With strong ties already to the region and school, six women newcomers are set to join the Eastern Washington University track and field program for the 2020-21 school year.
 
All but one are 2020 high school graduates, with all six hailing from the State of Washington. One of the newcomers is javelin thrower Emmanuella (Emmy) Engle, a master's student from Okanogan, Wash., who will have one year of eligibility left after transferring from the University of Washington where she earned her undergraduate degree. She is a former two-time champion in the javelin at the WIAA State 2B Championships held at EWU's Roos Field.
 
Vatoria Keyes, a thrower out of Edmonds-Woodway High School in Edmonds, Wash, will re-join a sibling at EWU. Her sister, Vernice Keyes, earned All-Big Sky Conference honors indoors in 2020 in the 20-pound weight throw. Vatoria was a fourth-place finisher in the discus at the 2019 WIAA State 3A Championships.
 
Hunter Holsten from EWU's home of Cheney, Wash., is also a State placer who will join the Eagles next season. A third thrower and three-time participant in the State 3A Championships is Takiya Ward from Rainer Beach High in Seattle, Wash.
 
The group of newcomers is rounded out by a pair of competitors from Vancouver, Wash. -- sprinter Emily Madura is from Mountain View High School in Vancouver, Wash., and thrower Jasmine Tiatia is out of Evergreen HS. Tiatia was a State 3A placer in 2019 in the shot put.
 
The five 2020 graduates had their high school track and field careers cut short because of the Covid-19 pandemic. Engle lost her senior season at the UW as a result of the cancellation of spring sports competition both collegiately and at the high school level.
 
The EWU women's head coach is Marcia Mecklenburg, who coaches men's and women's throwers. Head men's coach Stan Kerr coaches hurdlers and sprinters; Dave Nielsen is coach of jumpers and multi-events athletes; Sam Read coaches distance runners; and Eric Allison is EWU's pole vault coach.

 

Hunter Holsten - Throws - Fr. - HS – Cheney, Wash. / Cheney HS '20

 
High School: Graduated from Cheney HS in 2020. She placed seventh in the shot put at the WIAA State 2A Championships with a mark of 34-11 1/2 as a junior in 2019. Her personal record of 36-8 came earlier in the season as the champion of the Connell Invitational, and she also had a best of 95-9 in the discus that season. Lettered three years (not including 2020) in track and field and was coached in high school by Taylor Peck. Was a Scholar Athlete all four years at Cheney.
 
Personal: Interested in majoring in exercise science at EWU with hopes to go into physical therapy. Born 9/19/01 in San Dimas, Calif.
 
 

Vatoria Keyes - Throws - Fr. - HS - Edmonds, Wash. / Edmonds-Woodway HS '20

 
High School: Graduated from Edmonds-Woodway HS in 2020. She placed fourth at the 2019 WIAA State 3A Championships in the discus with a personal-best throw of 129-1. She also advanced to the State 3A Championships as a sophomore in the discus when the Warriors placed sixth in the 3A ranks. Her best of 37-5 in the shot put came at the 2019 Wesco 3A South Championships when she finished as the runner-up. She was coached in high school by Brent McAfee. Keyes also wrestled in high school, earning a runner-up finish in 2020 and fourth-place finish in 2019 at the WIAA Girls' Mat Classic Championships. She became the first female from her school to medal in wrestling, and she also advanced to the championships as a sophomore. She lettered four times each in track and field and wrestling in high school, as well as twice in swimming.
 
Personal: Interested in majoring in nursing at EWU with hopes to go into pediatrics. Born 3/7/20 in Seattle, Wash. Her mother is Anja Keyes. Her sister, Vernice Keyes, is currently on Eastern's track and field roster and earned All-Big Sky Conference honors in 2020 in the weight throw. She placed third at the Big Sky Conference Championships in Pocatello, Idaho, with a throw of 61-8 1/2 to move into fifth on EWU's all-time leaders list. She also competed indoors in the 2018-19 season and outdoors in 2017-18 after graduating from Edmonds-Woodway in 2017.
 
 

Emily Madura - Sprints - Fr. - HS - Vancouver, Wash. / Mountain View HS '20

 
High School: Graduated from Mountain View HS in 2020. She had personal records of 13.34 in the 100 meters, 27.58 in the 200 and 1:05.74 in the 400 as a junior in 2019.  She helped her school's 4x100 relay team advance to the WIAA State 3A Championships in 2019. Coached in high school by Robert Procive. She lettered a total of three times in track and field in high school, and was also an honor student all four years and a MVHS Scholar Athlete three years.
 
Personal: Interested in majoring in nursing at EWU and hopes to go into pediatrics. Born 8/16/02 in Vancouver, Wash. Parents are Matthew and Mary Madura. Nickname is "Em."
 
