Day Four Final Results.

The Big Sky Conference Outdoor Track and Field Championships concluded today (May 14) in Pocatello, Idaho, at the Davis Field for the Eastern Washington University track and field teams. 
 
In all, the Eagles brought home seven All-Conference performers today in Joe Gauthier, Liam Bracken, Logan Allen, and Daniel Gaik (men 4x100-meter relay), Alex Bishop (men's high jump), Katrina Terry (women's pole vault), and Madison Tareski (women's javelin throw) who placed second. Gauthier (100-meters), Hally Ruff (women's pole vault), and Maggie Nelson (women's javelin throw) placed third. Eastern also collected five new all-time top-ten marks in Gauthier, Bracken, Allen, Gaik (men's 4x100-meter relay), Bracken (men's 400-meter dash), Katie Petsch (women's 100-meter dash), Madelyn Knight, Faith Kennedy, Haven Nutting, Petsch (women's 4x400-meter relay), and Rebecca Thareek (women's triple jump). Over the four days, Eastern Washington collected 10 All-Conference performances and nine new all-time EWU top-ten marks. 
 
Overall, the women's team placed fifth with 66 points. It marked the highest finish for the women's squad since 2015-16 when they finished third. The men's team placed 10^th with 42 points. The Northern Arizona men's and women's team took home first place.
 
"What an exciting day at the championships. There is nothing more motivating than having your team cheering you on, and over the last three days our athletes did that. I know that made a huge difference in many of the results for our team," explained head women's coach Marcia Mecklenburg.
 
Alex Bishop competed in the men's high jump and tied for second with a mark of 6-9 3/4. He cleared all of his first six attempts, and earned Eastern's first All-Conference honor in the high jump since 2019. This is the first All-Big Sky honor of the year. 
 
"The final day of the championships always reveals a lot of competitive character. Coming off a week of not feeling well, Bishop put together a stellar silver medal performance in a very exciting high jump championship. Joining Bishop in the silver medal club was our 4x100-meter relay team of Gauthier, Bracken, Allen, and Gaik who also posted a season best mark. Bracken also picked up a fifth-place finish and a personal record in the 400-meter dash finals," explained head men's coach Stan Kerr.
 
For the men's 4x100-meter relay Gauthier, Bracken, Allen, and Gaik competed and placed second with a time of 40.47. This is the men's first All-Big Sky honor in this event together. This time sets a new all-time top-ten mark in the Eastern Washington University record book. This improves their previous mark of 40.84. They are now third on the list in that event. 
 
Gauthier competed in the men's 100-meter dash finals and placed third with a time of 10.62. This is his sixth All-Big Sky honor, and he is the eighth Eagle in program history to earn six-or-more All-Conference nods in a career.
 
Bobby Say competed in the men's triple jump and placed fourth with a mark of 50-7 1/4.
 
"Narrowly missing the podium in the triple jump was Say who had a solid series of jumps. His season will continue as he is headed to the Regional Championships in Arkansas in two weeks," stated Kerr.
 
For the men's 400-meter dash finals Bracken competed and placed fifth with a time of 47.40. This time set a new mark in the EWU record book on the all-time top-ten list. He is sixth on the list in that event. 
 
Kerr stated, "Garrett Peoples and Colton Kautz just missed making finals in the hammer and discus. Their contributions to our program throughout their careers are very appreciated."
 
Peoples and Kautz placed ninth and 10th in the men's hammer throw. Peoples placed ninth with a mark of 189-2. Kautz placed 10^th with a mark of 186-5. Kautz and Peoples also competed in the men's discus throw and placed 10^th and 11^th. Kautz placed 10^th with a mark of 154-2. Peoples placed 11^th with a mark of 153-6. 
 
"Our signature event, the pole vault, ruled the day again. Although we didn't go one, two, three at this meet we went two, three, and four and then tacked on an eighth-place finish. Terry led the way for our crew today, followed by Ruff and Savannah Schultz. Those three vaulters have been a solid force for us, and it will be bittersweet to see Terry graduate. I was super pleased with Rosalie Folger-Vent's eighth-place finish. It brought the vault point total to 20. That was a much-needed chunk of points for our team," stated Mecklenburg.
 
