SPOKANE, Wash. – Eastern Washington men's and women's track and field opened the 2025–26 indoor season by making a statement Friday at the Spokane Invitational at The Podium. Behind 19 personal records, two school records, and an event win, the Eagles showcased both veteran leadership and emerging depth in their first competition of the year.
"Guess what folks? The season is here," said Director of Track and Field / Cross Country
Erin Tucker. "A good ole rust buster never hurt, now does it? When you compete at the end of finals week and it is your first competition of the year, you take what you can get. We had some good performances and some good effort displayed. We can see areas of execution we can work on and we can see areas of effort we can work on! This is a great start and we can build off this opener. Happy Holidays to all and see you in January!"
The momentum began on the women's side, where Eastern wasted little time rewriting the record book.
Melia Middleton delivered a strong opening performance in the 300 meters, breaking the school record while finishing second in 39.62, setting the tone for the rest of the meet. Not long after,
Diana Fernandez added another record to the day, racing to a second-place finish in the 600 meters in 1:34.88.
Judith Koumedzina added a sixth-place showing in the 300, while
Ashleigh Burke and
Ella Seelhoff placed sixth and seventh in the 600 as the Eagles piled up points across the middle-distance events.
Eastern continued to build momentum in the sprints and distance races.
Gilana Wollman placed fifth in the 60 meters, while
Cerae Mahabeer followed with a sixth-place finish in the 60-meter hurdles. In the mile,
Hannah Lee crossed the line seventh, and
Sara Sanders closed the night with a personal-best effort in the 3,000 meters, finishing sixth and adding to the team's growing list of PRs.
In the field, the Eagles leaned on experience and consistency.
Suzi Woodall picked up where she left off last season, claiming Eastern's first win of the indoor campaign in the pole vault with a clearance of 3.90 meters. She was joined on the podium by
Breauna Erickson, who cleared a personal-best 3.75 meters to place second.
Azaria Purdy added another runner-up finish in the triple jump, while freshman
Lenah Martin impressed in her collegiate debut with a fifth-place showing. The long jump featured multiple Eagles in the top eight, led by
Shai Gray's third-place finish, while
Anne Shipp added a third-place effort in the high jump.
Hannah Petrillo rounded out the field events with a sixth-place throw in the weight throw.
The men matched the women's energy on the track, led by
Jordan McKenzie's third place performance in the 600 meters. McKenzie crossed the line with a time of 1:26.35, providing Eastern with its top finish on the men's side.
Pry'nce Millman followed closely with a fourth-place finish and a new personal best.
Erick Simpson and Enock Okoh both posted strong efforts in the 300 meters, while
Henry Nelson and
Noah Holden delivered back-to-back finishes in the mile.
In the field, Eastern's newcomers made an immediate impact.
Alex Blecha highlighted the group by finishing fourth in the pole vault and moving into ninth on EWU's all-time list with a vault of 4.95 meters.
Andrew Strawn followed with a seventh-place finish in the same event.
Nic Cunningham led the long jump group with a fourth-place effort and was the lone Eagle to compete in the triple jump, finishing seventh. The throws group also produced solid results, as
Javen Livas placed fifth in the weight throw,
Cort Gebbers added an eighth-place finish, and
Koda Woodard recorded a personal-best mark to finish fifth in the shot put.
The meet closed with a strong showing in the mixed 4x400-meter relay, as Middleton, Simpson, Fernandez, and Kinteh combined for a second-place finish. Another Eagle quartet of Thweatt, Okoh, Slomska, and South followed closely behind in third, putting an exclamation point on a productive opening weekend.
New EWU All-Time Top Ten
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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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