SPOKANE, Wash. – The Central Washington University Track & Field Team opened the spring term at the Whitworth Peace Meet, using the competition as an opportunity to continue building momentum in a familiar and competitive environment while producing strong performances across the board.
MEET INFORMATION:
Meet: Whitworth Peace Meet
Location: Puryear Field/Boppell Track at the Whitworth Pine Bowl (Spokane, Wash.)
RESULTS
QUOTING CWU TRACK & FIELD HEAD COACH JONATHAN HILL:
"First meet of the spring term indicates that we are knee deep in track season. Whitworth provides a perfect environment for us to work on our process in a very competitive yet familiar environment. We really appreciate the hospitality of our hosts there and everyone that put the meet on.
Our guys had some of the breakthroughs we were hoping for. Colton matched his lifetime best in the 100, running 10.49 to move up on our all-time lists/leads the conference. Boogy ran a season's best for the win today in the 110. Josh had a really nice day in the 400, running a pr of 48.22 moving to fourth all time. Dan, Caleb, and Brady got it done with some nice marks that complement each other well. Our guys made some nice progress up the GNAC lists.
Our women were strong as well. We played it cautious with a couple people but then got to show our depth as other people stepped up when their name was called. I'm really proud of Layla Fields and Julie Castillejo - both these girls fight and want to run fast. They got an opportunity today and made the most of it. Both our relays were short of full strength but made new all-time top 10 marks anyway. Carley had a really strong four event day with strong marks in the 100h, 400h, and the relay. She is now our third girl to hit a provisional mark in the 400h and ranks third in the top 25 nationally. Meggie had a lifetime best of 2:15 and moved up our all-time list. Hannah and Dawn continue to get faster and faster! They both PRd in a hot 1500 and ran 4:41;4:43 respectively, fastest times by a Wildcat since 2019. Peyton and Maddie were also tough as nails in the 5,000m run moving up to fourth all time, for Maddie in her second 5k outdoor for us. I was happy to see Joy compete and do it well. She's a great thrower. As well as Adrianna and Bailey - these two have really bright futures and are figuring things out. We went 1-2 in the women's triple jump with Azariah's 39'3.5" and Tehya's 38'9". These marks have them 15th and 22nd nationally. These ladies competed hard and executed extremely well.
Elise hopper, in her one individual race, stole the show in my eyes. Winning the meet, new lifetime PR, into a headwind, new CWU second (behind E'lexis Hollis), and NCAA sixth. She had a great run and used the blocks well finally. She's a big part of our teams goals this year."
HOW IT HAPPENED:
The Wildcats opened the meet with strong performances highlighted by multiple event winners on both the men's and women's sides.
David Brown (Boogy) earned an event victory in the 110m hurdles with a time of 14.38 which accounts for his best performance this season. Elise Hopper tacked on the second-best time in NCAA Division II this season with a new personal best in the 200m with a time of 23.73. Azariah Miller rounded out the event winners on the day, earning the gold in the triple jump with the 10th-best jump in NCAA Division II this season with an 11.95m jump.
Colton Magruder earned a personal best with his second-place finish in the 100m with a time of 10.49. Josh Boast added a second-place finish in the 400m with a new personal best and a time of 48.22. Caleb Reed earned the silver in the hammer throw with a throw of 47.42m. Tehya Moore tacked on a silver in the women's triple jump, following Miller with an 11.8m jump.
Carley Huber had a third-place finish in the 400m hurdles with a time of 1:01.27. Maddy Harrison had a huge day with a new personal best in the 5,000m with a time of 17:11.1. Dan Close followed Reed in the hammer throw with a bronze with his throw of 45.57m. Cal'von Baker had a season-high in the high jump with a jump of 1.98m for third place. Both women's relay teams earned a bronze medal on the day as the women's 4x100m composed of Donna Marie Harris, Zoe Gonzales, Layla Fields, and Hopper ran for a time of 46.97 while the women's 4x400m relay composed of Julie Castillejo, Meggie Kilcup, Harris, and Huber ran for a time of 3:48.13.
Other top five finishers included Katie Manly earning a fourth-place finish in the 3,000m steeplechase with a time of 11:32.63. Brady Holland added a new personal best enroute to a fourth-place finish in shot put with a time of 15.53m. Baker add his second top five finish of the day with a fourth-place finish in the triple jump with a 13.93m jump. Matthew Bender had a fifth-place finish in the long jump with a long jump of 6.75m.
Many other Wildcats posted new personal bests on the day. Hannah Pidduck and Dawn Hulstedt finished back-to-back and posted a pair of personal bests with times of 4:41.96 and 4:43.32, respectfully. Chase Perez posted a personal best in the 200m with a time of 22.69 then backed it up with a second personal best in the 400m with a time of 50.22. Castillejo had a 200m personal best with a time of 26.09. Ethan Moore added a personal best in the 800m with a time of 1:56.75. Kilcup added a personal best in the 800m with a time of 2:15.32. Weston Breen has added to a great freshman campaign with a new personal best in the 1,500m with a time of 4:12.55. Paige Huntsinger had a huge day in the 3,000m steeplechase with a new personal best with a time of 11:54.98. Payton Conover also tacked on a personal best in the 5,000m with a time of 17:30.54 and a sixth-place finish. Julie Johnson added a personal best with an eighth-place finish and a time of 39:42.41 in the 10,000m. Three Wildcats posted new personal bests in the discus with Holland adding a throw of 42.47m while Adrianna Tupolo and Bailey Board added throws of 40.18m and 38.53m, respectfully, all for new career highs. Natalie Shuler helped the 'Cats earn a personal best in the javelin, throwing for 29.3m. Addyson Bowyer rounded out 'Cats with a new career-best performance, earning a personal best in the long jump with a jump of 5.02m.
UP NEXT:
The Wildcats will continue their outdoor season as they look ahead to host the Wildcat Invitational April 10 through April 11 at Recreation Sport Complex Ellensburg, Wash
