet is scheduled to conclude just after 3 p.m. Pacific time.
 
Both the EWU men's and women's team have 21 marks each that rank in the top 10 in the league heading into the climatic week of the season. The top three finishers in each event earn All-Big Sky Conference honors.
 
In team scoring, Eastern's men were fourth a year ago and the women were ninth at the indoor championships. In the preseason polls announced in January, the men were predicted to finish fifth and ninth, respectively.
 
"We have terrific crew of experienced Big Sky competitors going, as well as many first timers," said EWU men's head coach Stan Kerr. "While the returners know what's coming in terms of facility, competition and expectations, the first-time competitors are likely equal parts excited and nervous as they enter their first NCAA Division I championship event. I know the coaches are excited to see both groups perform as we have lofty expectations for both individuals and the team."
 
 "We have been preparing for the Big Sky Conference Championships since the first day of practice in the fall," said women's head coach Marcia Mecklenburg. "That meet is next and it is show time for our athletes. Traditionally we tend to finish higher than what we go in ranked, and we need to continue to do that."
 
Leading the league for the women are senior Samantha Raines and true freshman Savannah Schultz in the pole vault (13-5 1/4). Raines won two Big Sky Conference "Field" Athlete of the Week honors this season, and last year Raines was the runner-up in the league and went on to win the league's outdoor title.
 
Eastern has two leaders for the men, including defending long jump and triple jump champion Keshun McGee. The senior is the leader in the triple jump (51-6 1/2) and fourth in the long jump (24-3 3/4), and was champion in each event both indoors and outdoors a year ago.
 
The other leader is senior Grant Shurtliff, who is one of four Eastern heptathletes ranked in the top 10 in the league. He scored 5,212 points earlier this season to rank second in Eastern history, with fellow senior Aaron Pullin scoring 5,044 to rank third. Pullin hasn't earned All-Big Sky honors
 
Shurtliff is also ranked third in the pole vault with a mark of 16-4 3/4 to rank fourth all-time at EWU. Freshman teammate Zach Klobutcher has also cleared that mark.
 
Five women's pole vaulters are in the top eight and four for the men as EWU seeks to continue a tradition in that event that has seen the Eagles win 15 Big Sky Conference champions indoors and outdoors since 2001 under pole vault coach Eric Allison. The breakdown is five women indoors, five women outdoors, three men indoors and three men outdoors.
 
Since 2001, Eastern has had a total of 47 Big Sky Conference All-Conference performers (top 3 finish) for men and women in the pole vault. The breakdown is 18 women outdoors, 13 women indoors, eight men indoors and eight men outdoors.
 
Men's pole vaulter Bailey Aiello and Katrina Terry for the women are competitors ranked in the top 10 in the league who have previously earned All-Big Sky accolades. Aiello was third at both championships a year ago, and Terry (third) and Raines (first) were a part of a 1-2-3 sweep of the podium for the women at last year's outdoor meet.
 
In the regular season, Eastern competed in three meets at the University of Idaho and two at the University of Washington, as well as the Candy Cane XII in December in Cheney and the Bronco Challenge on Feb. 14-15 in Nampa, Idaho.
 
 

Other Highly-Ranked EWU Competitors

 
Eastern has several other individual and team competitors competing for league titles and All-Big Sky Conference accolades by finishing in the top three in the league rankings entering the championship meet.
 
For the women, sophomore Aulane Mpouli is second in the Big Sky with a long jump mark of 18-7 1/4 to rank ninth in EWU history. Senior Maegan McCurdy (18-5 3/4) and freshman Madelyn Knight (18-4 1/2) are ranked fourth and sixth, respectively, in that event.
 
Sophomore Vernice Keyes is third in the weight throw (59-7 to rank sixth in EWU history) with senior Madison Doepker fifth (57-0). Also currently with the league's fifth-best mark is freshman Nyenuchi Okemgbo in the 60-meter hurdles (8.83 to rank second in EWU history).
 
For the men, senior Parker Bowden is third in the 60-meter hurdles (EWU record 7.96 time) and senior Jonah Mathews is third in the 60 meters (6.85 to rank fifth all-time at Eastern). He was second in that event as a junior in 2018.
 
Junior Quintin Porterfield is fourth in the 200 (21.82 to rank sixth all-time at EWU) and fifth in the heptathlon (4,725 to rank eighth all-time at EWU).
 
High jumper Killion McGinnis is also fourth (6-7) in the league, having place third at the Big Sky Outdoor Championship last season. Triple jumper Bobby Say enters with the sixth-best mark in the competition (47-3 3/4) and was third indoors a year ago at the Big Sky indoor meet.
 
