Knights Battle the Elements and Travel to Win Multiple Events at First Outdoor Track Meet
Randy Dalzell
CALDWELL, ID | Warner Pacific University's track and field teams got their first outdoor competition in by heading all the way across the state to Caldwell, Idaho Saturday and Sunday, stopping in LaGrande, Oregon along the way for the throwing events on Saturday, then completing the jumping and running events in Idaho on Sunday. The meet was appropriately called the Great I-84 Compromise of 2021 as the schools involved worked around COVID restrictions and scheduling logistics to get the meet in and get the outdoor season off to a start.
"It was an adventure for sure, leaving super early Saturday morning to drive to LaGrande in time for the throwing events that started at 11:00am, watching it snow and hail off and on all day during those events, then getting back in to drive the rest of the way to Idaho for Sunday's events, but we competed well and got a meet in. We talked about just doing a good job competing regardless of the conditions and making the most of the opportunity, which develops toughness. Practicing that grit and mental toughness is a valuable life lesson regardless of anything else that happened at the meet. We ended up winning a number of events and competed very well in a number of others, but the real takeaway was the effort and persistence in the face of challenging circumstances," said Head Coach
Randy Dalzell.
The Rundown
The Knights won four events and competed well in many others despite the long travel and challenging conditions. Brittany Coleman won the women's triple jump with a mark of 38' 3.5", which is a national qualifying mark, and teammate Savannah Proske was second with a mark of 35' 4", sweeping the event. Kynzie DeLeon won the women's 1500m in 5:05.40, then Cade Kooch did the same for the men's 1500m, winning in 4:21.20. Teammate Rafael Orozco was second in the men's 1500 and set a 15 second personal best, showing that his hard work is paying off and that he is in good shape for the upcoming cross country championships. Jett Pharn-Cromb won the men's 100m in 11.17 and teammate Carlos Nelson was 7
th in the same event.
Deeper Look
The Knights competed well in other events including the men's 400m where JR Segura was second in 52.03. Jett Pharn-Cromb was second in the men's 200m in 22.74. Carlos Nelson was second in the men's javelin with a mark of 162' 11". Jake Brauchler was 4
th in the men's hammer with a mark of 126' 4" and 5
th in the men's shot with a mark of 37' 1.25". Javbiene Menguita was 5
th in the women's javelin with a mark of 100' 3". Savannah Proske was 6
th in the women's 100m hurdles with a time of 17.04
Flash Forward
This week is another challenging schedule with both cross country and outdoor track overlapping. The CCC Cross Country Championships are this coming Friday in Lewiston, ID and WPU will have a group competing there. At the same time, Savannah Proske will be in Spokane, WA competing in her first outdoor heptathlon at Whitworth University.