By Jack Armstrong News Editor
Western’s track and field team split their athletes between three separate events this past weekend: the San Francisco Distance Carnival, the Stanford Invitational, and the Linfield Jenn Boyman Invitational.
The Wolves saw the most success at the San Francisco Distance Carnival. Junior shot putter Emmi Collier won her event overall throwing 12.96 meters, beating the competition by more than four inches. Men’s shot putter sophomore Jeremy Moore finished
third in his division with a throw of 14.81.
Freshmen hurdle runners Kaleb Dobson and AJ Holberg set season best times in the 400-meter hurdles. When asked about the preparation required of hurdle runners, fellow
freshman Rihei Grothmann said: “we do a lot of technical warm ups, like bounding and other exercises targeting our specific events.”
Grothmann was quick to point to the increased intensity of college track training.
“The training has definitely intensified from high school levels, but so far it has been fun,” Grothmann said.
Grothmann placed 13th overall in the 110 hurdles at the Linfield Jenn Boyman Memorial Invitational. The Linfield event resulted in six athletes setting personal bests. Sophomore Amanda Ditzhazy broke the five-minute mark for the 1,500, a career first for Ditzhazy who finished 9th overall.
Another freshman duo attending the Linfield Invitational, Alecia Falck and Sheila Limas De La Cruz, also posted season and career highs in the hammer toss, hitting 36.40 and 39.06 meters respectively.
The Stanford Invitational saw junior Badane Sultessa finish third and junior Josh Hanna finish sixth in the 800. Senior Rebecca Laible placed ninth in the triple jump while first-year Cody Warner finished ninth in the 100-meter dash finals.
The Wolves track and field will compete Friday, April 10, beginning at 2:30 p.m. at the annual John Knight Twilight event. The meet takes place on McArthur Field in Monmouth. Tickets are $6 for adults, $4 for non-WOU students, and free for WOU students.