 
Both the men's and women's distance medley relay teams enter the championships with No. 4 rankings. The men have a time of 10:17.79 to rank 10th in school history, while the women have a time of 12:18.60 to rank sixth all-time at EWU. However, the women will not field a team in the DMR because of entry limitations.
 
 

A Look Back at the Bronco Challenge

 
Eastern picked up eight victories and six improvements on EWU's all-time leaders lists as the Eagles closed the regular season on Feb. 14 and 15 at the Bronco Challenge at the Jacksons Indoor Track at the Idaho Center.
 
On Saturday's final day, victories included a pair of men's sprint titles for senior Jonah Mathews in the 60 meters (6.97 seconds) and junior Quintin Porterfield in the 200 (21.82). Porterfield's time was the sixth-fastest in school history, and the best in eight years for an Eagle.
 
Other victories were picked up by senior Parker Bowden in the 60-meter hurdles (8.22), sophomore Bobby Say in the triple jump (46-8) and junior Garrett Peoples in the shot put (52-10 3/4). Eastern won three titles – two for the men and one for the women – on Friday's first day, which also featured three performances making their way onto EWU's all-time leaders lists.
 
Besides Porterfield, sophomore Nyenuchi Okemgbo had a time of 8.83 in the 60-meter hurdles to place third and improve by .02 upon her previous best of 8.85 set earlier this season. She ranks second in EWU history behind the 8.51 time of Seville Broussard-Hering set in 1999.
 
In addition, sophomore Alyssa Oates and freshman Madison Wilson both cleared 5-5 3/4 in the high jump to finish second and third, respectively. They are now ranked eighth with two others on EWU's all-time list, including a performance earlier this season by teammate and sophomore Rebecca Thareek.
 
On Friday's first day, Eastern senior Grant Shurtliff picked up a win in the long jump with a 22-7 1/4 leap, and junior Colton Kautz won the weight throw with a toss of 57-1. Also victorious was EWU's distance medley relay team with a time of 12:19.79. That squad consisted of sophomore Megan Pitzman and freshmen Faith Kennedy, Kaylin Sheley and Maddie Drennen.
 
Sophomore Aulane Mpouli finished third in the long jump with the ninth-best jump in school history of 18-7 1/4. Eastern's men's distance medley team had a time of 10:17.79 to rank 10th all-time at EWU. That squad consisted of senior Domenic Rehm, junior Jack Sloan, sophomore Grant Hannan and sophomore Carter Ledwith.
 
In addition, senior Samantha Raines was one of 10 athletes who advanced out of Friday's preliminaries to finals in the 60 meters, 60-meter hurdles or the 200. She had a time of 7.78 in the 60 to rank as the 11th fastest in school history. Senior Parker Bowden had a time of 7.96 in the 60-meter hurdles to break his own school record by .01.
 
Eastern's strong contingent of women's weight throwers claimed places 3 through 8, with all six having throws of at least 50 feet. Senior Madison Doepker led the way with a third-place finish with a throw of 57-0.
 
 

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
3. Jonah Mathews – 6.85 - #5 in EWU History
 
200
4. Quintin Porterfield – 21.82 - #6 in EWU History
 
60 Meter Hurdles
3. Parker Bowden – 7.96 – EWU RECORD
 
4x400 Relay
10. Eastern (Porterfield, Freeman, Phelps, Bracken) – 3:20.47
 
Distance Medley Relay
4. Eastern (Rehm, Sloan, Hannan, Ledwith) – 10:17.79 - #10 in EWU History
 
High Jump
4. Killion McGinnis – 6-7
 
Pole Vault
3. Grant Shurtliff – 16-4 3/4 - #4 in EWU History
3. Zach Klobutcher – 16-4 3/4 - #4 in EWU History
10. Bailey Aiello - 15-3 3/4
10. Brayden Freitag – 15-3 3/4
 
Long Jump
4. Keshun McGee – 24-3 3/4
 
Triple Jump
1. Keshun McGee – 51-6 1/2
6. Bobby Say – 47-3 3/4
 
Shot Put
8. Garrett Peoples – 52-10 3/4
 
Weight Throw
7. Colton Kautz – 59-2 3/4 - #10 in EWU History
9. Garrett Peoples – 58-5 3/4
                                 
