NAMPA, Idaho -- The Eastern Oregon University track and field team opened its 2010 outdoor season Saturday at the NNU Crusader Open hosted by Northwest Nazarene University.
Competing in Nampa, Idaho along with host Northwest Nazarene University, The College of Idaho and Treasure Valley Community College, the Eastern opened the 2010 outdoor season with some quality performances. The Mountaineers traveled without the 10 athletes that competed in the indoor national championships and a number of others who had heavier course loads headed into finals week.
Despite competing in temperatures ranging from 30 to 40 degrees, with winds in the 25 to 35 mile per hour range, EOU managed to notch 13 women’s and 11 men’s conference qualifying marks. The majority of the men’s qualifying marks came by the hands of Assistant Coach Dirk Bortz’s throwing crew.
Andy Munsey led the way with a pair of conference qualifying marks, finishing second in the Discus and third in the Hammer. Munsey’s throw in the Discus of 40.9 meters was a very solid new personal record by almost five feet. Jake Wilcox and Tyler Bruck joined Munsey with two conference qualifying performances apiece as well. Wilcox qualified in the Shot Put and Discus, while Bruck qualified in the Discus and Hammer. For the female throwers, Marybeth Nash notched a qualifying mark in the Hammer.
Asa Miller led the way for the team with three conference marks in the High Jump, Pole Vault and 110-meter Hurdles. Miller had a lonely day as he was the only individual in the Pole Vault and the 110-meter hurdles, and was one of two participants in the High Jump which he won one too.
In running action Kody Coxen opened his college track career with a win in the 3,000 meter steeplechase. Coxen was followed across the line by teammate Terry Johnsen. Both finished well under the conference qualifying mark.
Andrew Perri opened his senior season with a win in the 800 meters. Perri, who was running to win, found himself in the lead early, then eased off the next 200 meters which let some others by…only to come screaming by everyone again on the back stretch of the second lap to win.
For the women, Assistant Coach Tim Troutman’s pole vault trio of Maddison Stapleton, Cayla Weissert and Allison Huguet all three surpassed the conference qualifying mark. Stapleton nearly won the event before ending up second off of tie breaking rules. She later came back to run well in the 200 meters to win her heat. Weissert came back in the 100-meter hurdles to add a second conference qualifier to her day.
Assistant Coach Jack Kegg’s jumpers added the greatest number of conference marks on the women’s side. McKinzie Anderson led the way with marks in the Long and Triple Jumps, along with the 100-meter hurdles. Alexa Loscutoff joined Anderson in the Long and Triple Jumps, as did Julie Butterfield in the triple jump.
The remaining two conference marks came in the women’s 800 meters, when Talissa Baldovino ran a quality race to slip under the conference mark of 2:36.36 by a mere .05 of a second in 2:26.31.
Christy Roe began the day’s success with her debut in the steeplechase, the first event on the track, with a conference qualifying mark of 14:07.69.
The Mountaineers host the EOU Blue and Gold Mini Meet on Friday. The meet gets under way at 2 p.m. with the field events and 3 p.m. for the running events. Treasure Valley Community College and some NNU athletes will join Eastern at the meet.