Eastern Washington University women's hammer thrower Vernice Keyes has been selected as the Big Sky Conference "Field" Athlete of the Week for her career-best performance last week, the league office announced Monday (May 3).
 
Keyes had the third-best hammer throw in school history by placing second at the Oregon State University High Performance Meet in Corvallis, Ore., with a mark of 198-2. A sophomore from Lynnwood, Wash., Keyes now only trails marks of 199-8 (Nicole Luckenbach, 2010) and 203-1 (Kaytlyn Coleman, 2016) in school history.
 
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. At OSU, her best throw came on her third attempt as she moved into second and held that position the rest of the way. Oregon State's Lindsay McShane won the event with a throw of 207-5.
 
"Vernice Keys threw big in the hammer, and I can tell she is getting more comfortable with her turns," said EWU women's track and field coach Marcia Mecklenburg. "Big jumps in distance are common for new hammer throwers but an almost 12-foot improvement for a more experienced thrower doesn't happen all that often. Her second-place finish was one place better than the last meet at OSU, so she is moving up and beating some quality athletes."
 
Keyes is a 2017 graduate of Edmonds-Woodway High School, and placed third in the weight throw at the 2020 Big Sky Conference Track and Field Championships – just prior to the outdoor season getting canceled because of the Covid-19 pandemic. Her younger sister, Vatoria Keyes, is also a thrower on EWU's team and graduated from Edmonds-Woodway in 2020.
 
Earlier this season, women's pole vaulter Morgan Fossen won Field Athlete of the Week honors, and Parker Bowden has been honored twice on the men's side for running events. Others nominated for this week's award were hurdler Alyssa Hoffman (women's track), hammer thrower Colton Kautz (men's field) and steeplechaser Justin Roosma (men's track).
 
This Wednesday (May 5) the track and field team will be in Spokane, Wash., for the final regular-season meet – the Whitworth Twilight. The competition will kick-off at 2 p.m. Pacific time. This will be a last-chance opportunity for athletes to make the Big Sky Conference team, and earn a regional qualifying mark. The Big Sky Conference Championships are May 12-15 in Ogden, Utah.