Simson Garcia | Sports Editor
Multiple Wolf track and field athletes set new personal bests and division marks at the Husky Classic at the University of Washington from Feb. 9 to Feb. 11. Seniors David Ribich and Kennedy Rufener finished first in their distances on Feb. 9 and 10, while three milers ran under times of 4:20 at the Husky Open on Feb. 11.
Sprinters and sophomores Devon Fortier and Grayson Burke got out quick in their heats. Fortier finished second in his heat of the men’s 60-meter dash with a time of 7.09, a season best. Burke won her heat in the women’s 400-meter, clocking in at 58.56, and recorded the fifth best time in Wolves’s history.
Moving to the 800-meter, junior Olivia Woods placed fourth with a time of 2:11.38, just shy of her personal best set two weeks prior.
The milers also ran two personal records as sophomore Justin Crosswhite and senior Parker Marson finished first and second, with times of 4:15.02 and 4:16.48.
While seniors Nicole Maurmann and Suzanne Van de Grift got out and ran in their mile run, Van De Grift barely missed the school record, but nabbed a provisional qualifying time of 4:48.95. Maurmann won her heat with a time of 5:04.40, also a personal record.
Going further to the men’s 3k, senior David Ribich broke not only the school mark by more than 20 seconds, but the all time Division-II mark by six seconds. Right behind him and also reordering the school record book were juniors Dustin Nading with 8:10.92 and Tyler Jones with 8:21.2.
Going just a bit further to the 5k, senior Kennedy Rufener took charge since the gun in her heat and earned a provisional qualifier mark while obliterating the school record with a time of 16:53.96. “I had to set the pace early … if I wanted to run around the time I was thinking that I would,” said Rufener.
Moving from track to field, first-year Nick Seiber achieved two personal records when he was measured at 14.40 meters in the shot put and 15.45 meters in the weight throw.
An accomplished personal record of 15.16 meters by sophomore Mariah Gronbach in the women’s weight throw placed her at eighth in school history.
Next stop for Wolves’s track and field are the GNAC championships that are to be ran from Feb.17-18 in Nampa, Idaho.
Contact the author at journalsports@wou.edu
Photo by: wouwolves.com
