The Western track team had a strong showing last weekend at the Cougar Indoor
meet, hosted by Washington State University in Pullman, Wash. on Feb. 7.
Several Western runners placed in the top five in their respective heats and numerous others posted personal best performances.
The highlight of the day was when Josh Hanna took home the victory in the 800m,
finishing with a time of 1:54.36, over a second faster than the next fastest runner. In the mile, Brady Beagley finished second ahead of several runners from Division I schools, posting a time of 4:19.58.
He would follow that up later in the day with a third place performance in the
3,000m run with a time of 8:47.49. David Ribich and Zach Holloway would also place in the top 10 in the 3,000m with times of 8:56.40 and 9:04.28, respectively.
“I feel like racing the 3k with some teammates was more of a tune up for the meet
this weekend,” said Beagley. “It is always nice to have teammates by your side in a race. It makes the race feel more comfortable and relaxing.”
For the hurdles, Kaleb Dobson ran 8.47 seconds in the 60m race, winning his heat.
He then improved to 8.44 seconds in finals where he took fourth overall. Aaron Whitaker would take eighth overall in the 400m run with a time of 51.78 while teammate AJ Holmberg finished ninth in 52.71.
“Meets give me experience because I’ve never ran indoor before,” Holmberg said.
“I definitely like Pullman more because it’s more comparable to what conference will be like.”
On the women’s side, the big news of the day came from the weight throw, where all four competitors for Western posted personal records. Emmi Collier (14.26m), Allison Cook (13.5m), Alex Green (13m), and Leah Nicklason (10.78m) threw personal best distances on Saturday.
On the track, Rochelle Pappel finished sixth in her heat of the 60m hurdles in 9.24 seconds, advancing her to finals where she improved to 9.14 seconds. Audrey Hellesto and Suzie Van De Grift finished second and third overall in the 400m, finishing in 1:00.60 and 1:00.62 respectively.
Bailey Beeson would finish sixth overall in the 400m with a time of 1:00.94.
Stephanie Stuckey posted a new personal record in the 800, finishing fourth overall with a time of 2:20.44.
“The meet in Pullman really put into perspective where I’m at in my fitness and
helped me mentally see how my race will go in Boise, Idaho,” Beeson said. “Going to meets together and all the work we do in practice is helping us set up the team for success in Idaho.”
The Wolves will travel back to Seattle to participate in the Husky Classic on Feb. 13-14 and the Husky Open on Feb. 15 inside the Dempsey Indoor Facility
