SPOKANE, Wash. - Returning to The Podium, the Central Washington University track & field team grabbed some big-time performances, including broken school records by
Johan Correa &
Josh Green, and a pole vault victory for
Drew Klein.
MEET INFORMATION
Meet: Riverfront Invitational
Location: The Podium | Spokane, Wash.
RESULTS
QUOTING HEAD COACH JONATHAN HILL
"We are clearly entering championship form. Our teams are getting sharper and competing with increased confidence. I'm exceptionally impressed with the fight we exhibit on the track & field. We don't always win, but we're getting harder to beat.
Johan Correa had a superb weekend. He followed up his 5k school record with the 2nd-fastest mile of his life. We challenged him to that double and he rose to the challenge.
Josh Green is a very talented sprinter and a great guy to have on our teams. He and
Trevion Walker work day-in and day-out on the details and it's starting to show. His race from far from perfect, so we're already looking at how we can improve upon his model by conference.
Wyatt Franklin showed up in a big way and hit a nice indoor PR. He's a guy that leads by example and will lead us into the postseason. It's great have Juliette [Williams] back! She's busting lifetime bests, and leading off our relay, indicating where she's at in her training.
Chris Hines and our 4x4's put an exclamation mark at the end of this chapter with season-best's all around.
We've got a group of kids who love to learn, love each other and this team, and love to compete."
ABOUT THE MEET
- Correa finished 2nd in the 5000-meter with a time of 14:44.49, a time that currently ranks 3rd in the GNAC. Correa ran 16.41 seconds quicker than Sam Scotchmer's time of 15:00.40 in 2005. He also finished 5th in the mile with a time of 4:10.33.
- Green is another name to watch among the fantastic freshman performances this season. His 200-meter time of 21.84 beat Kodiak Landis' previous school record of 21.93 by 0.09 seconds. Green is tied for the GNAC lead in the 200-meter, and also recorded a PR in the 60-meter (7.12).
- In the open portion of the pole vault, Klein brought home the win with a vault of 15' 9.25" He made three solid attempts at breaking the school record of 15' 11.75" (Braydon Maier, 2019), but was unable to clear the bar.
- Wyatt Franklin finished 10th in the shot put with a launch of 48' 8.25". He set a PR that leads the GNAC currently.
- In the triple jump, Chris Hines recorded a season-best jump of 44' 10.75" to earn an 8th-place finish. Hines' jump is 2nd in the GNAC.
- Emy Ntekpere earned a PR in the long jump for 19th place with a leap of 17' 5.25". Despite registering a PR, but remains 3rd in the conference. Ntekpere also added a 7th-place finish in the high jump (5' 3.25").
- In the 60-meter prelims, Juliette Williams ran a time of 7.71 seconds, a PR. Her time is 4th in the GNAC this season.
- The women's 4x400 relay team, comprised of Williams, Ellie DeGroot, Donna Marie Harris and Elise Hopper, ran a 3:53.94. Their time earned a 13th-place finish in the meet, but it leads the GNAC by well over three seconds.
- The men's 4x400 team of Green, Isaiah Webster, Walker and Josh Boast recorded a season-best time of 3:23.20. The Wildcats relay team remains second in the conference.
- Other Wildcats to record a PR include Logan Martin (weight throw & shot put), Trevion Walker (60-meter, 200-meter), Zoe Gonzales (60-meter), Elise Hopper (60-meter), Alena Ross (pole vault), Nicole Yanasak (mile), Beatrice Le Gore (mile), Allison Smith (mile) and Zoe McDevitt (400-meter).
UP NEXT
The Wildcats will continue their run at The Podium next weekend for the Whitworth Invitational, hosted by Whitworth University. The meet will take place next Friday and Saturday, Feb. 9 & 10.
