SPOKANE, Wash. — Eastern Washington Track and Field kicked off its 2024-25 indoor season at the Spokane Invitational, hosted by Spokane Sports at The Podium powered by STCU on Saturday.

"All you want to do is come out and compete the first meet," said Director of Track and Field / Cross Country Erin Tucker. "I felt like the entire team competed, stepped up, and did the best that they could do with heavy training, coming out of dead week and finals week."

Full EWU team results from the Spokane Invitational are available here.

Caitlin Simmons (Egypt) and Maddy Shekhawat stole the spotlight, combining for a remarkable three school records. Simmons broke her own indoor long jump record with a leap of 6.12 meters (20ft 1in) and set a new triple jump record with a second-place jump of 12.89 meters (42ft 3.5in). Shekhawat rewrote the 60m hurdles record, finishing third with a time of 7.85.

"Egypt is Egypt; she's going to go out there and compete," said Tucker. "She has really high goals, and she's going to do whatever it takes to reach them. For her to come out and set the school record in both the triple and long jump at the first meet back is amazing."

"Maddy is a grown man," Tucker continued. "The thing I like most about Maddy is that, yes, he broke the school record in the hurdles, but then he came back and ran a really great 300m and then jogged the 4x4, based on what I recommended. He didn't complain. The sky is the limit for that kid."

In the women's weight throw, Dyvhine Fonoti topped the field with a massive seven-foot personal best throw of 18.53 meters (60ft 9.5in), while Dyvhon Fonoti finished second with a personal record of 15.77 meters (51ft 9in). Dyvhine continued her momentum from the weight throw into the shot put, securing second place with a throw of 12.84 meters (42ft 1.5in).

"That's what she does," said Tucker. "Coach Majesty's first year here, I think Dyvhine had a 10-foot PR. She doesn't just want to PR by an inch or two; she wants to PR by feet."

In the pole vault invitation division, Suzi Woodall set a new personal record of 4.06 meters (13ft 3.75in) to finish second. In the collegiate competition, Breauna Erickson also earned second place with a jump of 3.61 meters (11ft 10in).

"Suzi is a beast," said Tucker. "She basically destroyed her hand last year and then came back in the outdoor season to take fifth at conference. With Suzi, the sky is literally the limit for her, as she is the one flying through the sky."

Brandon Gutzwiler got things started on the men's side, finishing third in the high jump with a mark of 1.90 meters (6ft 2.75in). In the shot put, Jason Nwaka capped off a solid field performance with a third-place finish, throwing 15.84 meters (51ft 11.75in).

In the long jump, behind Simmons, Kimberly Smith moved up to third all-time with a second-place leap of 5.94 meters (19ft 6in). Azaria Purdy also impressed in the triple jump, finishing third behind Simmons with a jump of 11.74 meters (38ft 6.25in).

On the track, Kristian Phennicie ran a strong race, finishing seventh in the 60m with a time of 6.79. Freshman Diana Fernandez had an excellent debut, finishing fourth in the 300m with a time of 40.04. To close out the meet, the quartet of Jake Trefry, Diana Fernandez, Modou Kinteh, and Magdalena Slomska finished second in the mixed 4x400m relay with a time of 3:42.33. "It was a fun race to watch!"

"Closing thoughts: It was the first meet, and the freshmen got the jitters out. They know what it feels like now and will come back in January even better. I am super proud of this team! Go Eags!"
 
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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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