Heptathlon
1. Grant Shurtliff – 5,212 - #2 in EWU History
2. Aaron Pullin – 5,044 - #3 in EWU History
5. Quintin Porterfield – 4,725 - #8 in EWU History
9. Elijah Conley – 4,080
10. Elijah Hammer – 4,038
 
 

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

 
60 Meter Hurdles
5. Nyenuchi Okemgbo – 8.83 - #2 in EWU History
 
4x400 Relay
10. Eastern (Bowles, Kennedy, Hatton, Knight) – 4:01.73
 
Distance Medley Relay
4. Eastern (Drennen, Kennedy, Sheley, Pitzman) – 12:18.60 - #6 in EWU History
 
High Jump
8. Rebecca Thareek – 5-5 3/4 - #8 in EWU History
8. Madison Wilson – 5-5 3/4 - #8 in EWU History
8. Alyssa Oates – 5-5 3/4 - #8 in EWU History
 
Pole Vault
1. Samantha Raines – 13 5 1/4 - #3 in EWU History
1. Savannah Schultz – 13-5 1/4 - #3 in EWU History
5. Morgan Fossen – 12-5 1/2
7. Katrina Terry – 12-1 1/2
8. Rosalie Folger-Vent – 11-10 1/2
 
Long Jump
2. Aulane Mpouli – 18-7 1/4 - #9 in EWU History
4. Maegan McCurdy – 18-5 3/4 - #11 in EWU History
6. Madelyn Knight – 18-4 1/2
 
Triple Jump
6. Aulane Mpouli – 38-9 1/2 - #5 in EWU History
8. Rebecca Thareek – 38-6 1/4 - #7 in EWU History
 
Shot Put
7. Hadassah Ward – 46-3 1/2 - #8 in EWU History
 
Weight Throw
3. Vernice Keyes – 59-7 - #6 in EWU History
5. Madison Doepker – 57-0
 
Indoor Pentathlon
6. Rebecca Thareek – 3,428 - #4 in EWU History
9. Aulane Mpouli – 3,287 - #7 in EWU History
 
 

More Comments from Women's Head Coach Marcia Mecklenburg

 
On Top Chances for All-Big Sky Honors at BSC Championships: "Our top event is the pole vault.  With Samantha Raines and Savannah Schultz tied for the No. 1 ranking and the vault crew coming off a medal sweep last year at the outdoor conference championships, that is an event where we are expecting big things. Having said that, though, every athlete competing needs to step up. We need to get points in as many events as we can and take some pressure off that vault crew.  Pentathletes, weight throwers, and high jumpers are the next events where we have the most depth.  We need to take advantage of that depth and knock some other teams out of scoring potential in those events."
 
On Improved Hurdles Time by Okemgbo at Bronco Challenge: "Nyenuchi Okemgbo had another great performance on the 60 hurdles for a third-place finish at Nampa. It seems like every meet she keeps dropping time in that event so it will be exciting to see what she can do at the Big Sky Championships."
 
On Pentathletes: "Rebecca Thareek and Aulane Mpouli competed in a whole mix of events from the shot to the several different jumps to the sprints and hurdles in Nampa. They did a fantastic job and I know it is preparing them for a great Big Sky pentathlon competition."
 
 

More Comments from Head Coach Stan Kerr

 
On Big Sky Championships: "The Olympic motto -- Citius, Altius, Fortius -- certainly rings true for us this week as we set our sights on competing with the best athletes in the Big Sky Conference. A terrific element of the championships is that every school in the Big Sky Conference will be there, like us, to do their best.  The pride of wearing an EWU uniform and watching our athletes perform at the Division I level is a lifetime memory."
 
On Top Performers Heading to Meet: "In particular, our seniors who will be participating in their final indoor championships and are looking forward to executing the best performances of their lives.  Keshun, Parker, Isaac, Killion, Aaron, Dom and Grant will be the senior Eagles in this meet and leading the way for the rest of the team. I imagine if you asked each senior what words of wisdom they would pass onto the underclassmen they would respond with something along the line of stick to your competition plan, enjoy the moment, and cheer on your teammates like it was the Fourth of July."
 
On Performances by Multi-Event Athletes at Bronco Challenge: "Grant Shurtliff presented a very solid case in Nampa as being the top multi-event athlete in the conference. He'll not be hitting cruise control though, as he knows two of his own teammates, Quintin Porterfield and Aaron Pullin, are capable of pushing him for the title. Quintin's top 10 performance in the 200 made quite a statement to his readiness in going after the conference title in the heptathlon."
 
 

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
Saturday - Jan. 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 – Nampa, 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)