Link to Information and Results
 
With Parker Bowden again providing the jaw-dropping performance, Eastern Washington University captured four titles and garnered a total of seven All-Big Sky Conference performances on the final day of the Big Sky Conference Outdoor Track and Field Championships on Saturday (May 15) in Ogden, Utah.
 
Eastern's men finished in fifth place with 96 points, coming just 10 points from equaling its best-ever finish of third. The women placed 10th with 42 points. Northern Arizona won the men's competition with 168 points, and the Lumberjacks also garnered the women's title with 207 points.
 
Named the men's Most Outstanding Performer at the meet, Bowden won EWU's first-ever 110-meter high hurdles title with a meet record time and the No. 2 all-time mark in league history. His clocking of 13.58 ranks him 14th in NCAA Division I and shattered his school record set one day earlier of 13.74. Entering this season, the record was 14.23 and his own best was 14.25 (14.34 non wind-aided).
 
"The team gets a chance to catch its breath now after some unbelievable performances today," said Eastern men's head coach Stan Kerr. "Parker's record-setting 110 hurdles time and being recognized as the meet's outstanding performer topped a great day for us."
 
In addition, junior Joe Gauthier won the 100 meters as part of 1-2-6 finish by the Eagles and then placed fourth in the 200. He also ran the lead-off leg on EWU's winning 4x100-meter relay squad, which was anchored by senior Jonah Mathews who was the runner-up in the 100 behind Gauthier.
 
The fourth title was won by junior Katrina Terry, who led a 1-2-7-8 finish in the women's pole vault. Eastern has now won six outdoor pole vault titles – all in the last nine meets since 2012 – with Samantha Raines the most recent in 2019 before Terry's winning vault this year.
 
Eastern closed the meet with eight All-Big Sky Conference performances (top three finish) on the men's side, and a trio for the women.
 
In all, 17 men's athletes/relays and two females scored points for the Eagles, including a trio in the men's decathlon on Thursday. Including Bowden's school record, a total of eight men's marks and three women's marks improved or earn spots on EWU's top 10 all-time lists in the two days of the regular portion of the meet.
 
"We didn't do as well as we had hoped as a team, but I appreciate the determination our athletes had and the amazing individual performances that were achieved," said women's head coach Marcia Mecklenburg. "Next up, NCAA West Regionals."
 
The meet was hosted by Weber State University, and did not take place a year ago because of the Covid-19 pandemic.
 
The Eagles were seeking to improve upon their finishes in 2019 when the meet was last held. Eastern's men finished sixth while the women were seventh, but in 2018 the men were fourth and the women sixth.
 
Eastern's men have finished a high of third on four occasions (2006, 2005, 2001, 2000), all under head coach Stan Kerr. The women have finished as high as third twice (2016, 2011) under head coach Marcia Mecklenburg. Both Kerr and Mecklenburg are in their 26th year at the helm of their respective teams.
 
 
Other Men's Top Performances
 
* Parker Bowden, a graduate of Spokane's Central Valley High School won EWU's first Big Sky title in the high hurdles with a 13.58 time. His effort broke the meet record of 13.68, and was just .16 from the Big Sky all-time mark of 13.42. Twice previously he's earned All-Big Sky Conference honors with a top three finish at conference championship meets, but both of those came indoors. He was fifth in the hurdles the first and last time he competed at the Big Sky outdoor meet in 2018. In Friday's preliminaries, a fast start helped him Bowden his own school record with a 13.74 time in the high hurdles. At the time, his clocking moved him up to 26th in NCAA Division I. He previously had a top time this season of 13.87 to rank 40th nationally and shatter the previous school record of 14.23.
 
* The Eagles captured three of the top six places in the 100 meters to score 21 points, with junior Joe Gauthier winning with a time of 10.52 to rank third in school history. Senior Jonah Mathews was second with a time of 10.52 to equal his career best and rank No. 4 all-time at EWU. Junior Dimeji Adekanbi was sixth in 10.73, one day after he had a personal-best in the preliminaries of 10.66 to rank eighth in EWU history). Gauthier later placed fourth in the 200 with at time of 21.34 to move up a spot to eighth all-time at EWU. Gauthier has previously earned All-Big Sky honors in the 100 outdoors (2019, third) and 60 meters indoors (2019, third), and has run on 4x100 championship teams in 2021 and 2018.
 
* Mathews and Gauthier ran legs on Eastern's veteran 4x100 relay team which had a time of 40.75 to rank as the third-fastest in school history. Gauthier ran the lead-off leg, true freshman Daniel Gaik was second, junior Dawson Lack was third and Mathews ran the anchor leg. Gauthier, Mathews and Lack were also members of the 2018 squad which won Eastern's only previous league title in that event and set a school record that season with a 40.39 time.
 
