SPOKANE, Wash. – Warrior Track and Field opened the Bucs Scoring and Multi, hosted by Whitworth, on Thursday in the field events. Three LC State men competed in the first half of the decathlon, and defending National Champion Leon Menten hit an automatic-qualifying mark to return to the national stage in the javelin.
THE MEN
Menten secured his spot back at nationals with a huge throw of 63.30m in the javelin. His mark blew away the rest of the field, surpassing the second-farthest toss by five meters. John Warwick finished ninth with a mark of 39.62m.
The three LC men competing in the decathlon finished day one sixth, seventh and eighth in the standings. Christian Bothwell led the group after the first five events with 3055 and sits sixth, with his best finish being fourth in the high jump (1.79m). Ian Gardom is seventh with 2887 points and won the high jump (1.85m). Caleb Moore is eighth with 2804 points and finished second in the shot put (12.03m).
“All three guys have missed significant training time in the fall or indoor season with injury, so this first multi is about putting up a score and figuring out where we can improve,” coach Cyrus Hall said. “Our speed is not quite where we’d like, but to this point they’ve exceeded my expectations.”
Jaycob Atencio hit a huge personal-best in the hammer. He finished ninth at 45.23m, the second-farthest in school history. Jack Hardee was 13
th with a throw of 36.96m
THE WOMEN
Kea Stieglitz followed last week’s impressive performance in the javelin with a win on Thursday. She threw for a distance of 39.98m, the top mark of the day, and Kenlie Connor (24.64m), Karlie Smith (20.53m) and Makayla McIntosh (20.08m) finished fifth, sixth and seventh, respectively.
Sophomore Rylie Overton threw a personal-best by a meter in the hammer throw. She finished 12
th with a mark of 32.26m. Cassidy Henderson was 14
th at 30.67m.
Pole vaulters Cynthia Smith and Desiree Winslow both finished in the top four. Smith hit a mark of 3.32m to take third, and Winslow was fourth at 2.57m.
The Warriors wrap up the Bucs Scoring and Multi on Friday.