SPOKANE, Wash. – The Eastern Oregon University track & field team garnered three new qualifiers for the NAIA Outdoor National Championships, and both junior Pancho Saldana and senior Ryan Rosenau improved their “A” standard marks in their respective events to highlight War IX held at the campus of Spokane Community College.
WOMEN’S RESULTS
Freshman Katie Emerson shined in the 400m hurdles, as the Washington native posted a third-place finish with a “B” standard time of 1:04.34.
In the pole vault, senior Talitha Fagen made her outdoor debut with a “B” standard mark of 3.55m (11-7.75).
Senior Megan Sullivan earned first place in the 400m dash with a tally of 58.21, while freshman Amanda Welch won her heat and took ninth overall in the 1500m run with a time of 4:47.88.
In the 3000m steeplechase, junior Rachel Roelle looked strong as she splashed her way to a fifth-place finish with a time of 11:30.34.
In the 4x400m relay, the team of freshman Andrea Lemus, junior Kendall Current, Sullivan, and Emerson posted a season-best mark of 3:59.31 to take third overall.
MEN’S RESULTS
While there were many bright spots on the men’s side, it was junior newcomer Matthew Kirkendall who stole the show in the 110m hurdles, as he claimed fourth place with a “B” standard time of 14.93.
Meanwhile, Saldana tossed a season-best 60.77m (199-4.00) in the javelin to notch his second “A” standard tally of the 2016 season.
Perhaps the best finish of the day came in the 400m hurdles, as Rosenau went neck-and-neck with Spokane CC’s Andrew Stitch before he ultimately placed second for EOU, as he tumbled through the finish line with an “A” standard time of 52.88.
A pair of freshmen posted strong marks in the 100m dash. Jebari Cumberbatch sprinted his way to a third-place finish, just missing the “B” standard (10.74) with a time of 10.78, while Codi Blodgett took ninth with a mark of 11.08.
In the discus, senior Tanner Yarbrough chucked 43.36m (142-3.00) to share seventh place with Naji Saker of Whitworth, while freshman Kaden Walker vaulted 4.50m (14-9.00) to finish tied for fourth.
On a late Friday evening, freshman Jack Howard battled through gruesome blisters on his foot to card a ninth-place finish in the 10,000m run with a time of 33:11.71.
To cap the meet on a late Saturday afternoon, the foursome of Cumberbatch, Rosenau, Blodgett, and Kirkendall posted a time of 3:19.89 to snag third place in the 4x400m relay.
NEXT MEET
EOU will compete in the NNU Invite on April 16 in Nampa, Idaho.