 

Takiyah Ward - Throws - Fr. - HS - Seattle, Wash. / Rainier Beach HS '20

 
High School: Graduated from Rainier Beach HS in 2020.  A multi-talented track and field athlete, she advanced to the WIAA State 3A Championships twice in the shot put and once in the discus, and also competed in the sprints and hurdles. As a junior in 2019, she placed 14th in both the discus and shot put at State, and as a sophomore was ninth in the shot. Ward was the Metro League champion three times in those events. She had a personal record of 111-4 in the discus and 42-1 as a senior, and also had bests that season in the 300 hurdles (50.97) and 100 (13.54). Her best in the 200 (28.47) came as a freshman in 2017. Coached in high school by Nicole McRae Petty. Lettered a total of four times in track and field, three times in volleyball and twice in wrestling. She was the 2019-20 Metro League wrestling champion, and earned second team All-Metro League honors in volleyball as both a junior and senior.
 
Personal: Interested in majoring in biology at EWU with hopes to become a veterinarian. Born 11/2/01 in Seattle, Wash. Parents are William Ward and Teri Redmond-Ward. Nickname is "T.T."

 

Jasmine Tiatia – Throws - Fr. - HS – Vancouver, Wash. / Evergreen HS '20

 
High School: Graduated from Evergreen HS in 2020. She finished seventh in the shot put at the WIAA State 3A Championships as a junior in 2019, finishing with a throw of 40-11 1/4. Two weeks earlier, she had a school-record 42-11 throw in winning the title at the Greater St. Helen's League meet. Her best in the discus also came in 2019 when she had a throw of exactly 100 feet. She also threw the javelin, recording a best of 83-6 as a junior. Was coached in high school by Anne Christie and White Sosene. She also competed in volleyball and basketball in high school.
 
Personal: Interested in majoring in journalism at EWU. Born 12/2/01 in Vancouver, Wash. Parents are Stu and Toni Tiatia. Is a first generation college student from her family. Nickname is "Jazzy."
 
 

Emmanuella Engle – Javelin – Sr. – TR – Okanogan, Wash. / Okanogan HS '16 / Univ. of Washington

 
University of Washington: A regional qualifier and two-time participant at the Pac-12 Conference Championships, Engle competed three seasons at UW in 2017, 2018 and 2019. She moved up to No. 8 in UW history in the javelin with a new personal record of 150-4 in 2019. Also that year, she placed third at the Stanford Invitational collegiate section with a toss of 145-1. In 2018, she placed 11th at the Pac-12 Championships and with a best of 141-9 and earned Pac-12 All-Academic honorable mention. As a freshman in 2017, she advanced to the NCAA West Preliminary Championships where she was 36th with a throw of 137-6. Prior to that, she was 16th at the Pac-12 Championships with a mark of 135-0. During the 2017 season she had a season-best throw of 146-3 to rank ninth in school history at the time. She also had a best of 138-1 in the discus as a collegian. Was on the Dean's List from 2017-20 at Washington, where she received the communication department's 2020 Faculty Award for Outstanding Research for the thesis she wrote for the school's Honors Program. She received her bachelor's degree in communications from UW in spring of 2020.

High School: Graduated in 2016 from Okanogan High School. She has a long association with EWU's Roos Field, having competed at the WIAA State Track and Field Championships all four years in high school at that venue and winning a pair of javelin titles. She won the title as a senior in 2016 with a personal-best throw of 154-6, which equaled the meet record she held for one year before it was broken. The mark ranked second in Washington across all classifications and was the best by a senior, and also ranked 21st in the nation. Engle also won the javelin in 2015 with a throw of 130-7. Okanogan was a 1A school in her first two years, and she placed fourth at State as a sophomore in 2014 (122-8) and 12th as a freshman (104-6). In addition, she advanced to State in the discus (seventh, 113-11) and the 100-meter hurdles (18.31 in the preliminaries) as a senior. As a junior she placed third in the discus (122-9). She also participated on five relays which advanced to the State Championships, including a third-place finish in the 4x400 as a senior. She was coached in high school by Zach Spaet. Following her junior season, she also competed at the 2015 Washington State Multi-Events Championships, taking fifth in the heptathlon with 3,795 points. Engle was also a four-year letterwinner in soccer, earning All-State and first team All-Caribou League honors. She helped her squad win the title at the 2015 WIAA State 1B/2B Championships where she also earned a sportsmanship award. She lettered one year in wrestling and in 2016 was the first female in school history to earn a berth to the WIAA Wrestling Championships for girls. She played basketball two previous seasons. Academically, she had a 3.9 grade point average and was a member of ASB leadership, Key Club and National Honor Society. She was a 2015 and 2016 Word-Processing Regional Champion, and earned the school's 2016 Courtesy Pride and Respect Award.
 
Personal: Having already received her degree in communications at the University of Washington, Engle plans to pursue her master's degree in communication studies at EWU. She hopes to work with student-athletes as an advisor or academic specialist. Born 1/18/98 in Omak, Wash. Her full first name is Emmanuella but she went by Emmy in high school and at the University of Washington. Her parents are Ernest Engle and Pamela Brigham. She is a first generation member of her family to attend college.