* After the relay victory, Gaik parlayed that into an All-Big Sky performance in the 400 meters with a third-place finish. His time of 47.00 ranks only behind the school record of 46.67 set by Brad Wall in 2010. He had entered the competition with a previous best this season of 48.42, and had a 48.13 time in the prelims. Sophomore Liam Bracken also scored for EWU in that event with a seventh-place finish (48.49).
 
* The Eagles capped the meet with a third-place finish in the 4x400 relay, finishing with a time of 3:15.12. The squad consisted of senior Trey McAdams, senior Jayce Freeman, Bracken and Gaik.
 
* Sophomore Bobby Say had his second-straight fourth-place finish with a 48-10 3/4 effort in the triple jump to come six inches from third. One day earlier, he came just a half-inch from earning All-Big Sky Conference honors by finishing fourth with a career-best leap of 24-1 1/2. He had entered Saturday's triple jump competition ranked fifth in the league with a 49-4 1/4 leap which ranks ninth in school history. Say was third in the triple jump at the 2019 indoor championships.
 
* Early Saturday, junior Colton Kautz had a 204-8 effort in the hammer throw to claim fourth with the third-best mark in school history. He came 16 inches from earning All-Big Sky honors with a top three finish.
 
 
Other Women's Top Finishers
 
* Eastern continued its dominance in the women's pole vault in the league with a 1-2-7-8 finish to score 20 points, led by a winning effort of 13-1 by junior Katrina Terry. Senior Morgan Fossen finished in a tie for second (12-9), freshman Savannah Schultz was seventh (12-5 1/4) and freshman Rosalie Folger-Vent placed eighth (12-5 1/4). In addition, sophomore Hally Ruff placed 10th (11-11 1/4). The group of women's pole vaulters has ranked as high as seventh in NCAA Division I this season (currently ninth), and had a 1-2-3 sweep outdoors in 2019. Both Schultz and Terry has previously earned All-Big Sky honors, with Schultz finishing second indoors in 2020 and Terry placing third outdoors in 2019.
 
* Sophomore Alyssa Hoffman scored three points for EWU with a sixth-place finish in the 400-meter hurdles with a time of 1:03.54. In Friday's preliminaries, she had top 10 times in school history in both hurdles events, including the 400 hurdles with a time of 1:02.00 to rank eighth in school history. Although she didn't advance to the finals, had the fourth-fastest time in EWU history in the 100 hurdles with a time of 14.46. She finished 12th in the preliminaries, .13 out of eighth which would have advanced her to Saturday's finals.
 
* Senior graduate transfer Emmanuella Engle placed sixth in the javelin with a throw of 156-0. She had entered the championships with the fifth-best throw in the javelin, an effort of 158-3 on May 1 which moved her to No. 8 on EWU's all-time leaders list. The transfer from the University of Washington had a previous best of 156-11 in her EWU debut on March 13, and as a Husky her top performance was 150-4 in 2019, which also ranked eighth on the UW's all-time list.
 
* A pair of Eastern shot putters had career-best performances to score points for the Eagles. Junior Kaitlyn Paller finished seventh with an effort of 44-9 1/2, and freshman Carissa Stovall was right behind her in eighth with a shot put of 44-4 1/4.
 
 
Additional Comments from Head Coach Marcia Mecklenburg
 
"After standing on the podium several times, Katrina Terry finally got to stand on the top spot. It was great to see her win the pole vault title in an event where we had three of the top vaulters in the conference. Kudos to Morgan Fossen for tying for second and Savannah Shultz and Rosalie Folger-Vent for also scoring for us. We needed those points and as they have done all season long, the vaulters came through for us."
 
"Alyssa Hoffman doubled back from the short relay and placed sixth in her No. 1 event, the 400 Hurdles. She has improved so much this year and it showed today."
 
"Emmanuella Engle had one of the best series of throws of her life in the javelin and pulled out a sixth-place finish. The javelin competition was the best competition in years. It was great to see Emmy put her heart out there with every throw."
 
"Kaitlyn Paller and Carissa Stovall came through with some awesome throws in the shot put. They both had personal records and moved up into scoring positions, giving our team some much-needed points. They have been flirting with the 44-foot mark and today they finally went over it."
 
"I was glad to see the 400 relay and the mile relay sneaking in and scoring for us from the slow heats. Our short relay sprinters, Samiah Kuntz, Faith Kennedy, Alyssa Hoffman, and Katie Petsch have had some amazing races this season and it was great to see them finish up by scoring. Our mile relay made up of Emily Madura, Felicity Hempstead, Haven Nutting, and Faith Kennedy ran one of the best times of the season and they couldn't have done it at a better time."
 
 
Additional Comments from Head Coach Stan Kerr
 
"Colton Kautz continued his assault on the all-time hammer top 10 list with another strong throw. He'll now get the opportunity to compete in the regional round of the national championships in Texas."
 
