Several Idaho track and field athletes finish in top three at Cougar Indoor
It was just a short trip across the border into Pullman for the Idaho track and field team Friday and Saturday. The Vandals competed in the Cougar Indoor over the two-day period, hosted by Washington State.
File photo by Andrew Jenson | Argonaut
Idaho coach Tim Cawley directs sprinter Andrea Pikes Jan. 15 in the Kibbie Dome. The Vandals competed at the Cougar Indoor Friday and Saturday in Pullman.
“We’ve had three really good meets in a row with a lot of PRs and a lot of people moving in the right direction,” Idaho coach Tim Cawley said. “And then I think we stalled out a little bit with some momentum (at the Cougar Indoor).”
It was Idaho’s second-to-last meet of the indoor regular season. Idaho competes in the Big Sky Indoor Championships Feb. 26-28 in Flagstaff, Arizona. Before that though, the Vandals head to Seattle to compete Friday and Saturday in the Husky Classic.
Cawley said the Husky Classic is the last chance for a lot of the Idaho athletes to solidify themselves in the top 16 of the conference and get a chance to go to the conference championships. He said the Husky Classic is also a good chance for some of the Idaho athletes in the top five to improve on their marks to gain some confidence and continue the consistency.
At the Cougar Indoor, several Idaho athletes finished in the top three in their events.
On the women’s side, some of the underclassmen stepped up. Sophomore Adara Winder finished second in the shot put while fellow sophomore Ana Pardo Cofrades took third.
Junior Halie Raudenbush finished third in the mile run and sophomore Andrea Pikes finished eighth in the 60-meter dash finals.
The seniors led the way on the men’s side. Senior Dylan Watts tied for second in the pole vault and senior Zach Trumbauer finished third in the weight throw. Senior Emmanuel Panchol placed third in the high jump and senior Alijah Medellin took sixth in the 200-meter dash.
Cawley said his team’s performance wasn’t the best of the season and he thinks his team pressed too much.
“I don’t think this was quite as strong a meet as what we’ve kind of been having and expecting, but I mean, that’s going to happen too,” Cawley said. “Not every meet’s going to go amazing. But I thought, if anything, I thought the kids wanted it too bad. Sometimes that can happen.”
Cawley said some good things happened as well. He said the team competed well even though the marks and times weren’t as good as in previous meets, but sometimes a team has a bad meet. Now, the focus is on this week and the Husky Classic.
“That’s the one thing is every time we’re going we’re just trying to self-improve and compete against yourself more than anyone else,” Cawley said.
Garrett Cabeza can be reached at [email protected]