Link to Information, Schedule and Results
 
It's time to see what Eastern Washington University can do on the national track and field stage.
 
Nine Eagles will compete this week in the NCAA West Regional taking place May 26-29 at College Station, Texas, and hosted by Texas A&M.
 
The nine athletes, including senior hurdler Parker Bowden and three female pole vault competitors, advanced to the preliminary round by ranking in the top 48 in the West Region 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.
 
Bowden, coming off his Performer of the Meet honor at the Big Sky Conference Championships, will compete in the first round of the preliminaries of the 110-meter high hurdles on Wednesday (May 26) at 4 p.m. Pacific time. If he advances, he will compete in the quarterfinals on Friday (May 28) at 4:45 p.m.
 
He enters with the 12th-fastest time in the region and is 20th nationally with an altitude-adjusted time of 13.62 seconds. En route to winning the league title on May 15 in Ogden, Utah, his unconverted time of 13.58 was the second-fastest in Big Sky history, a championship record and broke his own school record.
 
The top 12 in the region advance to the NCAA Championships, which will take place June 9-12 in Eugene, Ore. Eugene will also be the site of the this year's US Olympic Trials on June 18-27.
 
"We're taking a good blend of seasoned and first-time athletes," said men's head coach Stan Kerr. "In this Olympic year, it will also be an opportunity to compete against athletes in this meet who will be contending for a coveted spot on the United States Olympic Team. Needless to say, the motivation to do your best will be omnipresent this week."
 
The trio of pole vaulters include Big Sky champion Katrina Terry, as well as runner-up Morgan Fossen and seventh-place finisher Savannah Schultz. They enter with three of the top 42 marks in the region, with Fossen ranking 17th (13-8 1/2), Schultz 23rd (13-7 3/4) and Terry 42nd (13-3 1/2).
 
Other females competing include hammer thrower Vernice Keyes (198-2, 31st) and javelin thrower Emmanuella Engle (158-3, 34th). Also competing for the men are Gavin Lee in the javelin (218-4, 25th), Colton Kautz in the hammer throw (204-8, 35th) and Justin Roosma in the steeplechase (8:54.69, 35th).
 
"It is great to have five athletes qualify for the NCAA Championships preliminary round," said women's head coach Marcia Mecklenburg. "That is the most that we have had qualify in a while. We knew before the declarations started that Katrina Terry, Morgan Fossen, Savannah Shultz, Emmanuella Engle and Vernice Keys would make it in. It was a relief not to have to worry if any of them would get bumped out or not."
 
"It is going to be an exciting four days of track and field," she added.
 
 
Women's Entrants at the NCAA West Regional (outdoor eligibility listed)
 
Morgan Fossen - Sr. - Medford, Ore. / North Medford HS '16 / Lane CC
Vernice Keyes - So. - Lynnwood, Wash. / Edmonds-Woodway HS '17
Savannah Schultz - Fr. - Portland, Ore. / Centennial HS '19
Katrina Terry - Jr. - Billings, Mont. / Billings West HS '17
Emmanuella Engle - Sr. - Okanogan, Wash. / Okanogan HS '16 / University of Washington
 
 
Men's Entrants at the NCAA West Regional (outdoor eligibility listed)
 
Parker Bowden - Sr. - Spokane, Wash. / Central Valley HS '15 / CC of Spokane
Colton Kautz - Jr. - Everson, Wash. / Nooksack Valley HS '17
Gavin Lee - Jr. - Vancouver, Wash. / Heritage HS '17
Justin Roosma - So. - Walla Walla, Wash. / W. Walla Valley HS '19 / Pacific Union Col.
Zach Klobutcher - Fr. - Covington, Wash. / Tahoma HS '19
 
 
Schedule of Events (Times Pacific)
 
Wednesday, May 26
11:30 am - Men's Hammer - Colton Kautz
11:30 am - Men's Javelin - Gavin Lee 
4:00 pm - 110 Hurdle Prelims (first round) - Parker Bowden
 
Thursday, May 27
11:30 am - Women's Hammer - Vernice Keyes
11:30 am - Women's Javelin - Emmanuella Engle 
1:00 pm - Women's Pole Vault - Morgan Fossen, Savannah Schultz, Katrina Terry
 
Friday, May 28
4:10 pm - Men's 3,000 Steeplechase - Justin Roosma
4:45 pm - 110 Hurdle Prelims (quarterfinals) - Parker Bowden
 
 
Men's Competitors
 
* Senior Parker Bowden, a graduate of Spokane's Central Valley High School won EWU's first-ever Big Sky title in the high hurdles with a 13.58 time on May 15 in Ogden, Utah., to earn the meet's male Top Performer honor. 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. Entering this season, his own best was 14.25 (14.34 non wind-aided).
 
* After entering with just the ninth-best throw of 199-4 entering the competition, Gavin Lee uncorked a personal best of 218-3 to capture second place at the Big Sky Championships on May 14. The junior had his throw on his first attempt, and held the lead briefly. Lee's mark is the eighth-best in school history.
 
* Sophomore Justin Roosma earned All-Big Sky honors in the steeplechase with a third-place finish on May 14, finishing with a time of 9:07.78 in the altitude of Ogden, Utah. He broke the school record in the steeplechase on April 30 with a time of 8:54.69 to rank fourth in the league entering the competition. His performance at the championships was the third top-three finish in that event in school history and the first in 16 years, with previous record holder Branden Fuller finishing as runner-up twice in 2004 and 2005.
 
* Junior Colton Kautz had a 204-8 effort in the hammer throw to claim fourth with the third-best mark in school history at the Big Sky Championships. He came 16 inches from earning All-Big Sky honors with a top three finish.
 