"The men's 4x100 win was truly special. Three of the four athletes were on the quartet that won the 4x100 two years ago. They aptly navigated the COVID year to battle back through injuries and an unusual schedule to win this title again.  I am proud of these guys and everything they've given to our program."
 
"Joe Gauthier almost pulled out a trifecta in winning the 100, being on the winning 4x100 squad and nearly winning the 200. Joe is a special sprinter and will be back next year.  He already has his sights set on winning the indoor 60 meters next February at the indoor championships."
 
"Daniel Gaik and Liam Bracken took care of business in the 400 meters, and they helped the 4x400 shine super bright today. After two full days of competition, they pieced together a very memorable all-conference performance with their best time of the season."
 
"We're enjoying the efforts of this weekend and will soon get onto our training for the regional round of the national championships."
 
 
 
EWU Scorers (top 8 finish)
 
Men (Outdoor eligibility listed) - Total of 17
CHAMPION - 4x100 Relay – 40.75 - Joe Gauthier, Daniel Gaik, Dawson Lack, Jonah Mathews
CHAMPION - 110 Hurdles - 13.58 - Parker Bowden - Sr. - Spokane, Wash. / Central Valley HS '15 / CC of Spokane
CHAMPION - 100 - 10.50 - Joe Gauthier - Jr. - West Richland, Wash. / Hanford HS '17
2nd - 100 - 10.52 - Jonah Mathews - Sr. - Tacoma, Wash. / Fife HS '15
6th - 100 - 10.73 - Dimeji Adekanbi - Jr. - Seattle, Wash. / Nathan Hale HS '16 / Everett CC
3rd - 400 – 47.00 - Daniel Gaik - Fr. - Kent, Wash. / Kentwood HS '20
3rd - 4x400 Relay - 3:15.12 - Trey McAdams, Jayce Freeman, Liam Bracken, Daniel Gaik
7th - 400 – 48.49 - Liam Bracken - So. - Republic, Wash. / Republic HS '18
4th - 200 - 21.34 - Joe Gauthier - Jr. - West Richland, Wash. / Hanford HS '17
4th – Triple Jump - 48-10 3/4 - Bobby Say - So. - Maple Valley, Wash. / Tahoma HS '18
4th - Hammer - 204-8 - Colton Kautz - Jr. - Everson, Wash. / Nooksack Valley HS '17
 
^2nd - Javelin – 218-3 - Gavin Lee - Jr. - Vancouver, Wash. / Heritage HS '17
^3rd - Steeplechase – 9:07.78 - Justin Roosma - So. - Walla Walla, Wash. / W. Walla Valley HS '19 / Pacific Union Col.
^4th - Long Jump - 24-1 1/2 - Bobby Say - So. - Maple Valley, Wash. / Tahoma HS '18
^Friday
 
*5th - Decathlon - 6,142 - Quintin Porterfield - Jr. - East Wenatchee, Wash. / Eastmont HS '17 / Wenatchee Valley CC
*7th - Decathlon - 5,761 - Parker Wubbena - So. - Vancouver, Wash. / Mountain View HS '17
*8th - Decathlon - 5,755 - Chris Homen - Fr. - Spokane, Wash. / Ferris HS '19
*Thursday.
 
Women (Outdoor eligibility listed) - Total of 11
CHAMPION - Pole Vault – 13-1 - Katrina Terry - Jr. - Billings, Mont. / Billings West HS '17
2nd (tie) - Pole Vault - 12-9 - Morgan Fossen - Sr. - Medford, Ore. / North Medford HS '16 / Lane CC
7th - Pole Vault - 12-5 1/4 - Savannah Schultz - Fr. - Portland, Ore. / Centennial HS '19
8th - Pole Vault - 11-11 1/4 - Rosalie Folger-Vent - Fr. - Portland, Ore. / Madison HS '19
6th - Javelin - 156-0 - Emmanuella Engle - Sr. - Okanogan, Wash. / Okanogan HS '16 / University of Washington
6th - 400 Hurdles - 1:03.54 - Alyssa Hoffman - So. - Renton, Wash. / Kennedy Catholic HS '18
7th - Shot Put - 44-9 1/2 - Kaitlyn Paller - Jr. - Shelton, Wash. / Shelton HS '17 / Olympic CC
8th - Shot Put - 44-4 1/4 - Carissa Stovall - Throws - Fr. - Yelm, Wash. / Yelm HS '19 
8th - 4x100 Relay – 47.99 - Samiah Kuntz, Faith Kennedy, Alyssa Hoffman, Katie Petsch
8th - 4x400 Relay – 3:59.96 - Emily Madura, Felicity Hempstead, Haven Nutting, Faith Kennedy
 
