Eagles earn six first-place finishes in Missoula

Missoula, Mont. – Eastern Washington University track and field athletes had a good time in their trip east, bringing home six first-place finishes and a number of top-three performances at the Al Manuel Northwest Invitational, March 26 – 27.

Four Eagle men made it to the top of the medal podium, led by hurdler Parker Bowden. The senior from Spokane Valley continues to get faster in the 110-meter race, improving his time for a third straight weekend by finishing first in 13.87 seconds on Saturday. The time is the fifth fastest so far this season in the West Region and 10th in NCAA Division I.

Sophomore Justin Rousma got the Eagles on the winning track on Friday, taking first in the men’s 3,000-meter steeplechase with a time of 9:19.10. Jonah Mathews captured the 100-meter dash with a winning mark of 10.54, leading two other Eagles as Eastern went 1-2-3 in the event.

Junior Bobby Say wrapped up the first-place finishes for the men, winning the triple jump with a leap of 47 feet, 6 1/2 inches.

Morgan Fossen and Faith Kennedy led the Eagle women. Fossen won the women’s pole vault with a jump of 13-0 1/4, setting a new personal record and team-leading mark in the process, while Kennedy claimed a victory in the 200 meters with a time of 25.31.

Also for the men, Joe Gauthier and Daniel Gaik went 2-3 in the 100 behind Mathews, with Gauthier finishing in 10.70 and Gaik in 10.76. Gaik was fourth in the 200 in 22.08, with Gauther fifth in 22.35.

Colton Kautz was second in the men’s hammer throw with a distance of 175-0, finishing fourth in the discus with a mark of 152-6. Benjamin Howard was third in the shot put with a new personal record of 51-1 3/4, and was fifth in the hammer at 140-5.

Alex Bishop was second in the high jump at 6-4 ¾, but ended up in third due to a greater number of failed attempts. Besides the triple jump, Say was also third in the long jump with a new PR of 22-9.

“We’re off to a great start this outdoor season,” men’s head coach Stan Kerr said. “Competing at the level that we are right now, especially given the impact that COVID has had — on all sports, it’s the best feeling to see this team showcasing its talent every week.”

For the women, Katrina Terry helped Eastern to a 1-2 finish in the pole vault, placing second behind Fossen with a vault of 12-0 3/4. Savannah Schultz had the same mark, but placed fourth due to number of failed attempts.

Besides winning the 200, Kennedy also placed sixth in the 100 in 12.65. Katie Petsch was second in the 200 in 25.58 and fifth in the 100 in 12.37. Freshman Samiah Kuntz had Eastern’s best finish in the 100, third in 12.33.

Second in the 400-meter hurdles with a career best of 1:05.19 was Alyssa Hoffman, who was followed in third by freshman Haven Nutting and Felicity Hempstead in fourth. Vernice Keyes threw just under her PR in the women’s hammer throw with a mark of 174-0 to earn a second-place finish. Hadassah Ward had the highest finish for the Eagles in the women’s shot put where she threw 42-1 1/2 to place fourth. Ward also finished fourth in the hammer throw with a distance of 164-9, and a seventh-place finish in the discus with a mark of 129-3.

Kaitlyn Paller also earned a fourth-place finish and was the highest-scorer for Eastern in the women’s discus after throwing a PR mark of 140-1. Paller competed in the hammer throw where she followed behind Ward to finish fifth with a mark of 162-6. Paller was sixth in the shot put with a throw of 39-8.

“It warmed up for us and the athletes took advantage of it,” women’s head coach Marcia Mecklenburg said of the meet. “We had many season-best performances across all the event areas. Overall it was another great opportunity for our athletes and they took advantage of it.”

Four other teams took part in the competition with Eastern Washington — University of Montana, Montana State University, Utah State University, and Carroll College.  

Eastern track and field athletes will be in Spokane this Friday, April 2, for the H.I.R. Invitational, which will be hosted by Whitworth University and kick-off at 2 p.m. Pacific Time.

John McCallum can be reached at [email protected].