 
Women's Competitors
 
* Eastern continued its dominance in the women's pole vault at the Big Sky Championships with a 1-2-7-8 finish on May 15 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) and freshman Savannah Schultz was seventh (12-5 1/4). EWU's group of women's pole vaulters has ranked as high as seventh in NCAA Division I this season (currently 10th), and had a 1-2-3 sweep outdoors at the league meet 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. 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.
 
* Senior graduate transfer Emmanuella Engle placed sixth in the javelin with a throw of 156-0 at the Big Sky Championships on May 15. 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.
 
* Sophomore hammer thrower Vernice Keyes was the runner-up at the Big Sky Championships with a throw of 181-4, with the winner recording a mark of 199-0. She had entered the championships with a mark of 198-2 on April 30 to rank No. 2 in the league. Keyes, who earned All-Big Sky honors in 2020 with a third-place finish indoors in the weight throw, is ranked only behind marks of 199-8 (Nicole Luckenbach, 2010) and 203-1 (Kaytlyn Coleman, 2016) in school history in the hammer. Before her throw of 198-2, the previous career best for Keyes was 186-6 on April 17 at a meet at Whitworth, and coming into the season her high was 158-3 as a freshman in 2018.
 
 
Additional Comments from Head Coach Marcia Mecklenburg
 
"The vaulters have been leading the team all year long. To have three qualify is pretty amazing. All of them have had a great year and they are ready to do even better things."
 
"Emmy and Vernice have both been improving in the javelin and hammer, respectively, through the season. They both threw well at the Big Sky Championships but didn't place as high as they had hoped. So I think they are both hungry to throw farther and make that top 12 mark."
 
 
Additional Comments from Head Coach Stan Kerr
 
"In the last year-plus of uncertainty, one thing is certain, this crew is headed to Texas for one of the premiere track and field events on the planet. Our nine athletes are going head-to-head with the top 48 athletes in their respective events with the goal of advancing to the final round of the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships. The athletes and coaches are excited and ready to compete in this meet."
 
 
 
 
On the Horizon
 
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 Athletes Ranked in the Top 48 in the NCAA West Region
 
Men (Outdoor eligibility listed) – (4)
#12 (#20 nationally) - 110 Hurdles - 13.62 (altitude adjusted from 13.58) - Parker Bowden - Sr. - Spokane, Wash. / Central Valley HS '15 / CC of Spokane
#25 (#62) - Javelin - 218-4 - Gavin Lee - Jr. - Vancouver, Wash. / Heritage HS '17
#35 (#69) - Hammer - 204-8 - Colton Kautz - Jr. - Everson, Wash. / Nooksack Valley HS '17
#35 (#84) - Steeplechase - 8:54.69 - Justin Roosma - So. - Walla Walla, Wash. / W. Walla Valley HS '19 / Pacific Union Col.
 
Women (Outdoor eligibility listed) – (5)
#17 (#35) - Pole Vault - 13-8 1/2 - Morgan Fossen - Sr. - Medford, Ore. / North Medford HS '16 / Lane CC
#23 (#43) - Pole Vault - 13-7 3/4 - Savannah Schultz - Fr. - Portland, Ore. / Centennial HS '19
#31 (#70) - Hammer - 198-2 - Vernice Keyes - So. - Lynnwood, Wash. / Edmonds-Woodway HS '17
#34 (#72) - Javelin - 158-3 - Emmanuella Engle - Sr. - Okanogan, Wash. / Okanogan HS '16 / University of Washington
#42 (#77) - Pole Vault - 13-3 1/2 - Katrina Terry - Jr. - Billings, Mont. / Billings West HS '17
 
 
 
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)
 
 
EWU Scorers at 2021 Big Sky Conference Championships (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
2nd - Javelin – 218-3 - Gavin Lee - Jr. - Vancouver, Wash. / Heritage HS '17
3rd - 400 – 47.00 - Daniel Gaik - Fr. - Kent, Wash. / Kentwood HS '20
3rd - Steeplechase – 9:07.78 - Justin Roosma - So. - Walla Walla, Wash. / W. Walla Valley HS '19 / Pacific Union Col.
3rd - 4x400 Relay - 3:15.12 - Trey McAdams, Jayce Freeman, Liam Bracken, Daniel Gaik
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
4th - Long Jump - 24-1 1/2 - Bobby Say - So. - Maple Valley, Wash. / Tahoma HS '18
5th - Decathlon - 6,142 - Quintin Porterfield - Jr. - East Wenatchee, Wash. / Eastmont HS '17 / Wenatchee Valley CC
6th - 100 - 10.73 - Dimeji Adekanbi - Jr. - Seattle, Wash. / Nathan Hale HS '16 / Everett CC
7th - 400 – 48.49 - Liam Bracken - So. - Republic, Wash. / Republic HS '18
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
 
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
2nd - Hammer - 181-4 - Vernice Keyes - So. - Lynnwood, Wash. / Edmonds-Woodway HS '17
6th - 400 Hurdles - 1:03.54 - Alyssa Hoffman - So. - Renton, Wash. / Kennedy Catholic HS '18
6th - Javelin - 156-0 - Emmanuella Engle - Sr. - Okanogan, Wash. / Okanogan HS '16 / University of Washington
6th - High Jump - 5-6 - Alyssa Oates - So. - Wilbur, Wash. / Wilbur-Creston HS '18
7th - Pole Vault - 12-5 1/4 - Savannah Schultz - Fr. - Portland, Ore. / Centennial HS '19
7th - Shot Put - 44-9 1/2 - Kaitlyn Paller - Jr. - Shelton, Wash. / Shelton HS '17 / Olympic CC
8th - Pole Vault - 11-11 1/4 - Rosalie Folger-Vent - Fr. - Portland, Ore. / Madison HS '19
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
 
 
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
 
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