SPOKANE, Wash. – Eastern Washington continued its upward momentum Saturday at the Inland Northwest Invitational at The Podium, turning in another strong overall performance marked by personal records and all-time list additions.
"It was a good meet," said Director of Track & Field / Cross Country
Erin Tucker. "Every week we've got a bunch of PRs and a bunch of people getting into the top-10 list. We only had one school record this week, I thought we'd get four, but we still want to keep pushing. Every week we want to keep pushing, and I really liked the effort this week in general."
The Eagles' lone school record came in the women's 4x800 relay, breaking a mark that had stood since 2000. Tucker praised the continued development of the distance group, noting it was encouraging to see the record fall after several near-misses in recent seasons. Individually, Judith delivered a standout meet, breaking her national records in both the 60 meters and 200 meters while climbing into the top three on Eastern's all-time lists in both events.
"Judith had herself a meet," Tucker said. "It was amazing to see her break her national record in the 60 and the 200. We're only going to get better."
Several event groups also showed progress despite not being at full strength. The jumpers took a planned break from competition to focus on sprint work, while the throwers made technical strides after a week of emphasis in practice. Tucker highlighted the positive response from the throwing group, noting the staff was pleased with how adjustments translated into competition.
Eastern closed the meet in emphatic fashion, winning both the women's and men's 4x400 relays. "Anytime you end a meet with two wins in the 4x4, it's always great—regardless of the time," Tucker said.
The Eagles also dominated the pole vault. On the women's side, Eastern swept the event as
Suzi Woodall cleared 14 feet, becoming just the second athlete in program history—indoor or outdoor—to reach that milestone. "That's a prestigious club to be in," Tucker said. "She's only going to get better. The sky's the limit for her."
On the men's side,
Alex Blecha continued Eastern's long-standing pole vault tradition, taking home another win and maintaining his lead in the Big Sky Conference. "He didn't jump as well as he did last week, but he still took home the win," Tucker said. "That standard is never going to die here."
With the meet complete, Eastern will reset and prepare for the upcoming week, with the squad splitting between competitions in Idaho and Spokane. "We're moving in the right direction," Tucker said. "I'm really happy with what we did today and excited to see what we do next week and the week after."
New EWU All-Time Top Ten
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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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