SPOKANE, Wash. — Eastern Washington Track and Field knocked off the rust with their first competition of the 2023-24 indoor season in the Spokane Invitational, hosted by Spokane Sports at The Podium powered by BECU on Saturday.
"Great opener for us for sure," said EWU Director of Track and Field Erin Tucker. "The newbies got under the lights and got that first college experience. Now they know what we have been talking about since September.
Newcomers Egypt Simmons and Kristian Phennicie, along with returning star Madelyn Knight, headlined a strong team performance by the Eagles.
Simmons already looks poised to rewrite the Eastern record book in the long jump. As a junior transfer from the University of Hawaii in her first opportunity competing with the Eags, she set the team standard and won the women's long jump with a mark of 5.95 meters (19-6.25). Saturday's jump ranks 2nd in EWU Indoor history, behind only Shene Davis, who cleared 6.02m (19-9.5) in 2010. Simmons also competes in the triple jump — and boasts a career personal best that would be first in EWU history by over 18 inches — but fouled on each of her attempts Saturday.
"Caitlin has been amazing for us," Tucker added. Simmons's first name is Caitlin but she goes by Egypt. "She works extremely hard day in and day out, and reminds me of a young man we had at NCAA last outdoor season. I am glad (Coach Jonina Brinson) has another stud she can help build the flight crew with."
Phennicie, a sophomore transfer from Penn State, finished 7th in the men's 60 meters at 6.85, tied with Jonah Mathews (2020) for 5th in program history. Current assistant coach Joe Gauthier holds the Eagle record at 6.68.
"The sky's the limit for KP. I have had to teach a lot and he is starting to understand things. Today was not what I expected he has a lot more in the tank for sure."
Knight, who finished 4th at the 2024 Big Sky Outdoor Championships in the 100-meter hurdles, showed out in her first meet as a senior team captain, finishing second in the 60-meter hurdles with a time of 8.57. She was even faster in her qualifying time at 8.56, marking a new personal best and pushing her from 3rd to 2nd all-time at Eastern. Knight looks to chase down Seville Broussard's 1999 time of 8.51 at the top of the Eagle list.
"'Madi the Magnificent' came to play today and even though both races and the 4x4 are way better than she ran last year, the best is yet to come," Tucker continued. "She showed up and showed out today, but please, please, please stay tuned!"
The Eastern pole vaulting tradition remains strong, as displayed on Saturday when Zach Klobutcher earned 3rd with 5.05m (16-6.75), which would rank tied for 4th in program history; Klobutcher set a new school record last year at 5.21m.
Full EWU team results from the Spokane Invitational are available here.
Eastern was selected to finish 5th (men) and 6th (women) in the recently announced Big Sky Preseason Coaches Polls. They finished 4th and 7th last year.
The Eags will return to The Podium six times this season, including as hosts of the 2024 Big Sky Indoor Championships in late February and for their next scheduled meet, the Spokane Indoor Challenge on Jan. 12-13.
"We are a much better squad than last year and we will keep getting better for sure. The Podium is our home and we will defend it at the end of February!"
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ABOUT EASTERN WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY ATHLETICS
Eastern Washington University Athletics sponsors 14 intercollegiate sports, six for men and eight for women, both as learning opportunities for its most athletically talented students and as an enhancement to student and community life. Eastern is affiliated with Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and is a member of the Big Sky Conference, an association of 10 regional schools with comparable enrollments and academic goals.
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