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Strong opening weekend for Sasquatch track

 

(Spokane, Wa) - Coming off a successful and exciting Indoor season and heading right into the outdoor season the Sasquatch track squads found sunshine and some very solid performances in Tacoma at the Ed Boitano Invitational hosted by the University of Puget Sound on March 4th and 5th.

Jon Watkins ran 1.3 seconds faster than he did a year ago winning the 400-meter in 50.70.  Spokane swept the event going 1-2-3 in the 400-meter with Kyler Knoll, 51.81 seconds, and George Gregory taking third with 52.13. The trio teamed up with Preston Dyness to place third in the 4 x 400-meter-relay running 3:29.63.

The men’s 4x100-meter-relay made up of Dylan Rendahl, Jon Watkins, Preston Dyness, and Jake Schnatter ran 44.09 and placed second. Jake Schnatter had a good meet placing second in the 200-meter with 23.29, second in the long jump with 21 feet and 7 inches, and ran the anchor leg on the 4x100-meter-relay. Watkins 400-meter is the NWAC leader, Knoll is ranked fifth, while both relays hold the current number two ranking, Schnatter is fifth on the long jump list in the early season. Overall, a great day for our sprinters and jumpers.

The Sasquatch distance runners had a nice opening weekend in Tacoma, picking up an event win and four personal bests. Tressa Wood stayed patient for the first four miles of the 10k and then made a decisive move to gap the field over the last two miles and win by 27 seconds to beat her previous best by 63 seconds. She took the win running 41:03.58, currently the top time on the conference list. 

Only 28 seconds behind her was teammate, Kaidyn Johnson, who in her debut 10k race ran fantastically, clicking off even splits for most of the race before dropping the pace down the last mile to finish third by three tenths of a second running 41:31.08, good for the number two time in the conference.

Kaitlin Creeger running the 5k for the first time this year, turned in a solid performance running 21:58.33, good for second place and the number two time in the conference so far.

In the men's 10k, Gideon Swanson also ran even splits and ended up with a new personal best by one minute running 33:34.90, good for the number three time in the conference.

On Saturday, Anthony Carlascio would run the 1500-meter and 800-meter.  In the 1500-meter, Carlascio did not have his best race and finished fifth in 4:08.50, good for the number two time in the NWAC.   He would come back 90 minutes later to finish third in the 800-meter and break two minutes for the first time in his career running 1:59.96 and the number three time in the conference.

In the vertical jumps, team leader Jaxson Nichols finished third overall in the high jump clearing 5 feet and 11 inches and is ranked number four on the conference list. Pilot Weishaar finished fifth overall in the pole vault clearing 12 feet and 8 inches, good for number eight in the NWAC.

In the women’s long jump, Shelby Irmer placed fourth over all with a solid opening meet jump of 15 feet and 6.75 inches. This ranks her third on the conference list.

Last but not least, the Sasquatch men throwers got the weekend started on Friday night throwing the hammer on the Pacific Lutheran University campus as part of the Ed Boitano meet.

Leading the way was returning NWAC All-American, Bradley Fillis with a 25-foot improvement from his opening meet in 2021 recording a winning throw of 175 feet and 3 inches. His winning mark was fourteen feet better than the runner up and is currently ranked first in the conference.

Brooks Michaels turned in a personal best in the event, throwing 134 feet, good for the fourth mark in the conference. Colby Anderson also enjoyed a personal best throw of 129 feet and 10 inches and fifth in the conference. Reise Raymond made his collegiate hammer debut throwing 94 feet and 1 inch.

In the discus throw, Fillis again dominated the event with a winning throw of 151 feet and 6 inches, also good for the top mark in the conference so far. Colby Anderson also made the final in this event with a personal collegiate best of 126 feet and 1 inch, and ranked number three in the NWAC. Brooks Michaels just missed making the top nine in this event with a throw of 114 feet and 6 inches, still good for the number seven throw in the conference.

It was no surprise that Bradley Fillis won his third event of the meet this weekend collecting the shot-put title with a winning throw of 50 feet and 4.75 inches. Sweeping the three events was an added bonus for Fillis this weekend. Fillis continues to lead the team by example each weekend. He is the conference leader in this event. His teammate, Brooks Michaels threw 39 feet and 5 inches before having to abandon the competition with an injured knee. His mark is still the number five throw in the conference.

Overall, an excellent opening season meet for the team on both sides with five event winners, a good number of top three placers, and numerous personal bests mark an exciting start to the 2022 season.

Up next is the Whitworth Sam Adams Classic on Saturday March 19th on the Boppell Track.

 

Tags

#Men's Track and Field    #TrackField    #Women's Track and Field   


Posted On

3/8/2022 12:26:54 PM


Posted By

Taylor Stewart


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