^2nd - Hammer - 181-4 - Vernice Keyes - So. - Lynnwood, Wash. / Edmonds-Woodway HS '17
^6th - High Jump - 5-6 - Alyssa Oates - So. - Wilbur, Wash. / Wilbur-Creston HS '18
 
 
On the Horizon
 
The NCAA West Regionals will take place on May 27-29 at College Station, Texas, and hosted by Texas A&M. The maximum field size in each event will by 48, based on marks posted during the outdoor season in 2021. Competition each day begins as early as 11 a.m. Pacific time for field events, and 4:30 p.m. for running events. The top finishers qualify for the NCAA Championships on June 9-12 in Eugene, Ore., and hosted by the University of Oregon. Eugene will also host the U.S. Olympic Trials on June 18-27.
 
 
EWU Top-10 Lists
 
Spring 21 Updates Include:
 
Women
- Morgan Fossen, No. 2 – Pole Vault | 13-8 1/2
- Savannah Schultz, No. 3 – Pole Vault | 13-7 3/4
- Vernice Keyes, No. 3 – Hammer | 198-2
- Alyssa Hoffman, No. 4 – 100-Meter Hurdles | 14.46
- Madelyn Knight, No. 5 – 100-Meter Hurdles | 14.60
- Madelyn Knight, No. 4 – Heptathlon | 4,749 points
- Katrina Terry, No. 7 – Pole Vault | 13-3 1/2
- Emmanuella Engle, No. 8 – Javelin | 158-3
- Alyssa Oates, No. 8 - High Jump | 5-6
- Alyssa Hoffman, No. 8 – 400-Meter Hurdles | 1:02.00
 
Men
- Parker Bowden, School Record – 110 hurdles | 13.58 (#2 in Big Sky History; Meet Record)
- Justin Roosma, School Record – 3,000 Steeplechase | 8:54.69
- Daniel Gaik, No. 2 – 400 Meters | 47.00
- Zach Klobutcher, No. 2 – Pole Vault | 16-9 1/4
- Justin Roosma, No. 3 – 1,500 Meters | 3:48.43
- Joe Gauthier, No. 3 – 100 Meters | 10.50
- Colton Kautz, No. 3 – Hammer Throw | 204-8
- Jonah Mathews, No. 4 – 100 Meters | 10.52
- Justin Roosma, No. 5 – 800 Meters | 1:50.31
- Jonah Mathews, No. 6 – 200 Meters | 21.29
- Carter Ledwith, No. 7 – 10,000 Meters | 30:12.69
- Dimeji Adekanbi, No. 8 – 100 Meters | 10.66
- Joe Gauthier, No. 8 – 200 Meters | 21.34
- Gavin Lee, No. 8 – Javelin | 218-3
- Bobby Say, No. 9 – Triple Jump | 49-4 1/4
- 4 x100-Meter Relay, No. 3 | 40.75 (Joe Gauthier, Daniel Gaik, Dawson Lack, and Jonah Mathews)
 
 
 
Returning Men's All-Big Sky Athletes
(Top 3 finish at the Big Sky Championships)
 
Parker Bowden – (2020 Indoors: 3rd in 60-meter hurdles/7.94; 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) 
Killion McGinnis – (2019 Outdoors: 3rd in high jump/6-8 1/4)
Bobby Say – (2019 Indoors: 3rd in triple jump/48-3 1/2)
* 4x100-meter relay – (2018 Outdoors: 1st place finish/40.57; Jonah Mathews, Dawson Lack, and Joe Gauthier are returning members from that team.)
 
 
Returning Women's All-Big Sky Athletes
(Top 3 finish at the Big Sky Championships)
 
Vernice Keyes – (2020 Indoors: 3rd in weight throw/61-8 1/2
Savannah Schultz – (2020 Indoors: 2nd in pole vault/12-10 3/4
Katrina Terry – (2019 Outdoors: 3rd in pole vault/12-6 3/4) 
 
 
 
2020-21 Remaining EWU Outdoor Track & Field Schedule
 
Wed/Th - May 12-13, 2021 - Big Sky Combined Events - Ogden, Utah - Both Days: Decathlon - 9 am; Heptathlon - 9:30 am
Fri/Sat - May 14-15, 2021 - Big Sky Outdoor Championships - Ogden, Utah – Friday: Field - 10 am; Running - 12:30 pm . . . Saturday: Field - 8:30 am; Running - 1 pm
We/Th/Fr/Sat - May 26-29, 2021 - NCAA West Regional Championships - College Station, Texas
We/Th/Fr/Sat - June 9-12, 2021 - NCAA Division I Outdoor Championships - Eugene, Ore. - TBA
Fr-Sun - June 18-27, 2021 - U.S. Olympic Trials - Eugene, Ore. – TBA