Sophomore showcase

Track and field enjoys underclassmen success

Whitworth hosted a slew of area schools in the 10th Annual Sam Adams Classic Saturday in Spokane and it was a sophomore showcase for the Idaho women’s track and field team.

For the second consecutive weekend, sophomore thrower Kolcie Bates walked away with a first-place finish in the discus, after a hurl of 149 feet, 8 inches. Bates improved her distance in the event from last weekend’s top finish by more than eight feet and threw a personal best in the hammer throw with a distance of 145-2.

File photo by Nathan Romans | Argonaut
Senior high-jumper Emmanuel Panchol fails to clear the bar during the Mike Keller Invitational Saturday at the Dan O’Brien Track and Field Complex in Moscow.

Sophomore Adara Winder also faired well in the discus, throwing a sixth-place mark of 134-8, but her real success came in the shot put. Winder posted a throw of 45-8, earning third place in the event for the second weekend in a row.

On the track, sophomore sprinter Andrea Pikes continued her fast start to the season as she finished second and sixth in the 100 and 200-meter races, respectively. Sophomore Wednesday Walton was also atop the standings in Spokane, where she placed fourth in the 400 hurdles with a time of 1 minute, 5.72 seconds.

Junior Tayler Feinauer and sophomore Faith Eruwa also helped the Vandals as Feinauer finished fourth in the javelin and Eruwa placed sixth in the triple jump.

On the men’s side, senior thrower Zach Trumbauer was the top finisher for the Vandals as he finished Saturday’s meet with a third-place toss of 178-4 in the hammer throw. Trumbauer was joined in the hammer by teammate Zac Homer, who threw a personal best 153-6, finishing in fifth place.

Sophomore thrower Juan Medina-Cuenca topped his shot put throw of last week by more than a foot, earning a fourth-place finish for posting a throw of 49-3.5.

Senior Cayle Turpen’s time of 4:06.62 was enough to earn him fifth place in the men’s 1500, where he was joined by freshman Pierce Fix, who posted a time of 4:16.70.

Other freshmen who lent their talents to the men’s team Saturday included thrower Taylor Wilson, who threw for 171-5 inches in the javelin, and Brayden White, who pole vaulted 13-1.5.

The Vandal men and women’s teams will compete Saturday in Cheney, Washington, as part of the 44th Pelluer Invitational held at Roos Field.

“I thought the weekend went well — we had some good weather today with a few personal bests and season bests,” Idaho coach Tim Cawley said. “Everyone seems to be moving in the right direction. They have a good attitude, which is really exciting to see. I thought today was a good, solid day to get another competition in.”

Kyle Schumaker can be reached at [email protected]