Terry, Ruff, Schultz and Folger-Vent competed in the women's pole vault and placed 2-3-4-8. Terry placed second with a mark of 13-2 1/2. This is Terry's fourth All-Big Sky honor, and the third-straight outdoors. Ruff placed third with a personal-best mark of 12-10 ¾ for the first All-Big Sky honor of her career. Schultz placed fourth with a mark of 12-10 ¾ and Folger-Vent also competed and placed eighth with a mark of 11-9, helping the Eagles secure 20 points in the event.
 
Mecklenburg stated, "The javelin was another event that proved to be a plus for us today. Tareski placed second with a personal record throw in the first Big Sky Championships of her career. I love fearless freshmen. Nelson came back from the heptathlon to place third for us and earn her second medal of the meet. She is one of the toughest most determined athletes I know."
 
Tareski competed in the women's javelin throw along with Nelson and they placed second and third, respectively. Tareski placed second with a mark of 151-6. This is Tareski's first All-Big Sky honor. Nelson placed third with a mark of 151-3. This is Nelson's third All-Big Sky mark, and she earned 12 points for the Eagles at the championships.
 
Petsch competed in the women's 100-meter dash finals and placed fourth with a time of 11.74. This time sets a new all-time top-ten mark in the EWU record book. She previously had a time in the record book of 11.78. She is still sixth on the list in that event. 
 
"I cannot say enough about Petsch. The Big Sky Conference has gotten crazy good in the sprints and hurdles and Petsch refuses to be intimidated. She went into the finals of the 100-meter dash with the eighth-best time and ended up placing fourth. That was huge for her and for the team," stated Mecklenburg.
 
Carissa Stovall competed in the women's shot put and placed fifth with a mark of 46-8 1/4. She earned eight points for the Eagles over the weekend.
 
"The mile relay put a lid on it for our team for the 2022 outdoor championships. Made up of Madelyn Knight, Faith Kennedy, Haven Nutting, and Petsch, our crew came in ranked 10th and ran an eight-second personal record and moved up to fifth overall in the team placing. That was an exciting performance to watch, especially because they had to do it out of the slow heat," explained Mecklenburg.
 
Knight, Kennedy, Nutting, and Petsch competed in the women's 4x400-meter relay and placed fifth with a time of 3:52.21. This marks sets a new one on the all-time top-ten list in the EWU record book. They are now eighth on the list in that event. 
 
Mecklenburg explained, "Once again, our 4x100-meter relay made up of Alyssa Hoffman, Knight, Hayden McAuliff, and Petsch went into this meet ranked last and raced to an eighth-place finish. Don't ever count out the Eagles in those relays."
 
For the women's 4x100-meter relay Hoffman, Knight, McAuliff, and Petsch competed and placed eighth with a time of 48.14. 
 
"Rebecca Thareek came through for us in the triple jump and placed eighth, Thareek has been working through injuries this winter and spring, so to see her triple jump a personal record and place for us was wonderful for both her and the team," stated Mecklenburg.
 
Thareek competed in the women's triple jump and placed eighth with a mark of 39-6 3/4.This time sets a new all-time top-ten mark in the EWU record book. This time improves her previous mark on the list which was 37-8 3/4. She is fifth on the list in that event.
 
Mecklenburg stated, "I am so pleased with how the team performed this weekend. I have said this before but my goal for the team is to always finish the meet higher than you go in ranked and almost across the board in all the event areas our athletes did that. And when your individual athletes do it, it crosses over into the team placing. That is how you want to finish the championships."
 
"The championships once again delivered a ton of lifetime memories. Memorable performances, emotional highs and lows, breakthrough moments and learning more about who you are as a competitor are all gifts that will keep on giving," explained Kerr. "For many, the 2021-22 season is over. For a few, the season will continue in Arkansas in two weeks."
 
A selected group of Eagles will be headed to Fayetteville, Ark., May 25-28 for the NCAA DI West Regional Championships at the John McDonnell Field.
 
 
Additional quotes from head women's coach Marcia Mecklenburg
 
"Just missing the top eight final but racing to an impressive personal record was Haven Nutting in the 400.  Hayden's ninth place finish was just seven one hundredths of a second out of making it to the finals. I am so proud of her race and time. It was almost a second faster than her previous personal record."