The Idaho track and field team returned home to compete in the Idaho Duals in the Kibbie Dome. Idaho had a strong day with the men defeating all four opponents while the women went 3-1, including a handful of first place finishes and personal records.
Idaho Director of Track Field Tim Cawley said he was happy with the results from the meet and the way the Vandals competed.
“I thought it was great today, I could not have been happier,” Cawley said. “I thought the team, they competed fantastic. In a meet like this, where it was about placing and not necessarily about getting PR’s, it’s about going and competing. It’s what we’re going to need to do when we go to conference, so it was kind of a nice precursor for that. The atmosphere, the way they competed was great, and the PR’s followed because of the way they competed.”
The men defeated Gonzaga (94-15) while also defeating fellow Big Sky teams Montana (73-66), Portland State (75-56) and Eastern Washington (76-54).
The women competed hard as well, taking a win over Gonzaga (93-29), Portland State (78-44) and Eastern Washington (79-59) but ultimately fell short to Montana, losing 75-68.
Idaho competed well in the jumps, grabbing several wins and top finishes.
In the high jump, both freshman Rechelle Meade and senior Katelyn Peterson finished on top. Meade took first with 1.69 meters with Peterson close behind in second with a jump of 1.64 meters.
Meade also went on to win the long jump with a leap of 5.74 meters to match her season personal record.
Freshman Karina Moreland found success on the home turf. Moreland grabbed another Vandal victory and personal record with a win in the triple jump, posting a bound of 11.87 meters.
Junior Arphaxad Carroll was another Idaho athlete to finish the meet victorious. Carroll sealed the win in the long jump with a leap of 7.54 meters, a new personal record that puts him at the top of the Big Sky Conference. He also posted a win in the 60-meter dash with a preliminary time of 6.99 seconds before improving to 6.94 in the final.
Freshman Ben Doucette had another successful meet in his opening collegiate season. Doucette snatched a victory in the 60-meter hurdles, winning with a time of 8.18 seconds. Sophomore Zion Stuffle followed in second with 8.34 seconds.
Freshman Mack Baxter rounded out the top Vandals in the 60-meter hurdles with a time of 8.34 seconds to claim third place.
Several Vandals came out on top in the distance events.
Freshman Kara Story and sophomore Andrea Condie finished in first and second in the mile run, respectively. Story secured the win with a time of 5:03.23 and set a new personal record. After the Idaho Duals, Story stands at 10th in the Big Sky. Condie was not far behind, finishing in 5:05.08, also a personal record.
On the men’s side senior Nathan Stark clinched the win and another personal record in the 3000 meters.
Idaho competes in the Husky Classic beginning Feb. 11 in Seattle.
Meredith Spelbring can be reached at [email protected]