With only one competition left until the Big Sky Championships next month, the Idaho track and field team traveled to Pullman over the weekend to compete in the Cougar Indoor against athletes from Washington State.
The Vandals finished the meet with fifteen personal records.
“I thought we competed great today,” Idaho head coach Tim Cawley said. “There were quite a few (personal records) today and that is always what you’re trying to do.”
On the women’s side of competition, 10 Vandals finished in the top 10 of their respective events.
In the 200-meter dash, the Vandals snatched the top two spots, with redshirt sophomore Meghan Palesch taking first with a time of 26.18 seconds and junior Andrea Pikes finishing second with a time of 26.27 seconds.
Pikes also finished fifth in the 60-meter dash with a time of 7.88 seconds.
Idaho junior Kolcie Bates had another successful weekend, finishing third in the shot put with a throw of 12.48 meters. The distance marks a personal record for the athlete.
Bates also had a sixth place finish in the weight throw with a distance of 13.65 meters.
On the men’s side of competition, two freshmen set personal records.
Drew Schultz finished the mile run in 4:22.58, which was good enough for a seventh place finish. Dwain Stucker completed the 3000-meter run in 8:54.5 to earn a fourth place finish.
In the 60-meter dash, senior Ben Ayesu-Attah finished second with a time of 6.99 seconds and senior Jesse Villines finished fifth with a time of 7.02 seconds.
Idaho redshirt senior Matt Sullivan cleared five meters to earn first place in the pole vault.
Two Vandals collected personal records in the shot put over the weekend. Junior Juan Medina’s mark of 15.30 meters was far enough for fourth place, while freshman Quinn Mitchell finished eighth with a mark of 14.59 meters.
“I thought we came out fresh,” Cawley said. “Our team was crisp over the two days and I really feel our team is clicking at the right time.”
The track and field team will travel to Seattle to compete in the Husky Classic from Feb. 12-14. The Husky Classic will serve as the team’s last meet before the Big Sky Championships in Bozeman.
Mihaela Karst can be reached at [email protected]
(Photo courtesy of Spencer Farrin)