SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Both the women and men finish eighth at Big Sky Conference Championships in Sacramento, California, hosted by Sacramento State. The women scored 34 points while the men finished with 33.5 points. The final day was highlighted by bronze medals from
Maddy Shekhawat,
Owen Higgins, and
Sydney Thweatt.
"Wow what a day! We had some highs and some lows, but we kept fighting," said Director of Track and Field / Cross Country
Erin Tucker. "Starting off with the 4x100 we got points there and we will be better next year, I promise you that."
On the men's side, the team of
Daniel Gaik,
Enoch Okoh,
Maddy Shekhawat, and
Modou Kinteh kicked off Day 4 with a sixth-place finish in the 4x100m relay, clocking in at 41.04. Following that, Shekhawat earned a bronze medal in the 110m hurdles with a time of 14.10. Gaik also made the final in the 400m and placed sixth, running a season-best 47.36.
"Maddy was 3rd in his 1st Big Sky outdoor meet to two seniors and he was not happy. That just shows you how far we have come as a program when we get 3rd in events, and we are yearning for more. This will help him going into week I guarantee it! Daniel didn't cap his career the way we planned, but he did end the year with a season's best and that's all you can ask for. Next up was
Owen Higgins, for him to get 3rd in that race with all the contact is crazy. For him to run under 1:50 with a PR was crazy. What a day for him and I am happy for him for sure."
Owen Higgins battled his way to a third-place finish in the 800m, running a personal-best time of 1:49.86. That performance moved him to fourth all-time in the EWU record book. In the 5,000m,
Noah Hasselblad placed 10th with a time of 14:45.33.
To close out the men's meet, the 4x400m relay team of Kinteh, Shekhawat, Okoh, and Gaik placed seventh with a time of 3:15.15.
"We need to understand what this next young lady did this weekend.
Sydney Thweatt. Going into the weekend she was ranked 13th in the Big Sky and in the 4 previous conference meets she has not made a final. She goes out yesterday and PRs by almost a full second 62.11 to 61.30 and secured the 6th qualifying spot. Today,
clear throat and leans in Today she was gunning for Gold and nearly got there. She finished 3rd in the 400IH with a 2 second yes 2 second Pr at 59.22. She is #2 all time and one of 3 ladies in the history of the EWU 400IH under 60.00! Take your bow Syd, you had a day!"'
Thweatt ran the race of her life, dropping an astonishing two-second PR in the 400m hurdles to place third in 59.22—earning her first Big Sky medal and moving her to second all-time at Eastern.
In the 4x100m team of
Gilana Wollman,
Diana Fernandez,
Sydney Thweatt, and
Anna Caporali placed seventh with a time of 47.45. In the 4x400m relay, Caporali, Fernandez, Burke, and Meyer also finished seventh with a time of 3:52.04—good enough for ninth all-time in school history.
"In the field events our young gun Cort made the finals in the hammer but was unable to score and the same for our senior thrower Dyvhine. 9th is a tough place to be for sure. Good thing for Cort, the two 9th places finishes he had in his 1st year are going to turn into something massive going forward."
In the field,
Nic Cunningham fought through the first flight of the triple jump to make the final, where he placed eighth with a personal-best of 14.32m (46-11.75).
Cort Gebbers opened the meet in the hammer throw, making the final but just missing out on points with a ninth-place finish and a throw of 52.85m (173-4). On the women's side,
Zoe Dunn also finished ninth in the triple jump with a leap of 11.74m (38-6.25).
"Kudos to Nic on scoring in the TJ with a PR. We are going to change his name to PR because that's what he does every-time out. Zoe just missed scoring and had to settle for that dreaded 9th, but watch what they both do next year!!!!"
Both 4x400m squads capped off the meet with seventh-place finishes. The men improved their team standing from ninth to eighth, while the women held steady at eighth overall.
"This is not where we want to be, the team is young and they will be better moving forward! Go Eags!!!"
EWU 2025 Big Sky Outdoor Championship Podium Finishes
Men's Final Team Scores
1) Northern Arizona – 227.5
2) Montana State – 154
3) Montana – 107
4) Weber State – 77
5) Sacramento State – 55
6) Idaho State – 53
7) Northern Colorado – 52
8) Eastern Washington – 33.5
9) Idaho – 33
10) Portland State – 26
Women's Final Team Scores
1) Northern Arizona – 222
2) Montana State – 158.5
3) Montana – 100
4) Sacramento State – 97
5) Idaho State – 84.5
6) Idaho – 67
7) Weber State – 46
8) Eastern Washington – 34
9) Northern Colorado – 10
10) Portland State – 3
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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