The Eastern Washington University men's and women's outdoor track and field teams are preparing for another busy week of competition. The Eagles will split squads, with some competing locally at the Buc Scoring / Combined Events Meet in Spokane, Wash., at the Whitworth Pine Bowl on Thursday (Mar. 24) and Friday (Mar. 25). The others will be heading to Missoula, Mont., on Friday (Mar. 25) and Saturday (Mar. 26) at Dornblaser Field for the Al Manuel Invitational.

The 2022 outdoor Big Sky Conference preseason poll results were also released today (March 23). The men were selected to finish fifth and the women were predicted to place sixth.

Live results for the Buc Scoring / Combined Events Meet can be found here.

Live results for the Al Manuel Invitational can be found on GoEags.com after the final event.

The Buc Scoring / Combined Events Meet will begin Thursday at 11:45 a.m. with the decathlon 100-meter.

On Friday the meet will begin at 11 a.m. with the decathlon 110-meter hurdles. The track events will begin at 3:20 p.m. with the 400-meter relay.

At the Al Manuel Invitational on Friday the men's and women's hammer throw and shot put will begin at 3 p.m. Pacific time.

On Saturday the field events will begin at 9:30 a.m. PT with the women's javelin throw. At 10 a.m. PT the track events will begin with the women's steeplechase.  

This meet will be scored and have dual meet scoring.

"This week has been a really good blend of finishing on a very high academic note with finals and training for great meets this weekend," explained head men's coach Stan Kerr.  "We're excited about our multi athletes competing in the Buc Scoring Meet at Whitworth. Joining our multis will be a few of our distance crew who will match up with Idaho and Washington State's distance athletes," said Kerr.  "We're also excited to be taking the rest of the team to Missoula where we'll compete against University of Montana and Montana State University."

Both meets are going to be exciting as it will be the first outing for the heptathletes and the second meet for the athletes doing individual events," explained head women's coach Marcia Mecklenburg.

Last weekend the Eagles competed in their first meet of the season at the Sam Adams Classic on Saturday (Mar.19) in Spokane, Wash.

Both the men's and women's teams finished first in 10 events at the Sam Adams Classic. Five women finished first and five men finished first.

In the men's high jump Alex Bishop competed and placed first with a mark of 6-6 3/4.

Ryan Rickemann competed in the men's javelin throw and placed first with a mark of 184.

In the men's pole vault Zach Klobutcher placed first with a mark of 15-9.

Bobby Say competed in the men's triple jump and placed first with a mark of 48-6.

Joe Gauthier, Liam Bracken, Daniel Gaik, and Logan Allen all competed in the men's 4x100 meter relay and placed first with a time of 41.40.

On the women's team Madison Tareski placed first in the women's javelin throw with a mark of 141.10.

In the women's long jump Hayden McAuliff placed first with a mark of 17-5 1/4.

Katrina Terry competed in the women's pole vault and placed first with a mark of 12-7 1/2.

Carissa Stovall placed first in the women's shot put with a mark of 40-2 1/4.

"The weather conditions look like they are going to cooperate for both meets this weekend so I am expecting some good performances," explained Mecklenburg. "Bottom line, it is another opportunity for all our athletes to improve times and marks and move up on the Big Sky Conference lists."  

"I am expecting all the event areas to be productive this weekend as we continue the journey towards the Big Sky Track & Field Outdoor," stated Kerr. "We have several key competitions between now and the outdoor championships, but our focus this week keys on the Buc Scoring meet at Whitworth University and the Al Manuel Invitational in Missoula."

Following this weekend's meets, the Eagles are headed to Eugene, Ore., for the Hayward Premiere at the Hayward Field on Friday (Apr. 1) and Saturday (Apr. 2).
 
More Quotes from Head Women's Coach Marcia Mecklenburg

"In the sprints and hurdles the warmer weather should provide some dividends for our athletes that had some great performances at the Sam Adams Classic including, Haven Nutting in the 400-meter, Alyssa Hoffman in the 100-meter and 400-meter hurdles."

"Madi Carr and Jenni Bissell had great races in the 1,500-meter at the Sam Adams and Ellie Linnenburger and Lilly Fetzer had equally great races in the 5,000-meter.  It will be fun to watch them continue to improve in Montana."

"Our other indoor All Big Sy Conference performer, Vernice Keyes should be pushing the envelope in the hammer to get an NCAA West Regional throw herself. Stovall, our top performer last weekend in the throws, will be looking to improve on her marks as well."

"After an All-Big Sky Conference performance indoors and breaking the school record in the pentathlon twice, Maggie Nelson is ready to see what she can do in the heptathlon outdoors."

"Our All-Big Sky Conference crew in the pole vault, Katrina Terry and Savannah Schultz, along with their teammates, Hally Ruff and Rosie Folger-Vent have their eyes set on the NCAA West Regional meet so I would be surprised if we don't get some good vaults from that crew."